Video Gaming in Japan

Hours, if not days, had clearly been spent getting 'the look' just right. Between two of the giant halls, stacked with computer games and new consoles, there was an entire area devoted to the videogame obsessed.

Whole families and gangs of friends were all dressed in elaborate home made suits in homage to their favourite characters. They were only outnumbered by the crowds of fans wanting to take a souvenir snap of themselves with their favourite imitator.

The cynical may think that they are paid by the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. But chatting to one woman, dressed in a detailed, PVC cyber-page-boy outfit, she said that she spent hours tailoring her costume for no other reason than because it was fun and it made her smile.

And it is this sometimes child-like attitude that seems to pervade much of what is on offer at the hundreds of stands at TGS. On the Konami stand, gamers endured long queues to play on the latest versions of games like Pop Music Fever and Drum Mania. The latter involves players hitting a tiny drumkit in response to on screen prompts. Everybody that stepped away from the arcade like atmosphere had grins on their faces.

Adapted from BBC Online, September 2006

chinese translation | japanese translation | korean translation