This should finally put to rest those crazy rumors that the Tokyo Game Show has been cancelled. Not only is TGS 2007 alive and well, it's bigger than ever! This year's show will be increased from the usual three days to four days. And since last year was apparently the most crowded one ever, we can look forward to an extra day of sweating people pushing up close. Oh goodie! So this go round, TGS07 will run from Thursday, September 20th to Sunday, September 23rd with Thursday and Friday being business days. Since E3 no longer what it once was, TGS is making its move to take center stage internationally. We'll be there come September to bring you up-to-the-second coverage. Should be utter hell. Brian Ashcraft

TGS Dates For This Year [Press Release]

But this is CES. This is where PlayStation doesn't dominate, it simply has a presence. It's the event where you ask for David Karakker at the Sony press conference and they go "Who, again?"

The PlayStation booth at CES, while not what you'd call emaciated, is definitely not overbearing. The entire area consists of first party titles, including Lair, MotorStorm, Gran Turismo HD and Resistance: Fall of Man. A handful of PSP titles get floor space, but location free playing capabilities get an equal share.

Hit the jump for a couple photos of the space, which one can almost fully explore by rotating in one spot. Michael McWhertor

Well, I'm shocked. After the American arm of the D3 Publishing group poo-pooed releasing games from the Simple 2000 series of titles that put D3 on the map, it seems at least one of the breakout hits from that line, giant bug and robot shooter Earth Defense Forces X, will make its way across the Pacific.

While EDFX may sport sharper graphics and better production values, it still features the same run and gun gameplay that made EDF 2 a cheapass hit on the PlayStation 2.

Fence sitters who doubt D3's ability to publish anything but T&A-heavy mahjongg games or folks new to the mindless fun that is EDF may want to check out my quick impressions from the Tokyo Game Show. The rest of you celebrate! Michael McWhertor

Earth Defense Force X US-bound [Gamespot]
TGS06: Earth Defense Forces 3 Hands-On Get! [Kotaku]

First E3, now this? Game site Jeux France is rumoring that the Tokyo Game Show could very well be canned next year. Blame the usual suspects: Too many people, huge budgets, blah, blah, blah. Nintendo traditionally sits the event out, with Sony and Microsoft left to go head-to-head. I've heard this rumor before, and I'm not holding my breath until there are any official announcements. Brian Ashcraft

No TGS? [Jeux France, Thanks Marc!]

It's a work-in-progress, really. The PLAYSTATION 3 Operating System used at the Tokyo Game Show was not the final product, which some are using to explain the glitchy machines on the show floor. Sony Computer Entertainment of America has confirmed the unfinished OS, which can be "flashed" (oooh, sexy) into the console even after the hardware has been assembled. That means the unit's Operating System will be akin to the Wii's and the Xbox 360's, which can be updated after the fact. Moreover, SCEA said that the unfinished OS had little to do with the glitchy machines, but rather it was things like leaving consoles on all day in little dark boxes with cheap, shitty plastic fans. Brian Ashcraft

PS3 OS Upgradable [Game Daily, Thanks Charlton!]

The PLAYSTATION 3 does not overheat. Those burnt-out consoles at TGS? Illusions! These hot rumors have been tied to those lithium ion batteries Sony manufactured and supplied to Dell, Toshiba and Apple, causing computers to melt. In an official statement made by Sony Computer Entertainment, the company states:

SCE can categorically deny that there's any problems with PS3 units overheating. As could be seen on the TGS floor by the tens of thousands of media and public attendees, both the hardware and software worked flawlessly.

Not sure about "flawlessly" as we did see a few systems overheat at TGS. And that's expected for a machine running for hours six hours plus. The PLAYSTATION 3 did hold up fairly well, all things considered. Though, those plastic fans in the demo kiosks should send off some sort of warning—as in don't leave your console on all day in a box. Brian Ashcraft

Sony Says No Overheating [Games Industry]

(Well, not those. Those are actually okay. It's the other ones we're talking about.)

At TGS, when Microsoft showed the Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, there was actually a collective groan. Not at how silly the trailer was (it was pretty silly), but just at how long it was. Regardless, Tecmo's Team Ninja didn't disappoint fans. They've pretty much made the game people who owned the first one would want. While most of the official screens show somewhat conservative outfits, costume crazy site Costume GET! has a smattering of upcoming skimpy NSFW in-game bikinis, including one made of a string of pearls! Silly, indeed. Brian Ashcraft

NSFW Bikini Pics Here [Costume GET!]

Onechanbara, The Stage Show
Justify Your Game: Motorstorm
PS3 vs. Xbox 360
Justify Your Game Console, Kaz Hirai
89 Seconds of Sony Partying
Kutaragi's Keynote (Real Quick)
Justify Your Game: Genji
Wii or PS3? Japanese Gamer Poll
Wii or PS3? The Cosplayers This Time
Even Walking Is A Bitch
Bring On The Creepy Camermen
Justify Your Game: Formula 1
Sony Built It and They Came

Rather static for a stage show, sure, but we are still excited. It's not the bikini or the swords that makes us so jazzed about publisher D3's Onechanbara: vorteX. Oh, no. It's that killer cowboy hat. Brian Ashcraft

One of TGS's let downs was non-playable Super Monkey Ball. Well, it was playable, but you had to be wearing a grass skirt and covered with plastic fruit. Booth companions on stage demonstrated the title's fun factor. Everyone else kinda stood around.

Next-Gen's Tim Rogers heard from Toshihiro Nagoshi that the title wasn't playable because of lighting conditions at the show. Meaning, weird lighting and flash photography totally screws up the Wii-mote. Nagoshi adds, "At home, people aren't likely to be using flash photography on their own televisions, so it won't matter, in the long run."

That being said, he thinks the Wii is "great," but when asked what system he plans on making his next game for, he replied, "Definitely not the Wii." Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Next-Gen]

Cars, carnage, ragdolls. This game's got it all. Our own free loadin' Scott talked up a storm about just how fun Motorstorm is. And the title's producer seems to agree. Go figure. Brian Ashcraft

Courtesy of the lovely Alice, we have this, the best game of TGS06, and the best title of a game since The Varginha Experiment.

Notice the two exclamation points. One exclamation point just wouldn't have gotten across just what a goddamn fucking bastard this guy is. Florian Eckhardt

Bastard!! Online [Official Site]

With Nintendo sitting the Tokyo Game Show out, the focus was the next-gen fist fight between Sony and Microsoft. But, who had a better TGS? Brian Ashcraft

Hit the jump for a list of our coverage. It was a great show, even if our hotel was a dump. Brian Ashcraft

TGS: Here We Come
Live Blogging Xbox 360 Media Briefing
All the Nintendo Games We'll Play In Tokyo
LocoRoco DS?
LocoRoco Dev On Game Design, Racism, Snowboarding
A Guide to LocoRoco
Requisite Booth Babes Photo
Live Blogging Kutaragi's Keynote
The TGS Show Coverage List
Sony: PS3 20GB Gets Price Drop in Japan
Live Blogging Sakaguchi
LocoRoco Soundtrack Is For Loopy Sadists
DoA Creator Snooping About Sega
Japanese Schoolgirls *Heart* Xbox 360
No Cosplaying In The Toilet
Kutaragi Cold Chills, Chats
Super Monkey Ball Creator Really Likes His Cell Phone
Phil Harrison Touts PS3 Web Browser, Shoves 1080p In Microsoft's Face
Wicked Old Microsoft Promotion Trick (With Trains and Bags)
Justify Your Game Console, Kaz Hirai
Booth Babe Twister
89 Seconds Of Sony Partying
Kutaragi's Keynote (Real Quick)
The Capcom Collar
Ridge Racer 7 = Too Hot For TGS
Revenge Of Tokyo Game Show: Day 2: Public Day
Koei Having Issues With PS3 Middleware, Fatal Inertia To Miss Launch
It's Packed As Hell
Pity The Maid Man
Liveblogging The Gran Turismo HD Press Event
Blue Dragon Loot
Gears of War Hands-Off
The Acne of the Tokyo Game Show
I Don't Think Viva Pinata Will Suck
Lunar Knights, Not Just For Scandinavian Kids
Bust a Move in Forza 2
Flight Simulator X Simulated
Xbox Live Arcade, Too Nerdy Even for Game Nerds
Virtua Fighter PS3 Stick Hands On
Justify Your Game: Genji
J, Please Stop Blocking Our Phone Calls
The Venus Williams of Game Producing
Wii or PS3? Japanese Gamer Video Poll
I Hope This Okami Plush Isn't For Humping
We Vist Polyphony Digital, Touch Their Stuff
Wii or PS3? Just The Cosplayers This Time
God Hand Producer Finds Next Gen "Annoying"
Armored Core 4 Is A Real System Crasher
Even Walking Is A Bitch
We Did It For You, J Allard. For You.
Sega Wii Games Close Proximity Impressions
Resistance (the Game) Is Futile
Lair Hands On Giddiness
Koji Igarashi's Business Card - Serious Business
Dead Or Alive Xtreme Jiggle Impressions
Genji Real-Time Impression Switching
Hands On, Behind the Wheel, Gran Turismo HD
Justify Your Game: Lair
So, How'd It Go, Microsoft?
Bring On the Creepy Cameramen
The Other Side Of The Lens
Sony Built It and They Came
Justify Your Game: Formula 1

Josh writes that while club-hopping in Tokyo over the weekend, between TGS stints natch, he and his friends ran into some hardcore Swedish gamers. How hardcore? So hardcore that one of the guys had DDR symbols tattooed into his leg.

If I were to ever get another tattoo, and that isn't happening without a swift heave-ho from my wife, it would probably be some sort of gamer symbol. Though, I think I'd lean more toward Invader aliens than a bunch of arrows. Brian Crecente

The producer of F1 gets so carried away that he forgets the most basic JYG rule of all: Finish on time. Brian Ashcraft

Our very spunky part-time British bird Alice spotted an intriguing observation made by Rod over at Gaming Edge about Ken Kutaragi's TGS 06 keynote: it's almost point-for-point the same damn speech he delivered 6 years ago.

"We need an open system. Like an internet. People can have a first hand experience: the network world of the game has to be open to everyone."

"Sony has Sony's agenda. But (I) want a very open platform, equal for every person."

"For instance: for movies. You looked at the [..] you can jack in and watch the new world. We are very lucky to live in this era. We try to open the door for the future."

"You can communicate to a new cybercity. This will be the ideal home server. Did you see the movie 'The Matrix'? Same interface. Same concept. Starting from next year, you can jack into 'The Matrix'!"

The first in each set of quotes is from TGS this year. The other is from a press piece from 2000, prior to the PS2's launch

As good old Alice notes, "Naughty man. If only he could break out prices from 6 years ago too." Florian Eckhardt

Wait, it's 2006 - right? [Gaming Edge]

Footage from Saturday, the first day open to the public. A lot of people came to TGS. A lot. And know what? Most of them were Japanese. Shocking. Brian Ashcraft

We decided to hit up Cosplay Alley at the Makuhari Messe on the last day of Tokyo Game Show to see how the city's homely kids with sewing skills were faring.

We saw tons of Clouds and Dantes and "men" in schoolgirl outfits, but the lamest thing on display were the cyclopian virginal photographers loading up their 4 gig SD cards with enough wank material to last them through to the next Comiket. The TGS otaku take this whole thing very seriously—do NOT cut in line or they'll have your head.

I really have begun to worry for the welfare of these young ladies, but it's almost like they're asking to be stalked. Michael McWhertor

At Kotaku, we know creepy. While E3 was known for dorky guys posing with booth babes, TGS is more famous for creepy guys with huge creepy cameras taking creepy pictures of booth babes. Good thing the showroom floor is dark, sparing us from seeing their creepy faces. Brian Ashcraft