A Windows branded contest — one that actually dates back to March of last year(!) — tells us that we'll be seeing Alan Wake in Tokyo, at least in trailer form. It's entirely possible that we'll see the title as Games Convention, PAX or some other big gaming get together. But for now, pencil in a date with Mr. Wake for October. That's pencil, not pen.

"WOW" Be A Face In The Game [Microsoft - thanks, SS!]

TGS tickets go on sale starting July 16th.

前売入場券は2008年7月16日より販売 [Famitsu] [Pic]

Ten titles will be selected for consideration, with the finalists' list to be revealed on September 16th. According to Wired, the committee has warned potential applicants against showing up with more of the same - they want technological and storytelling innovation that directly impacts gameplay. In with the new, then!

Should be interesting to see what turns up - by the by, Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi is one of the people on the selection committee, aptly.

Tokyo Game Show Throws Party for Innovative Games [Wired via GameSetWatch]

Saa, ikou! GAME no jikan desu. (Let's go! It's GAME time.)

So profound. Makes "Here's a break!" sound like utter drivel. TGS runs October 9th to the 12th with the first two days being business days. Over 170 companies will be participating and organizers expect 180,000 total attendees.

TGS 2008 [CESA]

Theme: "Ready for GAME Time!"

Let both experienced players and first-time users get even more enjoyment from games — the aspiration has led to creation of a variety of new content and driven astonishing growth of the computer entertainment industry.

February 19,2008

Press release

On the holding of Tokyo Game Show 2008

This year's theme has been decided: "Ready for GAME Time!"

Dates: Thursday, October 9 - Sunday, October 12

Venue: Makuhari Messe

Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association

Nikkei Business Publications,Inc.

The Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA; Yoichi Wada, Chairman; Nishi Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo) is delighted to announce the holding of the Tokyo Game Show 2008 in cooperation with Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. (Seiichi Oteru, President and CEO; Minato-ku, Tokyo). As previously announced, this year's 4-day event will be held from October 9 to 12, 2008, at Makuhari Messe (Mihama-ku,Chiba City). As last year, the first two days of the event will be Business Days, while the second two will be open to the general public.

Last year's event was extended in the effort to strengthen the trade show function of the event and increase its international character, and the first-ever 4-day Tokyo Game Show set new records for the numbers of both domestic and international exhibitors as well as booth units occupied. Attendance was also at the highest level ever, with 193,040 people visiting the 2007 event. We are pleased to report that TGS2007 enjoyed a reputation for excellence from both Japanese and international visitors.

Based on these successes, the Tokyo Game Show will seek to be the world's largest computer entertainment show once again in 2008, with exhibitors from across Japan and around the world, and to serve not only as a forum for exchanging information about world markets, but to increase in terms of both scale and quality.

Particular features to watch for in TGS2008 will be: 1) new exhibition areas to ensure full coverage of all form of entertainment, 2) improved environment for doing business and international participation, and 3) promotions targeting light users (kids, families) and new users. We hope that these efforts will meet the expectations of our participants from business and the general public and succeed in making this a truly world-class event.

We are also pleased to announce the theme for the TGS2008 event as "Ready for GAME Time!" which we hope will create a sense of just how fun games can be for anyone.

Theme: "Ready for GAME Time!"

Let both experienced players and first-time users get even more enjoyment from games - the aspiration has led to creation of a variety of new content and driven astonishing growth of the computer entertainment industry.

Expanding their territories from home systems to various terminals and media, games have now entered into every aspect of our lives, evolving into entertainment that anyone can enjoy anywhere.

The Tokyo Game Show 2008 aims to bring together makers striving to develop the next generation of games and other entertainment sector businesses in their work to bring fun and excitement of games to the world. This year's theme is an expression of our hope to provide a great four-day "Game Time" full of dreams and excitement.

TOKYO GAME SHOW Official English Website : http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/english/

Pro Tip: For those without press passes, go on Sunday at around 4pm. Last year, it was a ghost town!
TGS Dates [Famitsu]

When I was at TGS, the Metal Gear Solid 4 demo was all the rage. Huge lines, long waits. I attended the demo with Ash and as predicted I was terrible and it seemed like it was over before it even began. The other problem for me was that it was all in Japanese so not only did I suck at it, but I sucked at it and had no clue as to what was going on.

Although E for All didn't offer a whole lot in the way of games, it did have the MGS4 demo and this time in English. And while I saved myself the embarrassment of stinking it up in two languages I did notice that despite the sparse crowds, the MGS line was always rather lengthy. The fine folks at GameTrailers were good enough to get footage from the English demo and post it all for you to check out since, according to Ryan Payton, you won't be seeing this as a demo on PSN. The video has been split up into four easily digestible parts with the first one appearing above and the remaining three waiting for you after the jump

Team Ninja is known for their flash. Whether it's producer Tomonobu Itagaki's rockstar look, Ryu Hayabusa's penchant for decapitating everything in sight, or the cup sizes of every Dead or Alive female fighter, understated is usually not an adjective that appears in sentences describing Team Ninja. But the developer's offices are so bland, so utilitarian, so... office-y we wondered if we had been led into the wrong building. Soon, however, Itagaki emerged, a hint of tobacco and hard liquor on his breath.

We were lucky enough to have a private interview with the head of Team Ninja about their upcoming venture, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, so we (as quickly as we could) got down to business.

The interview took place in what looked like the team's demo room. Nothing more than a couple couches, a big screen TV, an Xbox 360 and a pair of statues—Master Chief from Halo and Kasumi from Dead of Alive—adorned the room. Outside of a trio of low-key posters for DOA and Ninja Gaiden, you'd have a hard time placing the developer. But the katana on the display stands might have helped.

A pink Nintendo DS with the TGS demo was on hand, so I cracked it open while we talked to Itagaki via his translator. One of the Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword staffers was on hand, but he let Tomonobu do the talking.

Team Ninja is known for their graphical expertise, claiming that they only work on the most powerful hardware for each generation. So why the DS? Itagaki was refreshingly honest, saying that developing for the Nintendo portable was "kind of nostalgiac." How so?

"The time it takes to go from a spec sheet to a program to actually being able to see something on screen is much shorter than it used to be," he said. "If I put in a request for a change, I can see it within the day. That's what it was like ten, fifteen years ago."

But times have changed. The Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 demand more time, more tinkering, more people. Itagaki wanted to get under the hood, figuratively. "With old cars, when they would overheat or something, you could pop the hood and dig around, fix something by hand. You could fix your own car. Now it's all sealed... everything is enclosed and CPU controlled. You have to take your car to the dealer and have him diagnose it just to fix it. That's what it feels like. [Developing for the DS] feels like working on an old car."

Putting down the Nintendo DS and the game, I asked Itagaki about presenting the Nintendo DS fanbase with a less action oriented, more puzzle focused adventure game. That won't be happening, he said. "I don't intend to put a whole lot of puzzles in. Basically, stuff you only have to give a little bit of thought to to figure out what you should do." Referring to the giant rock (and poor Kanji reading skills that had me stuck) he clarified, "There are boulders like that, from time to time. Hopefully, you'll be appreciative that we didn't decide to make the rocks explode."

Thanks for thinking of us, but we only hate exploding barrels.

So why make an action game for the Nintendo DS, when puzzle games, training games and testing software is all the rage?

"On a personal note, when I look at the current state of the [DS] market in the terms of titles that are available, I think it's kind of sad." No tears were visible behind the ever present sunglasses, but he told us "I think that since the DS is a very unique computing device, when I originally announced the title, I had expected and hoped that people would be bringing out very game-like games, games that utilize that interface. But what we've found is that a lot of games are out there that are almost like applications, things that aren't using the full extent of what the DS is capable as gaming hardware."

So who's doing it right? "I think Metroid Prime Hunters is a very good example of a very game-like game, so there certainly are other titles, but I definitely want Ninja Gaiden DS to be an example of that." Itagaki likes FPS games?! He sure does, revealing that "The only first person shooters I play are Halo and the Metroid Prime series."

Ninja Gaiden for the DS is a welcome surprise, one that plays well and uses the stylus in a totally unique way. Western audiences will probably snap it up, but what about something that will dominate Japanese sales charts. I asked Itagaki if Team Ninja has any plans to make a ninja training application for the DS.

He laughed it off. "That's impossible," he said. "Those kind of application type games you can literally make yourself using a PC in ten hours or so. I wouldn't want to try to make that and market it for money for people."

"I'm not trying to be on the defensive. I think it's O.K. that those games exist," he said, "But that's not the kind of game that I want to make. I don't think that really matches what we're trying to do here with Team Ninja."

The Team Ninja lead then got a little hypothetical on us, doing some spur of the moment game design.

He wondered "what kind of game I'd make if someone put a gun to my head and said 'You gotta make a training game or else I'm going to kill you'. I think it would be like a military commander decision simulation or something like that. I think it would be something that would try to show the difficult decisions that generals in the military have to make."

The design document jazz odyssey kept on grooving, with Itagaki saying "I think if you made a straight up quiz type situation, if you chose what that commander actually did, you would get points. Now we have military historians that say this general should have done such and such at this battle, if you actually go in and choose what they should have done instead of what they actually did, you might get points as well. Something like that could be interesting."

Hey, we'd buy it. But Itagaki thinks the game is perfect for "businessmen to understand how to choose during difficult situations."

"We have a game concept happening right now!" he exclaimed, "I'll give you this idea for free. Go ahead and make it."

We'd heard that Itagaki was a decision-making ninja, issuing every "yes", "no" or "Tekken sucks" in under sixty seconds. "Yes. It's true," he confirmed. "Basically, I'm just living moment to moment. It's kind of a miracle I'm alive actually."

I told Itagaki that I'm not a quick decision maker and that his unnamed decision making non-game was perfect for someone like me. "What should we title it? Make it a good title in English, please. Try to do it before the end of this interview." And one condition, "I want to include 'light' and 'shadow' in the title of the decision making game, so..."

"Decide Before Dawn?" I offered. The sound of crickets chirping echoes across the table. At least Ashcraft laughed.

Given that the Nintendo DS generally appeals to more casual gamers, the type who buy millions of copies of Nintendogs, New Super Mario Bros. and Animal Crossing Wild World, we were a little concerned that Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword might be too easy. Boulder aside, it certainly wasn't difficult to tear through the Tokyo Game Show demo. Not to worry, said Itagaki.

He calmed our fears, saying "It would be against my philosophy to dumb it down just to make it easy. Games should be challenging, that's what makes them fun. You have to keep that element of forcing the player to go up against the game, and lose, but get better, so that they can conquer it. There are ways that you can do that, but make it more approachable."

During this dicussion, Itagaki gave us an aside, one about the "evolution of games."

"In the past, our president came to me and said 'Create a game concept. Something that no one has effort thought of before. And you don't have to think about technological limitations. It's because we're worried about technology all the time that we can't come up with good ideas, so give me a concept that no one has ever thought about.'"

"So I gave him a single piece of paper with an idea which is that when you push a button on the controller, the character's hand comes out of the screen at you. So, the president was at a loss for words. Eventually he asked 'Why would you come up with an idea like this?' I said that 'Hey, you said we didn't have to think about any technological limitations.' So that was kind of an expression of me saying as an engineer, don't underestimate the limitations of technology."

The concept of Ninja Gaiden DS is not unlike that one-page design document. The team's goal was tap into the immediacy of the physical interaction involved by cradling the Nintendo DS in your palm, using the motion of your hand to physically manipulate the ninja.

As we were wrapping up, we learned what Itagaki likes less than dealing with technical limitations and the executives who don't understand them—game development seriously eats into his sleep. And his drinking. "I love to sleep. I love to sleep and I love to drink," he responded to a question about his least favorite thing about working in game development, "If I could just drink and sleep, that would be great for me."

That drinking, he says, while enjoyable, eats away at his ability to enjoy games recreationally. He tells us "Unfortunately, the more I drink, the more my eye for details is stimulated. I start breaking games down and analyzing their good and bad things."

Finally, I ask Itagaki the most obvious question (since we like drama). "Who are your rivals on the DS?" I ask, touching the dreaded T-word from rival Namco. He responds, "This is the first time we've made a portable game and so I'm going to be very modest. We couldn't possibly have any rivals." Does this signal a kinder, gentler, more diplomatic head of Team Ninja? He laughs. "I shouldn't lie to you like that. I'm sure there are a lot of good rivals for us out there. I'm sure that when most people see this game, they're going to say 'There they go, at it again.' In a good way. Hopefully, we'll be able to shake things up a bit."

Well, when Namco publishes Death By Degrees DS, we'll ask you again.

"Death by Degrees DS?", he sneers. "Okay, we'll take you up on that."

A puff of smoke and one botched Justify Your Game later, Itagaki and team are gone. It's Sunday and the team is going back to work, either tweaking their handheld debut or killing another bottle of scotch. With love.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/sony/sonys-booth-babe-human-wave-302207.php

Everyone seems to have missed the real point of this exercise, which is a shame since it's such a video game cliche. So here's the strategy guide: One of these women is the REAL booth babe. She's the only one that's vulnerable to your attacks. Defeat her, and you will have beaten TGS and become the Champion of Otaku Gaming. All of the best that TGS has to offer will be yours - you get to skip to the front of the long Level 5 booth line, have first crack at the drums in Rock Band, and play the MGS4 demo for as long as you want. The rest of the women are just there just to distract you, making you waste your time and energy on things like the LAIR booth and PSP ports of PS2 games. So choose wisely, TGS warrior, and may you prevail in the Sony Booth Babe Quest!

Finalist 1

http://kotaku.com/gaming/notag/my-booth-bot-my-cheerleader-302665.php

War has changed. It is not about how many visitors my booth has, or how many people there are in my queue. It is not even about whether my game is better than yours. Or actually, it is. However, among the flashy, extravagant promotional stunts lies, nay, lurks an undercurrent of shrewd, subtle marketing - its stealth rivals that of Snake or Sam Fisher or Ryu Hayabusa (not) or whatever floats your boat. Yes, as pointed out, war is now about who can promote their products surreptitiously, and at the same time, effectively. Perhaps this is a clandestine and devious plan formulated by the upper echelons in the gaming industry to brainwash us into supporting them. Granted, it is basically an open secret now that a brave soul has come forward with the truth, but read on anyway. Even the strong-willed may succumb to the usage of flattery... Unless he/she dons the Helm of Nonchalance, which gives a +5 bonus to an individual's Will saving throw (that or he/she is a Kotaku staff picking out contest finalists). Assuming life adheres to the Dungeons & Dragons rule set. Which it doesn't. So then, is humanity doomed? Are we condemned to be slaves of ego-boosting propaganda-mongers? That is unlikely to be the case. Reason being that the 'enchantment' will be lifted once you step outside of its area of influence. In this case, the queue.

Finalist 2

http://kotaku.com/gaming/sony/sonys-booth-babe-human-wave-302207.php

Everyone seems to have missed the real point of this exercise, which is a shame since it's such a video game cliche. So here's the strategy guide: One of these women is the REAL booth babe. She's the only one that's vulnerable to your attacks. Defeat her, and you will have beaten TGS and become the Champion of Otaku Gaming. All of the best that TGS has to offer will be yours - you get to skip to the front of the long Level 5 booth line, have first crack at the drums in Rock Band, and play the MGS4 demo for as long as you want. The rest of the women are just there just to distract you, making you waste your time and energy on things like the LAIR booth and PSP ports of PS2 games. So choose wisely, TGS warrior, and may you prevail in the Sony Booth Babe Quest!

Finalist 3

My favorite TGS news is "Tecmo Follies" (http://kotaku.com/gaming/tgs07/tecmo-follies-302714.php), because it tells you in three short minutes what the backbone of advertising in the entertainment industry is: barely dressed women. Why show a product, when you can have a girl in a bikini? Why waste money on developing proper products when proper women can do the trick in a short presentation; of THEIR bodies? The evolution of game shows will eventually lead to the point where no games will be shown at all and the conventions will be filled only with variety acts of different hooter groups. Game rating sites will drop irrelevant aspects of game testing, such as graphics and gameplay, and replace them with "booth babe" and "promiscuity". Jack Thompson will then finally realize that videogames were not to blame all along and go on a rampant "lawyers against fornication" campaign which seeks to eliminate gamers by depriving them of their right to procreate. Such is the epiphany gained from looking at Tecmo Follies. A future with great rewards at "game"-shows and old enemies back in action.

Finalist 4

http://kotaku.com/gaming/tgs07/broomstick-controller-gets-tested-302723.php

"Laying there, innocently, with a rustic appeal that hearkened back to bygone days of a carefree fantasy, the mahogany staff awaited. Its nostalgic shape was a heartfelt welcome exchanged silently with the eyes, the simple yet elegant tartan frills that hung down in the colors of a gloriously mellow autumn day further beckoned the man. Enticed by the facade of timeless splendor, and the promise of an exhilaration dreamt of since mankind first gazed to the sky, he stepped forward, and found his place upon the magical ride. The enchanted veneer peeled quickly away, the man discovering that the broomstick controller, for all of its impressive 10 degrees of tilt, could not satisfy the ancient longing. With a sonorous "crap", the dream dispersed. In its place, now only the palpable sensation of severe butt discomfort lingered, the final remnants of the glamorous illusion fading into the depths beyond the bounds of the imagination. Sorry, Quidditch fans."

Finalist 5

http://kotaku.com/gaming/tecmo/itagaki-unmasked-302224.php

Ah Itagaki unmasked you say? I would sooner expect to see clear photographic evidence of the Tibetan Mountain Yeti's child fathered by the elusive Chupacabra (she doesn't care what you think, she loves him anyway). What do the linked images reveal? Nothing but a deliciously heightened mystery. From the appearance of that photo I can not even confirm that Itagaki has actual eye-spheres residing in his skull-sockets. Maybe the sockets just burn with a black fire much like Ninja Gaiden's Doku. Or perhaps you can't see his eyes because under his sunglasses he is actually just wearing another pair of sunglasses. I think the worst possible scenario is that is actually quiet a perfect image of him without his glasses, he just is that blurry. And that is super scary. The grin on the man in the second photo (Itagaki and sunglasses reunited) is suspiciously "shit eating" as well, such to suggest his collaboration in confounding the photo.

After sitting through the forty five minute Square trailer extravaganza at TGS, I'm a bit surprised I didn't see this one included in that mix although this is being touted as the "TGS Trailer". Square's booth was packed and bigger than most houses so I guess it's not too much of a shock that I missed it. Final Fantasy XI Online has struggled a bit to keep up with it's FF brothers. Will this be the one that brings it back into the public consciousness? I don't know, but this trailer sure looks nice, but then again, don't they all?

Game Developer Magazine editor Brandon Sheffield was kind enough to be my goth sidekick, braving a long walk through sunlight to act as the Rebecca to my Carlos. We worked our way through the majority of the zombie infested train level from Resident Evil 0, ultimately losing to the end-of-level boss, a giant scorpion with a sensitive stinger.

Along the way, we unceremoniously shot stuff, often confusing one another's reticles for the other's, resulting in loads of wasted effort. The same was true for the last minute evade moves, ones that require rapid button presses or really frantic Wii-mote waving. Eventually, we realized we were standing on the wrong side of the screen in relation to our players and switched spots. It kind of helped.

There's something about Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles that just makes it difficult to get excited about. I think the most glaring problem is this: it's not fun. There's little sense of danger or feedback from the game that you're unloading hundreds of rounds on hordes of the undead. It's very sterile.

When we sat down with the game's producer, Masachika Kawata, Luke and I were pressing him for something that could get us excited to play it of our own accord. Would there be puzzles? No. Series of quick time events? Nope. There will be cut scenes, however! Ten hours of pointing and trigger pulling may be your thing, though.

I suppose the game will really appeal to those who absolutely love Resident Evil unconditionally. It's going to flesh out the storyline for those who care about the fall of the Umbrella Corporation. But it looks like it will also provide a fresh look at the series for those who are looking for arcade-style shooting using their Wii controllers. And those are both goals of Masachika Kawata, who really wants to bring in new fans.

Unfortunately, I don't really fall into either of those camps, so Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles feels like a "pass" to me.

TGS 07: Cosplay Gallery [GayGamer.net]

Ah Itagaki unmasked you say? I would sooner expect to see clear photographic evidence of the Tibetan Mountain Yeti's child fathered by the elusive Chupacabra (she doesn't care what you think, she loves him anyway). What do the linked images reveal? Nothing but a deliciously heightened mystery. From the appearance of that photo I can not even confirm that Itagaki has actual eye-spheres residing in his skull-sockets. Maybe the sockets just burn with a black fire much like Ninja Gaiden's Doku. Or perhaps you can't see his eyes because under his sunglasses he is actually just wearing another pair of sunglasses. I think the worst possible scenario is that is actually quiet a perfect image of him without his glasses, he just is that blurry. And that is super scary. The grin on the man in the second photo (Itagaki and sunglasses reunited) is suspiciously "shit eating" as well, such to suggest his collaboration in confounding the photo.

The FPS genre has slowed down in the past few years, literally. Games like Halo may be fun, but they don't have that crack on speed sense of split second intensity that the UT series has offered since its first incarnation. The major blame should probably fall on analog sticks. They just don't work as well as a mouse for extremely quick 180s to rocket jumps to sniper rifle headshots. But in UT3. the controls are extremely tight—they've clearly been given a lot of love. The razor responsive mechanics are in no way hindered by analog sticks. I don't know how that's possible—maybe we've just gotten more used to the controllers, maybe it's Epic ingenuity (and new adjustments like a rotary gun selection—but UT3 has not been slowed down and I will not be playing it with a mouse, even with that option.

Of course, UT3 wouldn't be part of the franchise without its trademark weapon set, and the amount Epic tweaks the fan favorites can make or break a game *cough* lighting gun *cough*. My personal favorite has always been the flak cannon, and it returns here with gusto. Regular fire can still kill baddies in one shot from close enough quarters, but the big difference is alternate fire. It's still an explosive grenade, but the shell seems less restricted by gravity. Still requiring trajectory calculations to strike your target, I was at one point able to bomb an enemy from...I dunno...pretty far away. After congratulating myself, I wondered how I even knew that was possible as this was my first time playing the new version.

The answer: polish. Physics explain themselves when implemented so cleanly.

The Shockrifle is another fan favorite that has been done justice. At first I didn't recognize the design. It's beefier in your hand. Precision shooting has been made easier with the weapon, something that will need tweaking for instagib fans, but as a weapon in normal play it's become far more manageable to strike opponents. Using the alternate fire, you can still shoot balls of energy, and shoot the balls for that trademark combo explosion. The combo still requires a high level of precision, which is good, since I think the explosion is bigger than before. Or maybe staring at one of the most beautiful effects I've seen in a next-gen title made the moment seem larger than life.

The one level I played had a perfect layout for killing sprees. It was so natural that I quickly found my running pattern, dominated, repeated. (The bots were on easy I think, but shhhh).

Based upon those too few minutes of play, UT3 is an absolute must buy. And based upon my projected awesomeness, it's also a must get fragged by (me).

TGS Kids Corner Totally Suitable for Kids
TGS Attendance Drops Like a Rock
Zak—Wiki Producer Talks Puzzles, Name Changes and Family Fun
My Booth Bot, My Cheerleader
The Justify Files
Resident Evil 5 Is Totally Maybe Set in Haiti We Think
Callous Booth Babe Moment: What They Really Think of You
Hudson Going After the Casual Gamers
Broomstick Controller Gets Tested
Have TGS Attendees Purchased the New PSP?
Inafune Really Wants Dead Rising 2
Eye of Judgment Online Impressions
Itagaki Unmasked
Patapon Impressions
Soul Calibur Director Katsutoshi Sasaki on Weapons, Characters and Storyline
Sony's Booth Babe Human Wave
TGS Boozecast Episode 1: Don't Call it a Podcast
Tender Booth Babe Moment: Exhaustion
Tender Booth Babe Moment: Ambassadors
Halo 3 Sitdown and New Peter Jackson Details
More PS3 Titles Coming from Everyday Shooter Creator
Locoroco Cocoreccho Hands On Impressions Beta
No Major, All Crecente
Rein Talks About his Suite (Not the Brown One)
Kotaku's TGS Party: The Pictures, The Blackmail
Every Extended Extra Extreme Impressions
Miz on Rez 2, Wii Space Channel and Al Gore
Rez HD Impressions
First Ever Hands on Impressions of Rez HD

"Hey Fred, you coming with us to march around TGS tomorrow in our Stormtrooper suits?"
"The fact that you even had to ask me questions your commitment to this project. I'll be there, but I hope that you won't."
"Today is the worst day of my life."

Also, while at TGS, we got hands on with a phone game, a phone game that had a peculiar way of saying "split." What was that peculiar way?

But who can blame attendees for a lack of interest in the 2007 flavor of TGS? The market leader didn't show up and many games were simply old news or Western focused. Despite the fact that a playable Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Online had a big presence, as did Devil May Cry 4, most attendees seemed to be taken by Wii and Nintendo DS titles—Biohazard: The Umbrella Chronicles, Final Fantasy IV, and the sequel to Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village.

Has Tokyo Game Show peaked? Unless CESA expands the thing to five days or somehow convinces Nintendo show up—or a massive shift in tastes occurs—the show may see even further declines next year.

The dial controller, in particular, brings back that arcade feeling, as the add-on has real weight to it. You'll feel the ball bearings spinning as you move Vaus, the space ship at the bottom of the screen left and right. Stylus controls aren't twitchy and felt very accurate.

The only complaint that DS fans may have is losing track of the ball as it crosses the top and bottom screens, obscured by plastic. It's not a game killing problem, but you may find yourself annoyed.

Arkanoid DS features classic arcade modes and two player options, but is also loaded with some 140 goal oriented challenges. These include smashing a number of bricks in a certain time limit, achieving a certain number of points, or destroying one particular block in a field of dozens.

The real draw, though, is in the arcade accurate experience with the new dial controller. If Taito can bring it out stateside for a reasonable price, fans may should consider picking it up. Arkanoid DS feels like a fun distraction for most, but a solid sequel for hardcore fans.

But let's focus on one thing first: the controls. What has grown to become a complicated control scheme that requires great finger dexterity has been wisely refitted to appeal to both hardcore players and those who have never played a Metal Gear game before.

How has this been accomplished? By adding context-sensitive controls and limiting most of your action to the triangle button. Walk up to a wall, an on-screen icon will show that Snake can sidle up against it. Approach a dumpster, the icon will change to show that Snake can get in. To aim, simply press L1. To fire, R1. Holding L1 then pressing triangle will bring your view to first person mode.

While the new first person mode is handy in many situations, only expert level players will have the skill and patience to play the entire game in this fashion. It's fantastic for taking out PMCs and surveying your surroundings. Any encounter that involves the game's close quarters combat, however, will pull you back in third-person. Still, for those who want to play the game through again with the intention of never being spotted may be up to the challenge.

Back to the controls, the X button changes Snake's stance. Tap it and he'll hunch over. Snake can still move around easily in this stance, keeping cover below certain objects and below the sight line of windows. Hold X a moment longer and Snake will lay down, entering the prone position and allowing him to crawl for extra stealth. This is the stance with which you'll obtain the highest level of cover and the one that will allow you to do the "inchworm", Snake's breakdancing, slow moving forward progression. During these times, you'll know exactly how well-covered you are, as your camouflage percentage is always shown in the HUD at the top right.

The rest of the button lay out includes the square button which toggles the game's auto-aim feature and the R2 and L2 buttons, which cycle through Snake's inventory. That inventory (items and weapons) can be custom designed, so you needn't outfit Snake with cigarettes for the entire Metal Gear Solid 4 experience. Very handy.

Oh yeah, for those of you who find the culturally inverted use of circle to confirm and X to cancel confusing, Payton says they're planning on addressing that for the Western release.

The HUD in MGS4 has been simplified, too. To further ease players into the game, you won't necessarily see the whole thing all at once, as the overhead radar doesn't come into play until Snake is given the new Solid Eye futuristic eye patch. There are still a few things that new players will have to familiarize themselves with. In the upper left are three meters, Snake's health, his "psyche meter" and "stress meter." The first two are simply horizontal bars, but stress is indicated as a percentage.

Snake's psyche meter will vary depending on what's occurring on the battlefield and a drop in the meter will affect his performance. The stench from dumpster diving and the intense heat of Saudi Arabia will also mentally affect Snake, giving environmental elements a bigger starring role in the way the game plays. Fortunately, Snake can calm himself with the aid of risque men's magazines and other unannounced items. Checking out one babe won't quite do it, though, as the diminishing returns from just staring at one (or a pair) will require Snake to "read" more and more of the mag.

Stress compliments the psyche meter, giving Snake a "combat high" in the thick of action. He'll increase his accuracy and take less damage as adrenaline rushes through him.

In addition to the radar view provided by the Solid Eye, Snake will have a "threat ring" around him, one that will change color based on whether enemies can detect him. It's the 3D circle that you may have seen in Kojima's walk through of the game, but it's changed slightly visually. The ring will remain white while Snake is well hidden, but will become more red as his chances of being spotted increase. Fortunately, Snake's new auto-camouflage suit and the ability to play dead can save him in a bind. And while playing possum, Snake can quickly snap into a firing position to take out an enemy.

All of these new additions make the game control much better. These changes and the simplified interface should make the game appeal much more to those not already familiar with the MGS series. Of course, the PLAYSTATION 3 game's graphics look absolutely stunning, equally as gorgeous as the game's cut scenes and promotional trailers.

One more thing to mention about the HUD is that you'll see a battery life indicator in the bottom left, below your currently equipped item (that is, if the item is the Solid Eye). This battery shows the power available to the Metal Gear Mark II and Snake's eye patch. The MG Mk. II is part of your inventory after your meeting with the petite Metal Gear and it's plenty of fun to control. It will help with field recon and non-lethally take out soldiers with its electrified arm. Like Snake, the MG Mk. II features built in camo, making the little robot virtually invisible on the field. There's no management involved with the MG Mk. II, so you won't have to return to Snake for him to recover it.

On the action front, for those who want a bit more action in their tactical action espionage, Kojima Productions delivers. Customizable weapons, a huge armory (including Javelin and Stinger missile launchers that really satisfy), and brilliant new close quarters combat moves make the game fun to play. The CQC system has been tweaked with new analog stick controls, turning quick flicks of the left stick into a takedown motion for throwing enemies to the floor. Gunplay works better than ever before with a functional auto aim system that takes advantage of the evolved camera system. Everything just seems to work.

Metal Gear Solid 4's new improvements definitely broaden the appeal of the long running marquee franchise. Having personally waned as a fan during Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, based on the excellent work the team has done to expand the audience and address many player's concerns about the complicated interface, the game is simply a must buy.

At this point, the game seems to live up to the hype. The visuals are sharp, the audio effects are unsettlingly realistic and the fourth MGS adds tight action gameplay to its stealth formula.

I am a huge fan of Mark Wilson's Justify videos, and I'm not just saying that because he makes them for Kotaku. They are genuinely funny and still manage to impart some information. This time around Wilson managed to churn out quite an eclectic mix of Justify Your whatevers including Mark Rein justifying the Epic engine... right after it crashes, Tetsuya Mizuguchi having a nervous break down as he tries to justify his Rez and a Kotaku reader justifying his cosplay outfit.

Justify Your MGS4 Cosplay
Justify Your Engine Mark Rein
Justify Your Game, MGS 4
Justify Your Xbox Holiday Lineup Takashi Sensui
Justify Your Game Everyday Shooter
Justify Your Game LittleBigPlanet
Justify Your Game, Rez

The Tecmo press party enticed us with the promise of maid waitresses in a pirate-themed bar, but made us happy by slapping these amazing DS styluses in our hands as we walked out the door.

And the Ninja Gaiden stylus doesn't just look cool, it's also serious deadly. Check, for instance, the "usage notice" on the back of the pack:

This stylus tool is only to be used for touching screens.
Do not pole or swing this stylus tool when near other people.
Do not use this stylus tool if the tip is broken or becomes dirty.
Do no over-stretch the strap.
Please close tightly after using this stylus tool.

I am so ignoring every one of those rules, well except for the dirty one.

Of course, all these phones means a huge market for cell phone games. Almost every booth I went into at TGS had some sort of cell phone game in it and in most cases five or six. Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Square Enix all had multiple mobile games attached to them. There were also booths dedicated solely to cell phone games and nothing else. It was a strange phenomenon and something I haven't seen at any other convention I've been to this year. It will be interesting to see if the cell phone games thing catches on in the U.S. the way it has here in Japan. Do you think there is a viable market for this sort of thing and would you buy an MGS or RE phone game if it was made available to you?

There was an entire hall chock full of merchandise at Tokyo Game Show: dolls, figures, toys and shirt. Mostly shirts though, tons and tons of T-shirts. While I love gaming shirts, they really have to be something special to get me to buy one. Mostly because I don't have the room in my house for anymore. When I was walking the halls last week checking out the merch this black Doki Doki Majo Shinpan shirt caught my eye.

Not only was it down right bizarre, it was for a game no one in the U.S. will probably ever seen. So yes, I bought it. What I didn't buy, though, was that shirt next to it. I mean, that's a finger there sneaking up her skirt and check out those freaked out eyes.

Sure, the waits for Biohazard: The Umbrella Chronicles (3.5 hours) and Devil May Cry 4 (just about all day) were a bit nuttier, but maybe the Japanese are warming up to Master Chief. We'll know at about 10 AM on September 27th if Halo 3 will be the 360's savior in Japan.

It sounds great on paper, perform slashing and stabbing motions with both halves of the Wii controller, using each hand to control an arm. It quickly grows tiresome when battling not only hordes of creatures, but fighting the craptastic camera as well. Many sword moves were interpreted liberally resulting in plenty of pantie revealing cartwheels. Yes, that was a complaint.

Onee Chanbara has never actually played that well, but slogging through the Wii version at Tokyo Game Show was more torturous than before. The only salvageable portions of the game—the campy blood sprays, the eyeballing of Aya, the progressively goofy kudos you get ("Sensual! Bluster! Ace!")—they're pretty much wearing thin by now. However, I will say that a zombie desperate enough to kick my ass, even if he's comprised of nothing more than some hips and a pair of legs, still gets a LOL.

Those who avoided the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 iterations may want to check it out for a laugh, but anyone looking for an action game on par with something like Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden or God of War will be disappointed. Anyone looking for a thrill should probably just tap into the terabytes of free porn available on the internet.

One of the first things you'll notice is that there are four characters unlocked from the beginning instead of just one. New costumes have been added and the interface has been made much simpler. The camera controls no longer require wild gesticulation with the Wii remote and can all be done using the d-pad to move around and the plus and minus buttons to move in and out. As far as playing controls, a new system has been implemented where an arrow appears after you make your shot to show you what mistakes you might have made. They have also improved the learning curve by creating a special club for beginners that will make perfect shots, yet will show you what you did wrong so you can improve upon it.

When I was playing the single player mode in the original, I always found it frustrating how difficult playing against the AI characters was. They always seemed to make the perfect shot and beating them, especially in the later courses, was next to impossible. In this new version, the AI has been toned down quite a bit to make it easier to earn points, win and buy those sweet outfits. And speaking of outfits, Mr. Shibata told me that not only would we be getting the previously announced Ninja Gaiden costume, but another DOA costume and a "classic Tecmo game costume." Whatever could that be?

A new party mode has been added where players can compete in such competitions as Longest Drive, Balloon Pop and Target Practice which was similar to a dart game but with golf balls. One clever bit gives other players items which they can use to distract the current player and try and mess up their shot, like a crayon to scribble on the screen or a fan to cause the wind to blow in a different direction. In keeping with the group theme, multiple save spots are also available.

Overall, the improvements will make a much better, easier to play game and with three new courses this will be a definite but for anyone who enjoyed the first one. If you're new to the series, the simpler controls will make it much easier for you to get into the game and be able to share the experience with family and friends.

So, Kobayashi, is it Haiti? Because two online articles that fired up fanboy shields and cries of racism said it appeared to be set in Africa. The initial response was simply "Who told you that?" And after laughing off a rumored alternate location ("What? Uganda?"), we finally got Kobayashi's response from the translator.

Kobayashi's answer was "I'm not working on Biohazard 5. I can't answer this question. You'll have to ask somebody else about that."

The translator helped us with the stuff between the lines. The real translation: "Don't ask me, basically. He said 'Please, ask me something about Devil May Cry.'" Damn, it's really hard to get a straight answer around here.

Regardless of the geographic setting, I expect that Resident Evil 5 is going to push some buttons and be the source of some heated debate. Racist exploitative trash or high concept metaphor wrapped in a horror-action game?

We'll have more Devil May Cry 4 details from our one-on-one with the man responsible for bringing Dante and crew to the new generation of consoles up later this week.