ID :
142433
Fri, 09/17/2010 - 00:43
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https://www.oananews.org//node/142433
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Tokyo Game Show opens, features motion-sensor gadgets, smart phones
CHIBA, Japan, Sept. 16 Kyodo -
The world's top gaming event, the Tokyo Game Show 2010, opened Thursday in
Chiba Prefecture, featuring new sensory gaming system and controllers, while
game titles for smart phones emerged as one of main exhibits.
During the four-day expo, which is marking its 20th anniversary, more than 190
game-related companies worldwide will showcase about 700 latest game titles and
items, according to the event organizer, the Computer Entertainment Suppliers'
Association.
Some of the highlights in this year's expo include hands-on experience of new
controllers for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s PlayStation 3 as well as a
motion-sensor game unit from Microsoft Corp. which enables players to play
games without using controllers.
SCE has said it expects to launch its Move motion and single-hand navigation
controllers for the PS3 in Japan on Oct. 21, while Microsoft plans to release
the new game system Kinect on Nov. 20.
By releasing user-friendly new game systems, the two companies aim to appeal to
a wide range of people from children to the elderly, whom the front-runner
Nintendo Co. has succeeded in attracting through sales of its Wii game
consoles, analysts said.
In the expo, Microsoft took the wraps off its upcoming game titles being
developed by Japanese creators to be played on Xbox 360 and Kinect.
''The concepts we saw here in Japan were inspired, unique, and unlike anything
we have seen before,'' said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft
Game Studios, in a keynote speech.
''Because of the challenges in today's market, they (the creators) feel they
have to play safe with their game concepts in order to get their games
published,'' he said.
''So we suggested a new path to success. We asked Japanese creators to bring us
the wildest, craziest ideas,'' he added.
An SCE official, meanwhile, introduced software which players can scribble on a
television screen.
''Players will be able to enter the game space and enjoy playing it
intuitively,'' the official said.
Whether the new products can be successful depends on ''their pricing and the
diversity of software,'' said Etsuko Tamura, an analyst in the Research
Division of Mizuho Investors Securities Co., noting that a Kinect sensor which
needs to be connected with the Xbox 360 will be sold at a retail price of
14,800 yen, while the Nintendo Wii console is priced at 20,000 yen.
This year's game show comes before the release of a new model of Nintendo's DS
handheld game console in Japan during the financial year through March 2011
that will allow players to see three-dimensional images without the use of
special glasses.
The domestic game market has been shrinking for two consecutive years after
hitting a peak in 2007, according to game magazine publisher Enterbrain Inc.
But Enterbrain President Hirokazu Hamamura expressed a view that the market
will likely pick up, saying, ''The market is expected to be on a recovering
trend with the launch of new games.''
Nintendo is not taking part in the game show, and it has not announced the
launch date or price of the Nintendo 3DS console. But new titles that can be
played on its Wii console are being displayed by software makers.
Meanwhile, many game titles for mobile and smart phones as well as the iPad
multimedia tablet computer released by Apple Inc. are also being displayed amid
the increasing popularity of mobile phone games.
Reflecting the trend, the section showcasing games specifically for mobile
platforms such as the iPhone is being set up for the first time.
In a bid to attract more visitors from Asia, the expo held a business forum
that will gather for the first time Asian gaming industry experts and
businessmen to discuss the future of the game market in the region, the
organizer said.
In the forum, a leader of a South Korean game company expressed a view that
China will be the biggest game market.
The expo will also provide an opportunity for software makers and others to
engage in business talks aimed at selling licenses and forming alliances, it
said.
As in the previous year, the first two days will be open to the media and
people involved in the gaming business and the latter two will be for the
general public.
This year's expo is scheduled to have 1,458 booths and expected to draw 180,000
game fans, according to the organizer.
==Kyodo
The world's top gaming event, the Tokyo Game Show 2010, opened Thursday in
Chiba Prefecture, featuring new sensory gaming system and controllers, while
game titles for smart phones emerged as one of main exhibits.
During the four-day expo, which is marking its 20th anniversary, more than 190
game-related companies worldwide will showcase about 700 latest game titles and
items, according to the event organizer, the Computer Entertainment Suppliers'
Association.
Some of the highlights in this year's expo include hands-on experience of new
controllers for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s PlayStation 3 as well as a
motion-sensor game unit from Microsoft Corp. which enables players to play
games without using controllers.
SCE has said it expects to launch its Move motion and single-hand navigation
controllers for the PS3 in Japan on Oct. 21, while Microsoft plans to release
the new game system Kinect on Nov. 20.
By releasing user-friendly new game systems, the two companies aim to appeal to
a wide range of people from children to the elderly, whom the front-runner
Nintendo Co. has succeeded in attracting through sales of its Wii game
consoles, analysts said.
In the expo, Microsoft took the wraps off its upcoming game titles being
developed by Japanese creators to be played on Xbox 360 and Kinect.
''The concepts we saw here in Japan were inspired, unique, and unlike anything
we have seen before,'' said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft
Game Studios, in a keynote speech.
''Because of the challenges in today's market, they (the creators) feel they
have to play safe with their game concepts in order to get their games
published,'' he said.
''So we suggested a new path to success. We asked Japanese creators to bring us
the wildest, craziest ideas,'' he added.
An SCE official, meanwhile, introduced software which players can scribble on a
television screen.
''Players will be able to enter the game space and enjoy playing it
intuitively,'' the official said.
Whether the new products can be successful depends on ''their pricing and the
diversity of software,'' said Etsuko Tamura, an analyst in the Research
Division of Mizuho Investors Securities Co., noting that a Kinect sensor which
needs to be connected with the Xbox 360 will be sold at a retail price of
14,800 yen, while the Nintendo Wii console is priced at 20,000 yen.
This year's game show comes before the release of a new model of Nintendo's DS
handheld game console in Japan during the financial year through March 2011
that will allow players to see three-dimensional images without the use of
special glasses.
The domestic game market has been shrinking for two consecutive years after
hitting a peak in 2007, according to game magazine publisher Enterbrain Inc.
But Enterbrain President Hirokazu Hamamura expressed a view that the market
will likely pick up, saying, ''The market is expected to be on a recovering
trend with the launch of new games.''
Nintendo is not taking part in the game show, and it has not announced the
launch date or price of the Nintendo 3DS console. But new titles that can be
played on its Wii console are being displayed by software makers.
Meanwhile, many game titles for mobile and smart phones as well as the iPad
multimedia tablet computer released by Apple Inc. are also being displayed amid
the increasing popularity of mobile phone games.
Reflecting the trend, the section showcasing games specifically for mobile
platforms such as the iPhone is being set up for the first time.
In a bid to attract more visitors from Asia, the expo held a business forum
that will gather for the first time Asian gaming industry experts and
businessmen to discuss the future of the game market in the region, the
organizer said.
In the forum, a leader of a South Korean game company expressed a view that
China will be the biggest game market.
The expo will also provide an opportunity for software makers and others to
engage in business talks aimed at selling licenses and forming alliances, it
said.
As in the previous year, the first two days will be open to the media and
people involved in the gaming business and the latter two will be for the
general public.
This year's expo is scheduled to have 1,458 booths and expected to draw 180,000
game fans, according to the organizer.
==Kyodo
