Tokyo Game Show 2012: all the highlights
Kingdom Hearts 1.5, Monster Hunter 4, God Eater 2, and more.
This year’s Tokyo Game Show has come and gone. There was a lot to get excited about, and understandably, it’s possible you could have missed out on a good lot of it. But don’t worry, we’ve got it covered! Find below a summary of everything that’s anything from this year’s show. And look forward to tomorrow, when one of our readers who attended the show will share his experience.
Game Announcements
- Demon Tribe – a new game about (you guessed it!) demons from Sega likely for Wii U, PlayStation Vita, and PSP.
- Dream Club 5 (tentative) – the fifth Dream Club game, due in 2013.
- Dream Club Zero Special Edipyon! – a PlayStation 3 port of Xbox 360‘s Dream Club Zero featuring a new character.
- God Eater 2 – a PlayStation Vita version of Namco Bandai’s anticipated RPG sequel was announced to launch day and date with the PSP version in 2013.
- Gundam Breaker – the first game in a new series of Gundam titles pitting plastic Gundam model against plastic Gundam model, due for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in 2013.
- Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix – a high-definition update of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories for PlayStation 3. It will include a theater mode where players can watch high-definition cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. A trailer was released a day after the show ended.
- Macross 30 – a 30th anniversary celebration of the Macross franchise due in 2013.
- Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus – a PlayStation Vita port of PlayStation 3’s Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 slated for early 2013, details surrounding possible enhancements have not been shared.
- Oboro Muramasa – a PlayStation Vita port of Wii‘s 2009 action RPG Muramasa: The Demon Blade, due March 28, 2013 in Japan.
- Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus – the first Senran Kagura game, a series which has since only appeared on 3DS, for PlayStation Vita, due February 28, 2013 in Japan.
- Toukiden – a new IP from Tecmo Koei for PlayStation Vita and PSP due in 2013, featuring cross-platform play.
- Valhalla Knights 3 – a sequel to K2’s Valhalla Knights 2, which launched worldwide for PSP in 2008/9, due for PlayStation Vita in early 2013 in Japan.
- Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z – a Keiji Inafune-lead, Spark Unlimited and Team Ninja-developed spin-off to the Ninja Gaiden series for unannounced consoles, it follows a ninja called Yaiba, who is pursuing Ninja Gaiden hero Ryu Hayabusa.
Tokyo Game Show
- The CESA announced the winners of this year’s Japan Game Awards.
- This year’s Tokyo Game Show broke attendance records. Next year’s show was dated.
- Monster Hunter 4 was dated for a March 2013 release on 3DS in Japan.
- A nearly 3-minute long Tokyo Game Show trailer was released.
- Media recorded off-screen gameplay footage of the title.
- Capcom one-upped media with 20 minutes of direct-feed footage.
- Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto explainedMonster Hunter 4‘s 3DS exclusivity.
- In addition to the insect cane, a second new weapon was confirmed.
Tales of Xillia 2
- Preliminary details about the Tokyo Game Show floor demo were shared.
- A third trailer was released before the show kicked off.
- Series producer Hideo Baba walks us through the floor demo (in English).
- One attendee makes it to the end of the demo, and fights a dragon thing.
- A fourth trailer is released days after the third, and additional details are shared.
Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online for Wii U
- Square Enix details the Wii U version of Dragon Quest X at the Tokyo Game Show, teases release date announcement for Sunday.
- During a Sunday stage event, Square Enix says it is planning a spring 2013 launch for the Wii U MMORPG.
God Eater 2
- Following its PlayStation Vita announcement, Namco Bandai went live with a new trailer.
- Because one new trailer wasn’t good enough, it released another hours later.
- A gameplay demonstration from a God Eater 2 stage event surfaced on Saturday.
Toki to Towa
- A second trailer was shared at the start of the show.
- Imageepoch CEO Ryoei Mikage confirmed an English release in 2013.
- The second volume of Toki to Towa‘s series of short story trailers went live.
- A stage event was held on Sunday, and flashed many ecchi photos of Toki and Towa as it closed.
Yakuza 5
- Yakuza 5 was dated for December 6 in Japan. Pre-order rewards were announced. Two trailers were shared.
- Off-screen gameplay footage of the floor demo was recorded.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
- Before the show, Konami announced it’s canceled the Xbox 360 version of Rising in Japan, making it a PlayStation 3-exclusive in the country.
- Three new enemies were introduced.
- A Tokyo Game Show trailer was released, showcasing stealth and new enemies.
- A 15-minute video of the floor demo was recorded and posted online.
Phantasy Star Online 2
- The first footage of the PlayStation Vita version was recorded on the Tokyo Game Show floor.
- Trailers for the PS Vita version, smartphone version, and PC version went live. Also, PS Vita screenshots.
- A new batch of screenshots for the smartphone version was released.
- A new trailer for Fantasy Life, Level-5 and Brownie Brown‘s upcoming 3DS RPG, was released.
- Trailers are never enough, so 4Gamer recorded four minutes of gameplay footage.
- New trailers for Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney and Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies were shared.
- And some new screenshots.
- Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino said he’d like to make a Castle in the Sky video game.
Namco Bandai
- 2nd Super Robot Wars OG was showcased in-depth during its Tokyo Game Show stage.
- Dark Souls’ ‘Artorias of the Abyss’ DLC was dated for consoles.
- Digimon Adventure received its debut trailer, nostalgia included. Screenshots were shared earlier.
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle introduced new characters and voice actors in a new trailer.
- Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic received its debut trailer.
- Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 went epic with a new trailer highlighting Naruto’s Nine Tails battle.
- Tales of Xillia 1 received its first batch of English screenshots.
- The opening movie for Project X Zone was released, and localization was teased.
Capcom
- Ace Attorney 5 received its first trailer. No objections!
- Remember Me‘s combo customization system was detailed, given video walkthrough.
- Dragon’s Dogma was announced to receive its first major expansion, ‘Dark Arisen’, in 2013.
- DmC Devil May Cry was given a new trailer and screenshots, showing a new weapon for Dante.
- E.X. Troopers receive a new trailer.
- Okami HD was dated for October 30.
- The first screenshots of the English version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for 3DS were shared.
Sony
- A super slim PlayStation 3 model was announced. It will launch worldwide next month.
- PlayStation Plus is coming to PlayStation Vita in October.
- PlayStation Vita will receive Cosmic Red and Sapphire Blue color options in Japan.
- The PlayStation Store will get a new look to coincide with the launch of PS3 super slim.
- A new trailer and screenshots were released for Puppeteer.
- The first trailer for the PS3 version of Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational was released.
- A direct-feed walkthrough of Soul Sacrifice was shared.
- Keiichiro Toyama looks to be teasing a Gravity Rush sequel.
Other Bits
- Arc System Works revealed Xblaze, a 2013-due adventure game.
- Bayonetta 2 wouldn’t exist without Nintendo, according to PlatinumGames.
- Final Fantasy XIV received a new trailer, featuring footage from the PlayStation 3 version.
- Gust debuted the first trailer for Atelier Totori Plus: The Adventurer of Arland.
- Hatsune Miku Project DIVA F is planned for early 2013 on PS3.
- Injustice: Gods Among Us was dated for April 2013.
- Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes has many open worlds and zero loading screens.
- NIS America announced European localization for Persona 4 Golden and North American and European localizations for Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory and Generation of Chaos: Pandora’s Reflection.
- Omega Force teased a new project, which looks like it could be a Dynasty Warriors game.
- Shin Megami Tensei IV‘s second trailer was shown before the start of the show. An extended version of this trailer was shown at Sega’s booth during the event.