Everyone thought the big physical gaming expo was dead. After E3 folded and stayed in the grave, the industry vibe got kinda clinical. Everything moved to pre-recorded "Directs" and "State of Plays" where CEOs talk to cameras in empty rooms. But then the 2024 Tokyo Game Show happened at Makuhari Messe, and it basically proved that being in a crowded, loud room with a thousand strangers is still the best way to see a video game. It was massive. Over 270,000 people showed up, which is a wild jump from the previous year.
Honestly, the energy was different this time. It wasn't just about the games; it was about the tech catching up to the hype.
What the 2024 Tokyo Game Show revealed about the PlayStation 5 Pro
Sony hadn't had a real, massive booth at TGS in five years. Their return was a big deal, but let’s be real: everyone was there for the PS5 Pro. Seeing the console in person is one thing, but playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on it is another. The "Enhanced" version of the game actually fixes that blurry mess in Performance Mode that everyone complained about at launch.
The console is pricey. You've probably seen the discourse online about the $700 price tag. At the show, the chatter wasn't about the cost as much as it was about the "PSSR" (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution). It’s Sony’s answer to Nvidia’s DLSS. Does it work? Yeah, mostly. In Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, the details on the fur and the city backgrounds looked incredibly sharp while maintaining a high frame rate. But is it a "must-buy" for the casual gamer? Probably not yet. It’s for the enthusiasts who can’t stand a single frame drop.
Capcom also brought the heat. Monster Hunter Wilds had lines that were, frankly, ridiculous. If you didn't have a timed entry pass within the first ten minutes of the doors opening, you weren't playing it. Period. The game is dense. The weather effects—like the lightning storms that change the ecosystem in real-time—showed exactly why this game isn't coming to the Nintendo Switch. It’s too heavy. It needs that current-gen muscle.
Microsoft’s weird, charming persistence
Xbox is in a strange spot in Japan. Historically, they've struggled. But at the 2024 Tokyo Game Show, their digital broadcast was actually pretty great because it leaned into Japanese developers. They announced Starcraft: Remastered and Starcraft II coming to Game Pass, which was a nice surprise, but the real meat was seeing Metaphor: ReFantazio and more Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
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They know they won't win the hardware war in Tokyo. So they’re selling the service. Putting Age of Mythology: Retold on a console and showing it off to a Japanese audience felt like a strategic play to capture the growing PC gaming market in Japan. Because, believe it or not, PC gaming is exploding there right now. Valve’s Steam Deck had a massive presence, and you see people on the Yamanote line playing on handheld PCs more than ever before.
The indie scene stole the show (again)
Walking through the "Selected Indie 80" section is always a highlight. This is where the weird stuff lives. I saw games that use physical rotary phones as controllers and others that are basically just interactive poetry.
- All in Abyss: Judge the Fake was a standout. It’s a "detective adventure" that feels very Danganronpa but with a more gritty, low-fi aesthetic.
- The "SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT" event continues to be the heart of the show. It’s where developers pitch ideas that sound insane but actually work.
- One dev showed a game where you control a character's heartbeat to sneak past monsters. If your real-world pulse (via a sensor) gets too high, you lose. It's stressful. It's brilliant.
The 2024 Tokyo Game Show wasn't just about the AAA giants. It was about the fact that 985 exhibitors from 44 countries showed up. That’s a record. It shows that Japan is no longer just a "domestic market" for Japanese games; it’s the global hub for everyone from small Brazilian studios to giant Chinese publishers like NetEase and Hoyoverse.
Speaking of Hoyoverse...
The Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail booths were essentially temples. The production value was higher than some actual amusement parks. They had massive statues, professional cosplayers that looked like they walked off a movie set, and a constant stream of fans. It’s clear that the center of gravity in the "live service" world has shifted toward these massive, high-budget titles coming out of Shanghai, and TGS is where they show their dominance over the traditional Japanese giants.
The tech you didn't see on the posters
VR/AR is in a "quiet growth" phase. It’s not the hype-beast it was a few years ago, but the tech is getting better. The Meta Quest 3 had a strong showing with Triangle Strategy getting a VR version. It sounds weird to play a tactical RPG in VR, but seeing the "HD-2D" world like a literal diorama on your table is actually a very cool use of the tech.
Then there’s the AI stuff. Look, "AI" is a buzzword that usually means nothing, but at the 2024 Tokyo Game Show, some booths were showing off AI-driven NPC dialogue. You could actually talk into a mic, and the character would respond somewhat naturally. It’s still janky. It’s still a bit "uncanny valley." But you can see where this is going. In five years, your RPG companions might actually remember that you accidentally sold their favorite sword.
A shift in how we play
One of the biggest takeaways from the floor was the sheer number of mobile games that are "cross-platform" now. The line between a "phone game" and a "console game" is basically gone. You play Zenless Zone Zero on your PC at home, and then you continue on the train. The 2024 Tokyo Game Show reflected this by having gaming chairs and high-end monitors at booths that were technically showcasing mobile titles.
What you should actually do now
If you’re a gamer or someone looking at the industry, the 2024 Tokyo Game Show was a signal fire. The "Wait and See" era of the post-pandemic world is over. Companies are betting big again.
- Check your PC specs. A huge chunk of the games shown—especially the "China Hero Project" titles and Capcom’s lineup—are pushing hardware limits. If you’re still on a GTX 1080, it’s time to move on.
- Watch the "indie" space for 2025 releases. Many of the games that had tiny booths this year will be the "viral hits" on Steam in six months. Keep an eye on titles like The Scramble Vice if you like retro-mecha vibes.
- Don't ignore the PS5 Pro features. Even if you aren't buying the console, the PSSR tech is going to influence how games are optimized on PC and the next "Switch 2."
- Plan for TGS 2025. If you ever wanted to go, start saving. The 2024 show proved that the physical event is back to its peak 2019 levels of intensity.
The 2024 Tokyo Game Show reminded us that gaming isn't just a software business. It's a culture. Seeing thousands of people wait three hours just to play 15 minutes of a new game might seem crazy to outsiders, but it’s that passion that keeps the industry moving when everything else feels a bit corporate and stale.
The most important thing to remember is that the "Japanese Renaissance" in gaming is still going strong. From Sega bringing back Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii to the sheer polish of Monster Hunter, the creative momentum is firmly in the East right now. If you aren't paying attention to these developers, you're missing out on the best the medium has to offer.