I paid no attention to how long the trip took, or what stations we passed, I know we went further into Chiba, passing Disneyland and IKEA along the way. Once we arrived, a brisk walk awaited through an area which reminded me very much of how I sometimes like to imagine the future. With beautiful white buildings, raised walkways, palmtrees, and a warm but not pressing temperature, it felt somewhat like a paradise.
The cenvention halls themselves were huge. Like six huge airplane hangars stuck together. By the time we had gotten through the doors our large group had long since been divided, my small splinter group warking our way quickly towards what we considered the main event of the show: the playable demo of Resident Evil 5.
There we would come to stand in line for almost three hours. After two of those hours, we had started to wonder why the line to our right (there were five of them altogether) went much faster than ours. Speculation began that perhaps it was some kind of VIP line, especially after we had noticed that the people in that line were wearing some kind of tags around their necks. When we got a good look at one of those tags, another question arose. Why did it have the words "single player game" on it?
Someone made a joke that maybe we were standing in the co-op line. Then I noticed that the people in our line were wearing tags as well, only not as many at a time, and that's why we hadn't recieved any yet. Trying to catch a glimpse at a tag worn by one of the people in front of us, I noticed the words that confirmed what had started as a joke. We were standing in the co-op line. I don't think I've ever seen Linus look as shocked as he did at that moment.
Soon thereafter, we started thinking at the whole thing from a different perspective. How many people would actually get a chance to try out the co-op mode of Resident Evil 5 this long before its release? We should consider ourselves lucky to get that opportunity. Good thing there just happened to be four of us. We quickly teamed up based on previous experience with Resident Evil games. Before long we recieved our own set of tags, and fifteen minutes after that we finally got to enter the prechamber.
An exclusive new trailer of the game awaited on a large screen, followed by an actor dressed up as one of the main characters showing up to welcome us and tell us to pay careful attention to the instruction video that would follow. Once that was done, we finally got to enter the actual playing room, which was filled with TV screens and Xbox 360s.
Taking up our places, each at their own screen, donning headphones and reaching for the controllers, anticipation was flying through the roof. The game started, and wow!! It was unbelievable! The graphics were stunning, the controller felt perfect (and I am usually not a big fan of the 360 controller), and the whole game experience just felt so fresh. I am really glad I ended up trying the co-op mode, by the way, because it was without doubt the best frecking co-op mode I have ever tried. Never before have you needed your partner this much, never before have your fates been tied together as much as they were in this game. And never before has there been this much you can do only because there are two of you.
Upon exiting the room, we were given a bandana featuring the logo of the new in-game faction. It's nothing anyone back home would recognize, of course, but still kinda cool. The whole thing was a great experience, its only downside being that the long waiting made us unable to try out everything we had wanted to in the rest of the show. Star Ocean: The Last Hope and Sonic World Adventure were among the titles I really would have wanted to try. I would also have liked to take a closer look at Ryu ga Gotoku 3 and 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de, the latter of which seems to have gotten absolutely no english language media attention at all.
But time was very limited, so alot had to be skipped. Which really made me wish I would have gone to the show on the saturday as well. Alberto was there during all four days of the show, something made possible only because of the press pass he was carrying. What I wouldn't have given for one of those.
What I did get to try my hands on included the expansion for Metal Gear Online, as well as Sonic creator Naka Yuji's highly innovative Wii title Let's Tap. Another highlight of the day was me being interviewed by the Japanese television channel NHK, about the game Monster Hunter 3. In truth I didn't really know anything about the game in question, but I wasn't about to admit that! So I improvised - and I have to say I did so very well. And I must admit the game does look interesting. Had there only been more time, I would definitely have tried it.
About the interview, I have no idea if or when they actually aired it, but I still think the experience was quite noteworthy. Good practice, either way, for the countless of interviews I expect to give in the years to come, during my rise to the position of a truly international business leader.
All too soon we witnessed the end of this year's Tokyo Game Show. Perhaps next year I'll get the chance to return, even though I will hopefully live in Hong Kong by then. On our way back to Matsudo we stopped by at IKEA, where we ate traditional swedish meatballs. We also bought swedish candy and cookies - in my case Ahlgrens bilar, Singoalla and Annas pepparkakor - before finally leaving for home again.
I would have posted a whole bunch of pictures in this post, but my camera died before the event, and I still haven't recieved the pictures from any of my friends, all of whom promised me a share of the loot. Maybe I'll post a few later on, or maybe you'll just have to do without them.
またね。
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