The organisers of the Tokyo Game Show have announced that this year’s event has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TGS 2020 was scheduled to take place from 24 to 27 September at the Makuhari Messe convention centre just outside of Tokyo, Japan. Now, the organisers are planning to host an online event instead.
The Verge reports that this is the first-ever time TGS has faced cancellation since the convention began in 1996. Sadly, this news won’t come as a surprise to anyone. Almost every in-person gaming event this year has been struck from the calendar, including E3 and Gamescom, the biggest shows in the US and Europe respectively.
TGS 2020 was likely to have gained a great deal of attention this year in comparison to an average year because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles in the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5.
Both systems are set to go on sale this holiday season, but the opportunities to see them in person ahead of their release are probably going to be more limited than usual.
Microsoft has already started its cycle of online promotion for the Series X, earlier today showing off some of the first games running on the new hardware. Sony has been quieter, so far only revealing the PS5’s logo, specifications, and controller.
The Show Goes Digital
The management company behind the show has announced that instead of a physical event, the Tokyo Game Show will be a solely online affair this year. Here’s a bit from the announcement, edited slightly for clarity by Games Radar.
“Due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on a global scale and the unpredictable situation in Japan, the organizer and the co-organizers have reached this decision after much consideration to place the utmost priority on the health and safety of visitors, exhibitors, and stakeholders. We ask for your kind understanding and cooperation.”
Despite the cancellation of the live event, it is good news that the show will be happening in some capacity. E3, for example, was cancelled without any straightforward digital replacement. Instead, it was largely left up to studios to arrange their own events in E3 2020’s wake.
