Today is Saturday here in Japan, and it’s technically the third day of the 2011 Tokyo Game Show. But the first two days are business and press only. So they don’t count. Saturday is when the gates are thrown open to the sweaty masses, and with sticky humidity and tens of thousands of people ready to pour into the Makahari Messe, the masses certainly are sweaty.
To give you an idea of not just the crowds, but the brilliant way they’re so well behaved given the conditions and time in line, this section of attendees has already snaked their way around most of a city block, and are still a few hundred metres from getting in. Where they’ll then have to navigate the hordes just so they can wait in line for at least an hour to play a game for 5-8 minutes.
In total, the average paying customer here today will spend 6-7 hours here, yet are only realistically be able to play 3-5 games, totalling no more than 20-25 minutes of gameplay time. But here they are, braving the heat and the elbows in the ribs regardless. Soldier on, kids!
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