Earlier last month, the Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association (CESA) announced that they were officially canceling the annual Tokyo Game Show due to the worldwide effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. During this announcement, CESA also mentioned that they were already in the process of replacing the convention with an online-only event, but did not provide any details at the time. CESA has now unveiled the new online event, titled Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online, and what we can expect to see when it commences this September 23-27.
According to CESA, the Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online event will include multiple announcements from “major game makers to indie game developers” in a five day period. In addition to this, the event will also play host to some special esport tournaments which will also be livestreamed through the five days they are live. CESA did not mention which titles the esport players would be playing, but it’s more than likely that they will unveil those specifics at a later time, and that they will also provide new information about “game-related goods.”
CESA also states that the event will hold round table discussions about the newest announcements made during the show as well, which will be made available to watch for free. Normally these types of talks with developers would be reserved for special panels at the actual convention, but it’s nice to see the organization making this completely available for anyone to see around the world. The Tokyo Game Show is one of the biggest gaming events of the year and is essentially Japan’s version of E3, which was also canceled this year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online event will commence later this year over five straight days through September 23-27.