, commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The main focus of the show is on Japanese games, but some international video game developers use it to showcase upcoming releases/related hardware. The duration of the event is four days. The first two days of Tokyo Game Show are open only to industry attendees (business) and the general public can attend during the final two days. History The first Tokyo Game Show was held in 1996. From 1996 to 2002, the show was held twice a year: once in the Spring and once in Autumn (in the Tokyo Big Sight). Since 2002, the show has been held once a year. It attracts more visitors every year. 2011’s show hosted over 200,000 attendees and the 2012 show bringing in 223,753. The busiest TGS was in 2016 with 271,224 people in attendance and 614 companies had exhibits. The event has been held annually since 1996 and was never canceled, however the 2020 and 2021 editions were online only as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 edition returned to in-person exhibits. The 20th anniversary of TGS was celebrated in 2016. The 2016 attendance record was topped by 2018's attendance of 298,690 people. Layout The TGS layout varies per year. Such as in 2015, Tokyo Game Show showcased 11 exhibition areas consisting of business, general public, education and other areas to buy merchandise. General Exhibition The General Exhibition Area is the heart of the show, taking up the largest amount of space, and is held where digital gaming entertainment or any related products or services are showcased. Many well-known companies such as Namco Bandai, Capcom, Sony Computer Entertainment and Square Enix have demo areas here, in addition to emerging companies. Game Device This area covers gaming devices such as headphones, controllers, furniture and other devices associated with home-use gaming consoles and portable gaming devices. Asia New Stars An exhibition introduced at the 2012 Tokyo Game Show is geared towards introducing emerging game developers from Asia. Merchandise Sales This area is designated for merchandising of game-related goods. Vendors include Konami and Square-Enix. Smartphone and social games This area focuses on games for smart devices (smartphones and tablets) and social games. Despite record numbers