Tokyo’s Hottest Gameshow… of 1992
A Colorful Glimpse Into Gaming’s Yesteryear
The 2013 Tokyo Game Show opens today, providing hands-on gameplay and live demos of the next-generation’s most exciting titles. But before TGS news filled the Internet with screenshots, footage and gossip, gamers pored through magazines for coverage of an earlier game show event.
Long before the first TGS in 1996, Japan’s Amusement Machine Operators Union (AOU) held an event that, despite succeeding generations of technological development, appears very similar to the TGS of today.
Japanese game magazine Gamest was on the scene at the 1992 AOU Game Show, and their coverage provides an intriguing glimpse into a dimly remembered world full of excitement over a new title that would popularize an entire genre.
Crowds clamoring to catch a glimpse of next-gen graphics, screens running looped demo footage, and scantily-clad women promoting soft drinks? Tokyo Game Show has carried the AOU legacy in full.
Street Fighter II features prominently throughout the magazine, with Interpol agent Chun Li a clear favorite. The crowded Street Fighter IV tournament which kicked off this year’s TGS provides a reminder of how quickly and thoroughly a once-niche hobby has permeated the global mainstream.
As you wade through coverage of Wii U, Xbox One and Playstation 4 titles being revealed at TGS 2013, spare a thought, perhaps, for the gamers of AOU 1992. Trapped in the amber of history, they are blithely unaware of the wonders that lie before them— the steady march of progress would reduce the excitement of that year’s most dazzling titles to mere historical curiosities.
Then, consider gamers decades from now— someday, our buzz and excitement will also become a part of gaming history, with the industry, technology and market evolving in ways we can scarcely imagine. So now you know…
…and knowing is half the battle!
If you enjoyed this article, check out Old Game Magazines, which partially inspired this post!
