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Report. Tokyo Game Market
improvisation and mini- malism also were typical elements. And the im- pact of anime and man- ga on the design of orig- inally Japanese games was conspicuous. An eye-catcher were the red Torii to the Creators’ Al- ley, which were modeled on the real entrance gates to shrines.
People applauded at the official opening time at noon and when the halls were about to close. And people clapped for other rea- sons as well: after trying out games, and during a series of talks and dis- cussions on a stage.
I International guest speakers Although the TGM
is mainly an event with Japanese exhibitors with Japanese products for Japanese visitors, the organizers also made ef- forts to create an inter- national flair. This was proven by the booths of companies from Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, the U.S., and Canada; Ravensburger was rep- resented as well, by Brio Japan.
Beyond this, Kensuke
Suzuki, section manager of the sales and Game Market team of Arclight, em- phasized: “We did not want to leave the TGM as just a ‘Market’ where you come to buy and sell board games, but rather see it as a fun event for board games. Hav- ing guest speakers on our stage to talk about their perspective on game design and answer questions from fans is part of this effort to show how diverse the board game hobby truly is.” And when he attended the SPIEL in Essen, Suzuki was also able to invite international guests to give presentations on the TGM stage— for instance, Friedemann Friese, from 2F-Spiele, which gave him the chance to attend the fair in Japan for the first time.
On Saturday afternoon, the audience attentively listened to Friese’s talk about his development as a game designer and
publisher; many people knew his games and asked questions in the discussion that followed—for more than an hour. And here, he even announced, “for the first time worldwide,” as he said, that new expansions of his game Powergrid, which has also been successful in Japan, will be released at the SPIEL in Essen this October: Manhattan/Bremen and Outpost.
On Sunday, Vincent Dutrait also got a chance to give an extensive talk on this forum. The renowned French illustrator, who is living in Korea, said that his style is greatly influenced by the beautiful nat- ural scenery of East Asia, but he also em- phasized that the graphic design should appeal to people across countries, cul- tures, and ages; and he sees the cover as a “window into the game world.” Asked
about the increasing use of Artificial Intelli- gence, he commented that it should not be strictly demonized, but that one should still pri- marily have confidence in the creative work of humans.
Saashi, designer and publisher of Saashi & Saashi, sees himself as a connector between the markets: “When I decided to design my own games for release, I didn’t design them exclusively for Japanese players. From the begin- ning, I planned to sell in Japan and abroad.”
The other way around, several Japanese pub- lishers have been spe- cializing in releasing western games in Jap- anese editions; often, they keep the graphic
design and just add instructions and the box text in Japanese, and sometimes, they even leave the western writing of the title.
For all those interested in western games, the booth of “The Really Fun World of Euro Games,” sponsored by Ten Days Games and Möbius Games— both being Japanese companies that include distribution and shop and focus on the localization of eurogames—was a worthwhile place to go. An expert team explained many Spiele des Jahres (from Catan to Dorfromantik: The Board Game) to the visitors, so that these were able to play them right there. And the team members knew the spielbox and also BoardGameGeek (BGG); Ken Shoda proudly demonstrated his “BoardGame- Geek #13” shirt, the back of which identi-
Guests in Tokyo, among others: Friedemann Friese and Vincent Dutrait (top, from the left). At “The Really Fun World of Euro Games” (middle), volunteers (bottom left) explained awarded European games. The Japanese company Saashi & Saashi presented its sought-after new release Bus & Stop (bottom right).
Photos: Bruce Whitehill