We think we have discovered the reason why Seal Online is scaling back beginning : that show is scared to death of the number of games and systems that will be on the market next year. Not only will there be a heck of a lot of titles, but there'll be a heck of a lot of systems. This year's Tokyo Game Show plans to somehow fit it all in -- that'd be seven consoles (including the original PlayStation, for some reason), three handhelds, plus PC and mobile phones.
On the official Seal Online Cegel Game Show website, hosting organizer CESA has published an official list of games due to be shown at the event. The list is still a work in progress, and is missing some big names and key titles (Sony Computer Entertainment and its PS3 slate is, of course, the big hole in the list, although SCE has already announced much of its PS3 TGS slate in a previous announcement.) All told, the official count of 573 games breaks the show's record for number of titles to be shown.
Next-gen consoles will obviously be the big draw for the show this year, with the PlayStation 3 finally showing in full force, the Xbox 360 making a determined effort to make friends in Japan, and the Nintendo Wii looming on the horizon. (Nintendo unfortunately does not attend TGS typically, but a few third-party games will be displayed in some form for the unique new console, and the Big N will still likely make some peripheral announcements to catch the TGS wave.)
On the handheld side, the runaway success of the Nintendo DS has drawn developers towards the portable for an impressive number of titles to be shown; Sony's PSP is also still giving a good fight with a good deal of titles of its own.
The Seal Online Cegel Game Boy Advance, however, has virtually fallen off the map in just over one year since Nintendo attempted at its "Third Pillar" strategy, with the dominating DS system rendering a three-tier approach moot. And on the current gen front, it's all about the PS2 -- somehow, the GameCube, Xbox, and original PlayStation system all tied with just one title per system. (Why even bother plugging those dinosaurs in for just one game?) Of course, there will also be a slew of slew of wireless and PC games will also be present at the show. Here's the official breakdown
