The Tokyo Game Show 2020 is the latest event to be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The organizers of Tokyo Game Show have announced that this year’s event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual video game show was due to take place from September 24th to 27th at the Makuhari Messe convention center just outside Tokyo, but there are now plans to hold an online event instead.
“Due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on a global scale and the situation remains unpredictable in Japan as well, the organizer and the co-organizers have reached this decision after a long consideration to place the utmost priority on the health and safety of visitors, exhibitors and stakeholders”, the event organizers stated.
The Tokyo Game Show generally offers new trailers, announcements and release dates, and was expected to draw more than 250,000 attendees this year because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Last year, the Tokyo Game Show brought gamers new trailers for Death Stranding and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
This is the first time that the Tokyo Game Show has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996, but the news is likely not a surprise to anyone. Other major video game events, including E3 and GDC, have also cancelled their plans for this year or are looking to hold digital-only conferences.
Microsoft has already started its cycle of online promotion for the Series X, earlier today showing off some of the first games running on the new hardware. Sony has been more quiet, so far only revealing the PS5’s logo and specifications.
The Tokyo Game Show online event will run Sept. 24-27.
