by AKMAR ANNUAR / pic source: tgs.nikkeibp.co.jp
MALAYSIA External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) brings Malaysian gaming industry players to Asia’s largest games exhibition, Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2022, after a two-year hiatus, from Sept 15-18, 2022, at Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan.
Matrade’s director of electrical and electronics, ICT, machinery and equipment section Naim Abdul Rahman said in a statement that Matrade will lead the participation of 10 Malaysian game developers and animation studios in TGS 2022.
More than 600 exhibitors will be participating at TGS 2022, including major players such as Asus Japan, Square Enix Holdings Co Ltd, Konami Group Corp, Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc, Capcom Co Ltd and Sega/Atlus.
Japan remains Malaysia’s fourth largest trading partner with total trade amounting to US$36.14 billion (RM163.6 billion) last year. For the period of January-July this year, total trade with Japan grew by 12.7% to US$23.53 billion.
“All 10 Malaysian companies will promote their services and expertise in creative content, game development and publishing, animation outsourcing production, as well as creative intellectual property (IP) development.
“Among the game titles to be featured by them are SIMULACRA 3, The Company Man 2, Sky Age, 3:33, Zombie Soup, Iteno and an animation IP, known as Biji,” added Naim.
He reflected that the good quality content and capabilities in games art, animation, co-development and IP commercialisation that these companies offer could be well received by Japanese gamers, publishers, developers, media and influencers.
Matrade’s trade commissioner in Tokyo, Niqman Rafaee Mohd Sahar, shared that five Malaysian companies have registered for a play trial which allows TGS visitors to experience new games through video streaming and trial play.
“Japan is the hub for gaming in Asia, dubbed as one of the largest gaming markets in the world, with a size of US$22.1 billion. Demand for games in Japan is driven primarily by the presence of over 75 million players including online gamers,” he said.
One of the five registered companies has been nominated for TGS Selected Indie Showcase Award which will be announced during the exhibition.
The global gaming market shows high potential growth in the future as a result of the dramatic increase in demand for new games and cross-platform play.