While it’s nice that public events and gaming expos are making a comeback post-pandemic, the latest Tokyo Game Show attendance numbers are expected.

According to the official press release, organizers CESA (Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association) reported that 2022’s show had a total attendance of 138,192 visitors. For comparison, that is half the 262,076 visitors in 2019’s show before the global pandemic.

These drops in numbers are expected due to restrictions on younger visitors and Japan’s continued restrictions regarding foreign tourists, business persons, and foreign media. See, attendees of TGS 2022 were required to pay a fee to get their travel documents and permission letters sorted by CESA and a country’s embassy, in addition to the media accreditation details. Apart from that, CESA was selling a limited amount of tickets due to keeping in line with Japan’s government policies regarding COVID-19 and expos.

Long story short, Japan’s continued COVID travel restrictions have impacted TGS 2022’s visitor numbers, as the country is still not fully open to overseas visitors.

There is a silver lining to this: international publications who covered TGS 2022 online and from home during the week of 12th September all the way to 18th September did get a lot of news and features out and about. At least on our end, Kakuchopurei has experienced a huge surge in viewership numbers in that week, breaking past the one million unique views mark for its website and YouTube channel platforms combined.

Sure, it’s not quite the same as being at the event in an offline capacity, but it’s better than nothing.