(September 28, 2006) — Excitement filled the 2006 Tokyo Gameshow held in the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan; the show it brought out 160,000 attendees ready to see the next-generation of gaming. It lasted three days and overall acted to attract customers, tantalize consumers and reassure some reluctant investors. The show started with powerful announcements regarding Microsoft’s next generation Xbox 360. Already a year old, the 360 has fallen victim to the hard-to-please consumers of Japan and performed less than adequate in the land of the rising sun. Microsoft assured its stockholders and consumers that they were committed to gaining more market share in the uninterested country by announcing a slew of great, exclusive games such as Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon (both targeted to attract the Japanese). Mistwalker, a development studio in Japan from the makers of the fan-favorite Final Fantasy series, is producing both games. A playable version of Gears of War , an upcoming game with a mountain of hype, helped to bombard fans with a torrent of exclusive and triple-A content. Aside from the software, Microsoft attacked with hardware as well, showing off their Vision Camera, which is essentially a web camera for the Xbox 360 that is used in various games to better immerse game players. More importantly, Microsoft showed off their HD-DVD attachment for Xbox 360. The add-on promises to help the Xbox 360 keep up with Sony’s rival Playstation 3 by giving the 360 capabilities to play High Definition movies on another new format. Sony led the second and third day with their own exciting information. Sony’s new Playstation 3 has received huge amounts of criticism for the exorbitant price of its new console; $500 and $600 price points for the entry level machine and pro-level machine, respectively, left a sour taste in the mouth of many gamers who couldn’t spend nearly $1000 on a console. Sony listened to the pleas of many video gamers all around the world and announced a 20 percent price cut for the entry level Playstation 3 in Japan, which will be attainable for only $430. They also announced that Japan would not receive the Playstation 3 in December, destroying the hopes of a simultaneous worldwide launch. Sony also offered a stellar software library for the Playstation 3, showing off games for almost every genre. Gran Turismo HD was shown and is being heralded by fans of the series to be less of a game and more of a simulator, featuring the most realistic driving physics available in any software to date. The visuals rival those of real life cars and act as a poster-child for the next generation visual onslaught . Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was also shown off. The game’s developer, Konami, released a new trailer. The trailer was truly the star of the entire Tokyo Game Show. The trailer was visually stunning and showcased the games’ amazing game play and acted to further tease fans who have to wait until the end of 2007 to experience it.