As final proof that the computer gaming community has come of age, I submit this evidence – a recent snapshot of the most popular articles on the gaming web site Kotaku.

On the way to Tokyo I stopped at Shizuoka.  Near Higashi-Shizuoka railway station they’ve assembled a giant Gundam robot.  All hail our new robotic overlords.

In Tokyo I visited the Tokyo Game Show, the biggest computer games expo in the world.

I visited the expo in 2008 when I lived in Japan.  I used to write for a Japanese tourist magazine so I was able to get a press pass and go on the industry-only days.  That was a lot less crowded than the days the expo is open to the public.

There are lots of games (console, PC, mobile phone, iPad, etc) on display, but most of the games involve a couple of hours of lining up to get to play them.  I didn’t line up.  Instead I wandered around and took lots of photos.

On the public days lots of people come to cosplay – dressing up in elaborate costumes representing characters from computer games and anime.  This year there were even quite a few foreigners who had dressed up.

Apparently the Special Forces recommends Calorie Mate for dieting…

There was a person inside this dog suit.

Japanese motorcycle gangs aren’t quite as scary as the Hell’s Angels…

A really interesting talk about using the psychology of game design, games and social networking, external rewards, and how games are going to be everywhere in the future.

http://www.sirlin.net/blog/2010/2/22/external-rewards-and-jesse-schells-amazing-lecture.html