What kind of event is “TOKYO SANDBOX”, an international event for indie game developers? I asked the organizer about the purpose of the event.

The international indie game event “2018 TOKYO SANDBOX” will be held at Asakusabashi Hulic Hall from April 13th (Friday) to April 15th (Sunday).

“TOKYO SANDBOX” is an event that aims to connect game companies and game startups with international investors and publishers, and started in 2015 as a small game show called “Tokyo Indie Fest.”

As an international indie game event held in Tokyo, it has been highly praised by entrepreneurs, investors, and publishers from Japan and abroad, and this year, the event will be held for the third time.

Reference article
I went to Tokyo Indie Festival! Introducing all the exhibition booths that are of interest to me as a digital writer!

While there is a growing momentum for indie games to go overseas from Japan, the current situation is that there are still very few places in Japan where you can share know-how on overseas expansion and make connections with other countries. Given this situation, I feel that TOKYO SANDBOX is becoming a very important place for indie game developers.

What is the purpose of TOKYO SANDBOX, and what kind of benefits can indie game developers gain by exhibiting there? We asked Kevin Lim (hereinafter referred to as Kevin), the founder of kulabo Co., Ltd., about the philosophy of TOKYO SANDBOX and its future vision.

Author: “First of all, could you tell me about the purpose of TOKYO SANDBOX as an event?”

Kevin：“TOKYO SANDBOX started as a small game show in 2015, but since then we have focused on small game makers rather than large game makers.”

Kevin：“Existing game shows tend to focus on major manufacturers, but we want TOKYO SANDBOX to be a beneficial venue for small and medium-sized game companies.”

According to Kevin, the primary purpose of TOKYO SANDBOX is to support indie game developers.

Author: “I think there are many countries that have game industries, but why did you choose Japan among them?”

Kevin：“Japan is a special country for many gaming fans. Most people around the world consider gaming to be one of Japan’s major cultural industries.”

Kevin：“At the same time, indie games in Japan are similar to the situation in the West, but they are not yet fully successful. We thought this was something to focus on.”

In other words, Kevin believes that Japanese indie games have the potential to make even more progress.

Author: “Could you tell me a little more about what you think about the current state of Japanese indie games?”

Kevin：“Japanese indie games are very unique compared to overseas ones. This can be said to be an advantage of Japan’s Galapagos syndrome.”

Kevin：“However, this Galapagos syndrome may also be the reason why Japanese entrepreneurs neglect marketing, finance, tax accounting, partnership agreements, etc. Entrepreneurs are essentially like fathers and mothers to their families. I am in a position where I have to think about everything in my business.”

Kevin：“Japanese entrepreneurs rely too much on domestic networks and customers, but they could actually benefit more from international networks.”

I also feel that Japanese game developers have been protected in the domestic market due to the uniqueness of the Japanese game market and Japan’s unique commercial culture. For this reason, I feel that the overseas expansion of Japanese games has not yet made any serious progress, but since the quality of the games themselves is high, there is a good chance that the number of developers who will succeed overseas will increase in the future.
For indie developers, TOKYO SANDBOX is likely to be a concrete opportunity to expand overseas.

Author: “TOKYO SANDBOX will be held for the third time this year. What are the key points this time?”

Kevin：“This time, we plan to use live streaming to broadcast the event to many game fans. We have invited Japan’s top influencers and asked them to broadcast the event and games. Game creators It will be a great marketing opportunity for us.”

Kevin：“We also invited anime and manga creators. Games are very compatible with monetization using IP, so we hope SANDBOX will become a place for collaboration between IP and games.”

Author: “The venue has changed this year.”

Kevin：“SANDBOX has grown significantly since its inception in 2015, and many exhibition corners will be set up this year. A large space is also required for the VR game corner. There will also be streaming broadcasts, so a high-speed internet connection is also required. So we had to find a new venue this year.”

Kevin：“Asakusabashi Hulic Hall is a 10-minute walk from Akihabara, and there are good restaurants nearby!”

Author: “SANDBOX has grown significantly, but what kind of place will it be for indie game developers?”

Kevin：“TOKYO SANDBOX remains a grassroots event! Indie game developers don’t have to worry about being ignored just because the event has grown.”

Kevin：“Game fans visiting the venue will quickly realize that SANDBOX is an indie game event.Although overseas games are also exhibited at SANDBOX, 70% of the games are Japanese.Big games take away the visitors. No need to worry.”

Kevin emphasizes that TOKYO SANDBOX is an event focused on Japanese indie game developers.

Kevin：“Thank you to all game creators and game fans for your support! We will do our best to make it a good gaming event. We look forward to seeing you in Asakusabashi on April 14th and 15th! ”

TOKYO SANDBOX was started and continues to support Japanese indie game developers. Although it is a Japanese event, it will be a valuable place to connect with domestic and international entrepreneurs, investors, publishers, indie developers, and game fans.

If you are an indie developer, why not consider exhibiting?
*Deadline for exhibition application is 12:00 on February 28, 2018.

Exhibitor entry URL

http://tokyosandbox.com/front/2018-exhibitor-application/

Tokyo Sandbox official information

Japanese English:http://tokyosandbox.com/