First held in 1996, the Tokyo Game Show is making its way this year to Tokyo’s Nippon Convention Center on September 24 (open to VIPs, like our friends at X-Play) and September 25 and 26 (open to the public). We’ll give you the rundown on everything from what games are supposed to be showcased to major highlights to look out for.

The Tokyo Game Show (TGS) is the only “real” exhibit of computer entertainment software in Japan that keeps getting more and more popular every year. People from all around the world come to check out what’s hot, what’s new and what’s worth spending a couple yen on. (Editor’s Note: Our very own Adam and Morgan from X-Play are in Tokyo right now scoping out the gaming scene for the next big thing, and promise to divulge all the details when they get back.) But in the meantime, let’s check out what we know are some sure things.

We know that the PlayStation Portable will make its playable presentation at the TGS. As of now, there are three PSP titles we know about: Koei's Dynasty Warriors, Hudson Soft's Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory and Cyber Front’s Koron.

A ton of PlayStation titles are expected to be unveiled, especially since Nintendo is yet again bowing out of the show this year, with spokesperson Mitsuaki Hagishima explaining, “we have a need to focus on the DS before it goes on sale. So instead we are planning our own event that can be expanded to a nationwide scale.”

Even if Nintendo doesn’t want to come out and play, many other bigwig publishers are making the rounds at the TGS to show off their new titles. Konami has confirmed that Metal Gear Solid 3 and Enthusia Professional Racing will be there, while Sega has promised up and down to give us at least two other titles to check out besides the already mentioned Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst and Sakura Taisen V.

Namco will have the arcade version of Tekken 5, along with two Tales RPG titles (the PS2 version of Symphonia, and Rebirth) and Tekken spin-off Death by Degrees. Bandai has also announced its lineup of games with a new Gundam title and a 3D adventure game based on the anime and manga series Conan both set for release on PlayStation 2. Koei will step into the TGS by showing a playable version of Dynasty Warriors for the PSP, and a mobile phone edition of Samurai Warriors. Irem will be exhibiting a sequel to Disaster Report titled, Disaster Report 2: The Frozen Memories, while Square Enix has a PlayStation 2 remake of Romancing Saga for gamers to try out.

And for those gamers who won’t actually get to game at the show, you can check out some behind-the-scenes video footage from X-Play in the upcoming weeks. So, sit back, drink some sake bombs and enjoy!