The Tokyo Game Show opened with a record 1,138 exhibitors as companies from a growing range of industries seek a foothold in Japan's expanding gaming market, with artificial intelligence emerging as one of the main attractions. Marking its 30th anniversary since it was first held, the event features new titles, technologies and services over a five-day schedule. Japan alone has around 56 million game users. Sanrio is seeking new audiences using its character-brand intellectual property, while semiconductor manufacturer Kioxia is exhibiting for the first time. One AI exhibit lets users describe a game they want and have it automatically generated, such as "a shooting game set in space." Nakanishi Manufacturing, a maker of commercial kitchen equipment, is exhibiting an educational game about creating a school lunch center. Japanese household expenditure on games in July rose to 2.4 times the level recorded a year earlier. The global gaming market has grown to about 32 trillion yen, and the Japanese government plans to accelerate efforts to increase overseas sales to 20 trillion yen. The show opens to the general public from September 19.