The Tokyo Game Show kicked off Thursday, with virtual reality products grabbing the lion's share of attention at one of the central fixtures in the global gaming calendar.

At Chiba's massive Makuhari Messe venue on Thursday, industry insiders and journalists lined up to try VR games, and not only those from large global makers. Plenty of attention was paid to newcomers and startups during the media preview day ahead of the exhibition's public opening on Saturday.

"The future of VR is bright," said Takayuki Fujii, business development executive at DMM.com Labo Co., which runs online services including games and videos and at the expo is showcasing VR content with characters from its popular "Token Ranbu" online game series