The "Tokyo Game Show 2025 (TGS2025)," held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, near Tokyo, from Thursday, September 25, to Sunday, September 28, 2025, featured not only game companies but a wide variety of exhibitors. Among them, the PayPal booth in Halls 9-11 was particularly eye-catching. Given that this was PayPal's first exhibition at TGS in quite a while, we’re bringing you a full booth report.
Booth Exterior
The exterior was designed to prominently feature the PayPal brand.
Saiga NAK可能性を解き放ち、最強の未来をつかもう。 - Unleash the possibilities, seize the strongest future.
That catchphrase is pretty cool! It certainly makes you feel like PayPal has endless potential.
In addition to PayPal, they also featured flyers for Paidy, a Japanese Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service that joined the PayPal Group in 2021. While Paidy is mostly known for physical goods e-commerce, it also quietly supports payments for digital content and subscriptions.
Lottery with Awesome Prizes
Saiga NAKA giant lottery machine was set up at the booth, offering fantastic prizes. To participate, you just needed to post on social media with the hashtag #TGS2025PayPal or hand a staff member your business card.
Saiga NAKPull!
Saiga NAKPop!
Saiga NAKI won a charging cable!
Saiga NAKWith the PayPal logo on it! Thanks so much!
We Asked: The intention behind the exhibition?
While PayPal is a familiar name to many gamers, given the booth's business-friendly atmosphere, we initially assumed their focus was on attracting corporate clients, especially since this was their first TGS in a while. However, when we spoke to them, the intent was surprisingly stated as "to raise awareness." Apparently, there are still many people who don't know much about PayPal.
We suspect that their focus shifted to game publishers during the business days of the event, but for the general public days, the message was broad. The key benefit of PayPal is its smooth payment process—you don't have to input your card details every time you check out. Another local advantage in Japan is the ability to pay via bank transfer, meaning you don't even need a credit card. (Note: The Japanese service has recently expanded its bank compatibility significantly.)
Benefits for Businesses and Consumers
When dealing with non-Japanese services, credit card payments are often limited to Visa and Mastercard. By integrating PayPal, a business can instantly accept six major card brands (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, Discover, and UnionPay), plus local bank transfers.
More and more publishers are building their own direct payment systems, moving away from relying solely on major platforms like the App Store, Google Play, Steam, PlayStation Store, or Microsoft Store. From a consumer perspective, using PayPal adds an important layer of security: you don't unnecessarily share your card information. For subscriptions, PayPal also offers a hassle-free way to cancel the recurring payment directly within your PayPal account, which gives consumers peace of mind against confusing cancellation processes.
PayPal is Essential for Global Expansion
Another huge benefit of PayPal is its multi-currency support, handling over 100 currencies globally (22 currencies for the Japanese service). The ability to offer payment services in the local currency of each country is a major advantage. If you plan to expand your game globally, integrating PayPal is indispensable.
Time to Start Using PayPal!
Saiga NAKThat concludes our report on the PayPal booth at TGS2025. Whether you're a gamer or a publisher, let's all use PayPal for a smoother, more enjoyable gaming life!
👋東京ゲームショウ2025盛況の内に閉幕しました。
ご来場いただいた皆様、ありがとうございました✨
ゲーム業界やプレイヤーの皆様との素敵な出会いを決済サービスの発展に活かしていきます🚀
ともに最強の未来をつかもう!
特別クーポンは間もなく終了👉https://t.co/BJsdvM2zDD#TGS2025 #ペイパル pic.twitter.com/8i4hu2yt5m— PayPal（ペイパル公式）日本語 (@paypal_jp) September 29, 2025
