Tokyo Game Show showcase puts character stores and pop-ups at center of commercial display push
Samsung Electronics is targeting Japan’s character merchandise and entertainment market with glasses-free 3D displays, seeking to expand its commercial signage business as retailers look for new ways to attract fans and keep them in stores.
At Tokyo Game Show 2026 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, the South Korean tech company showcased its Spatial Signage displays at NC’s booth, featuring characters from the game developer’s upcoming mobile title, Astrae Oratio.
The push taps into Japan’s “oshikatsu” culture, in which fans devote time and money to supporting favorite characters, celebrities and other figures. For Samsung, character specialty stores and pop-up shops represent opportunities to extend its display business beyond conventional advertising screens.
From anime stores in Akihabara to the Pokemon Center and Nintendo Tokyo in Shibuya, Japan’s retail landscape offers settings where character encounters can complement merchandise sales. Samsung is pitching its technology as a way to bring those encounters into stores with limited space.
Spatial Signage uses Samsung’s proprietary 3D Plate technology to create a sense of depth without requiring dedicated glasses. The effect makes characters and backgrounds appear to extend beyond the screen, according to the company.
At the entrance to NC’s booth, an 85-inch display installed vertically showed a character stepping forward as elevator doors opened, making eye contact and waving at visitors. The roughly human-height presentation was designed to resemble an encounter with someone standing inside a room.
Smaller, 32-inch displays along the visitor route featured characters greeting attendees with different gestures and expressions, extending the presentation into the booth’s waiting areas.
“We wanted to go beyond simply showing the world of our new title and create an experience where visitors encounter its characters naturally from the moment they step into the booth,” an NC representative said.
“The sense of depth delivered by Spatial Signage helped translate the mobile game’s graphics and cinematic presentation into a richer, more immersive offline experience.”
The official said more passersby lingered at the booth and that the waiting area became a popular photo spot.
For Samsung, the commercial pitch rests on both the visual effect and the space needed to produce it. The company says bulky enclosures can make conventional 3D displays difficult to accommodate, particularly in Tokyo shopping districts where stores face limited floor space and high rents.
The 85-inch model measures 52 millimeters thick and weighs 49 kilograms. Its compatibility with VESA-standard mounts allows installation on walls or stands. The 32-inch version measures 49.4 mm thick and weighs 8.5 kg, making it suitable for shelves and narrow passageways
The company says those dimensions allow retailers to incorporate 3D displays into existing walls and waiting areas without major layout changes.
“Japan has one of the world’s most vibrant character IP and fandom cultures,” said Lee Young-min, an official from the Visual Display sales team at Samsung Electronics Japan.
“In addition to gaming exhibitions, we will expand its applications across Japan’s broader signage market, including pop-up shops and character specialty stores.”
The Tokyo showcase follows installations at Everland’s Safari World in South Korea, the Governors Ball Music Festival in the US and Gamescom 2026 in Germany.
Those deployments reflect Samsung’s efforts to broaden the technology’s applications across retail and entertainment venues. Its pitch to businesses centers on using character content to draw attention, encourage longer visits and generate social media exposure.
The NC showcase offered an example of how the displays could serve that purpose beyond a store entrance or advertising wall. By placing screens along the visitor route, Samsung and NC used the technology to turn otherwise functional waiting space into an additional point of engagement with the game and its characters.
