Nintendo turns its back on Gamescom 2022, the largest European video game fair

In its return to the face-to-face format, between August 24 and 28, the German city of Cologne will once again host “Gamescom 2022″, the largest video game fair in the world, which, in a turn of events, this year will not have the presence of Nintendo. In a statement sent to the German media Games Wirstschaff, a representative of the Japanese firm declares the company’s determination not to participate this year: “Gamescom is a key event on the calendar,” they comment from Nintendo of Europe. “This year, however, after careful consideration, we have decided not to participate in Cologne. Instead, players will be able to try Nintendo Switch games at other events in Germany..”

The Japanese company assures that they value other means to interact with their public, for example, through caravans “Airstreamer” with a system of routes that take consoles and games to various cities. They will also be present at Stuttgart Children and Youth Festivalwhich takes place at the end of June, however, none of these activities will be the center of any relevant announcement.

small regional events

According to the statement, it seems that, in 2022, at least in Germany, the company is committed to highlighting its presence in small regional events. On the contrary, held with character in the city of Cologne, currently Gamescom is the largest event open to players in the world and exceeds 500,000 daily visits in each edition. As with other events in the sector, the organization has been forced to cancel the presence of the public in recent years as a result of the pandemic. To compensate, a program of virtual presentations (Gamescom Opening Night) was formulated, but the event has not managed to obtain the same impact as the face-to-face event.

Gamescom Opening Night Live

Hoping to increase its influence, the virtual event takes place, again, on August 23 this year with the promise of several announcements, important news and status updates on the main releases of 2022. However, until now only publishers such as THQ Nordic and Koch Media have confirmed their presence at the German fairsomething that begins to generate doubts about the success of the event with the public.