Convention - Paris Games Week Restart : Discover the Nintendo Switch booth

By Mulder, Paris, Paris-Expo, Porte de Versailles, 01 november 2022

After 3 years of waiting, the time has come to meet again the major players of the industry who promise a more festive experience than ever. The PGW Restart offers a varied program of games and licenses to discover, test and share the passion of video games. Major publishers will be present at Paris Games Week 2022, including: Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Nintendo, PLAION and its partners SEGA and Koei Tecmo, PlayStation, Square Enix, Ubisoft and Xbox. 

The Nintendo Switch is a video game system developed by Nintendo and released in most parts of the world on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a hybrid console. Its wireless Joy-Con controllers, with standard buttons and directional analog sticks for user input, motion detection and tactile feedback, can dock on either side of the console to support portable-style gaming. They can also be connected to a grip accessory to provide a traditional home console gamepad, or used individually in the hand like the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, to support local multiplayer modes. The Nintendo Switch software supports online gaming via Internet connectivity, as well as local wireless ad hoc connectivity with other consoles. Nintendo Switch games and software are available both on physical flash-based ROM cartridges and as digital distribution via Nintendo eShop; the system does not have regional locking. A handheld-focused revision of the console, called Nintendo Switch Lite, was released on September 20, 2019. A revised high-end version of the original console with an OLED display was released on October 8, 2021.

The Nintendo Switch was unveiled on October 20, 2016. Known in development as the NX, the Switch concept was born out of Nintendo's response to several quarters of financial losses in 2014, attributed to poor sales of its previous console, the Wii U, and competition from mobile games in the market. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's president at the time, pushed the company toward mobile gaming and a novel hardware. The design of the Nintendo Switch is aimed at a wide audience of video game players with multiple modes of use. Nintendo opted for more standard electronics, such as a chipset based on Nvidia's Tegra line, to make the console easier for programmers to develop and more compatible with existing game engines. Because the Wii U had struggled to gain outside support, leaving it with a weak software library, Nintendo preemptively sought the support of many third-party developers and publishers to help build the Switch's game library alongside Nintendo's first-party titles, including many independent video game studios. While Nintendo initially planned for around 100 titles in its first year, more than 320 titles from leading developers, third-party developers, and independent developers were released by the end of 2017.

As an eighth-generation console, the Nintendo Switch competes with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. Nearly three million units of the console shipped in its first month, exceeding Nintendo's initial projection of two million, and within a year of release, reached more than 14 million units sold worldwide, surpassing the Wii U's total lifetime sales. In early 2018, the Switch became the fastest-selling home or hybrid console in Japan and the United States. As of June 2022, all Nintendo Switch models have sold more than 111 million units worldwide, making it Nintendo's best-selling home console and the fifth best-selling game console of all time. Sales of the Switch have been strongly tied to sales of first-party Nintendo titles, with six games - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Pokémon Sword and Shield and Animal Crossing: New Horizons - each selling more than 20 million units.

Check out our photos from the Nintendo Switch booth on our Flickr page

As a meeting place for all communities and generations, PGW will offer many animations that reflect the plurality of the ecosystem. Young and old will be able to meet cosplayers at the Imagin'Con booth, which will offer many activities and activities, and travel with the family through the 50 years of video games at the MO5 retrogaming area. You can also visit the PGW Shop, which will offer a range of Paris Games Week collector's items, and the FNAC store area to discover new products, animations and demonstrations. PGW, which takes place during the All Saints' Day vacations, is naturally a meeting place for all families. The PGW Junior area will offer activities and games to test for budding gamers and parents alike!

Key information :
-,Open to the general public from Wednesday 02 November to Sunday 06 November 2022 
- Opening hours : 8:30 am - 6:30 pm
- Paris Expo - Porte de Versailles, Hall 1
- Ticketing (only online) : here

Photos and video : Boris Colletier / Mulderville

(Source : press release)