The largest video game fair in France, Paris Games Week, which opened its doors on Wednesday, is seeking to diversify and is now targeting all pop-culture enthusiasts. A way to escape from the difficulties the sector is going through. From the opening of this 13th edition, visitors flocked to the publishers’ stands in the three halls of the Exhibition Center, where controllers and gaming terminals are lined up.
“Tighten the bonds between the players”
“I’m a fan of ‘Monster Hunter’, so I came early to try it,” breathes Jeremy Robain, 25, in the queue that formed in front of the Capcom stand. Expected for 2025, Monster Hunter Wilds is regularly cited among the most anticipated titles in the aisles of the show.
With his gigantic sword and his impressive monster hunter costume adorned with fake fangs – the result of 5 months of work and more than 500 euros of budget – Benoit Martin, a 34-year-old intermittent worker, came to share his passion during an “evening community” around the game. “It helps strengthen the bonds between the players,” he rejoices.
Even if Paris Games Week still claims to be a celebration of video games, the show is opening up a little more this year to other horizons. With spaces dedicated to manga, cosplay or e-sport, but also concerts or conferences, this is “the most ambitious edition” since Covid, assures Nicolas Vignolles, general delegate of the Union entertainment software publishers (Sell), organizer of the show. A stand is even dedicated to sport, with skateboarding and BMX demonstrations.
Up to 200,000 people expected this year
Stated objective: to become “the leading show for 18-35 year olds” by 2030, by attracting visitors beyond the gaming community. “I’m more manga, and my boyfriend is more video games: so, it allows us to have a living room that brings together the two,” testifies Sarah Jaulin, 23-year-old construction manager, under the fake cherry blossom tree placed in the center of the “manga village”.
“We embrace this amusement park side,” says Nicolas Vignolles, who hopes to welcome up to “200,000 people” by Sunday. In 2023, it had claimed 187,000 visitors, compared to 317,000 during the last pre-pandemic edition in 2019. But after a particularly rich 2023 vintage, the year 2024 is more of a “transition”, notes Charlotte Massicault, director of multimedia products from the distributor Fnac-Darty.
“The start of the year was a little difficult due to a lack of releases” admits James Rebours, president of Sell, despite the arrival of “blockbusters” like Final Fantasy VII Rebirthsecond part of the remake of the famous role-playing game from the 1990s, or Star Wars Outlaws.
The expected arrival of “GTA VI” in fall 2025
The arrival of the juggernaut GTA VI from the Rockstar studio, expected in the fall of 2025, should breathe new life into an industry that has been going through a difficult time for two years, marked by waves of layoffs and studio closures. The three big console manufacturers (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) are taking part in Paris Games Week, like major publishers like Ubisoft and Bandai Namco.
Sony is preparing the launch of its PS5 Pro, a more powerful version of its current console expected on November 7. Despite a high launch price (800 euros, or 250 euros more than the classic version), “the pre-orders are excellent”, welcomed Charlotte Massicault, for a console which is aimed above all “at ‘gamers’ older people, who have the means to invest a little more.
On the Xbox side, Microsoft has planned eight playable games, mainly from third-party publishers. Around fifteen titles are present on the Nintendo stand, including Zelda : Echoes of Wisdom et Super Mario Party Jamboree. The Japanese giant must announce by March the console that will succeed its Switch, released in 2017.
