Unpleasant surprise: Nintendo is skipping Gamescom 2024
17 April 2024
For gamers and gaming fanatics, the end of August 2024 is circled in their agendas, because from August 21st to August 25th, it’s time for Gamescom again! One of the world’s largest gaming events will be taking place in Cologne, close to the western border of Germany, and around 300.000 gamers, exhibitors and businesses are expected to attend. This includes the likes of Riot Games, the studio behind popular international esports titles like League of Legends, and Sony.
One big name that won’t attend this year’s edition of Gamescom though, is Nintendo. The world-famous Japanese gaming and tech company recently confirmed that they will not be attending the event this year. As Nintendo has been a mainstay at Gamescom for years, there is a real possibility that the company took this decision in reaction to the delayed launch deadline for their highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 console.
No mention of Nintendo Switch 2
At the same time, it is all rumors for the moment, as Nintendo itself has not made any mention of the Nintendo Switch 2 when they announced their absence from Gamescom 2024. As a matter of fact, it’s not even certain yet that the console will be called “Switch 2”. It does seem likely that it has to do with the launch of the new console, which was first set to be introduced to the public at the of 2024. According to various industry sources, that date has been moved up to the first quarter of 2025 for now.
"Gamescom is a great event, and each year we evaluate whether Nintendo should participate or not," a spokesperson for Nintendo said on Monday, April 15th 2024, "After careful consideration from all perspectives, we’ve made the decision not to be present at gamescom 2024. Players will have opportunities to try out Nintendo Switch games at other events throughout the year."
Tickets for Gamescom 2024 on sale
Nintendo’s absence is not expected to cause a significant dent in the visitor numbers for Gamescom 2024, as plenty of other big names and providers will still be present. Seeing as the event takes place over five full days, the organization has made a series of different tickets available for visitors.
- Day Tickets are € 29,50 per day, apart from Saturday, when a Day Ticket costs € 39.
- Discounted Day Tickets (for students, seniors, disabled people, etc…) are € 21 per day, apart from Saturday, when a Discounted Day Ticket costs € 30,50.
- Family Day Tickets cost € 65 apiece and grant access to a family of maximum 5 people (maximum 2 adults), apart from Saturday, when Family Day Tickets cost € 81,50 apiece.
- Evening Tickets give you access to the event from 16h00 onwards and cost € 9,50 per day, apart from Saturday, when an Evening Ticket costs € 11,50.
For € 64 per person, you can also purchase a Wildcard, which grants access to the entertainment area on Wednesday, August 21, 2024 (trade visitor & media day), from 13h00 onwards.