Paris, the eternal city of light, beacon of romance and once a year the valhalla of gaming! The latest games were showcased and with each booth more amazing than the previous, we just couldn’t get enough! Il est cinq heures.
PGW s’éveille.
Every year the expo at “Porte de Versailles” hosts the PGW show that houses all the biggest devs and other leading parties within the gaming industry. Upon arrival we noticed a massive horde of enthusiasts lining up and we saw it growing larger while we were trying to find an actual parking spot. This just demonstrates how massive the attraction towards PGW has become over the years.
Once inside you recognize immediately why PGW has become a leading preview show in Europe. The booths are amazing and massive! Ubisoft’s For Honor booth was gorgeous and it featured a multiplayer preview and on the other side a first look at the campaign. Hidden behind curtains was the much anticipated Watch Dogs 2! It sure looks like it got a solid upgrade compared to the first iteration. We are stoked! Ubisoft is celebrating its 30th anniversary and with the ever so kind Leon Winkler walking amongst the fans you really understand why this company made it till today! Ubisoft is a company that does everything for its fans and a majestic large booth full of content to get your willing hands on is just one way to say thank you!
We were quite baffled when we saw the french translation of South Park’s ‘The Fractured But Whole’ as it read like ‘The Annals of Destiny’ Which is not bad but is a genius play on words as well!
The Xbox booth let you get your dog tags bloody by killing the familiar new foes in Gears of War 4. You could also join in a large scaled battle set in the new Halo Wars 2. And if you are into Zombies or infected you could get creative at slaying them in Dead Rising 4. Plenty to do and get your hands on at Microsoft even though some of the games were already released.
Another crowd attraction was the massive Battlefield 1 arena. I couldn’t even call it a booth! It was a massive 64 player arena giving it that e-sports vibe that is another thing we’ll discuss as well! Battlefield 1 is finally out there in stores but seeing it played locally with 64 soldiers reporting for duty was just mind-blowing. The lighting and sound were just so esthetically pleasing when standing there. Because of the scale I had to use my panoramic function on my phone camera!
This year PGW went all out on e-sports. Dedicating an entire space for them and featuring all the biggest e-sports games there are. It’s no secret League of Legends was the major e-sport game attracting almost the entire crowd from the other booths. But what is e-sports without a massive crowd right? Rainbow 6 Siege was also a major player here on the e-sports scene at PGW. For the soccer fans there was a FIFA 17 and PES session to get into as well! For those wearing their dancing shoes Ubisoft showcased a massive Just Dance 17 session that got all of us even more sweaty! Should we start calling the latter an e-sport as well? We might.
But what is a convention or game show without the cosplayers? Kids, average joes or even entire families were lining up to take that great picture with their idols whether they come from games, movies or other pop culture. Cosplayers seemed to have become a necessity on these events and we applaud their creativity and dedication to this often underestimated hobby. PGW had a healthy dose of cosplay going on and it just makes the event even better. Paris Games Week is an event we gladly traveled all those miles to and we will do it again without hesitation. Everything you want to get your hands on; PGW makes no compromise, it’s all there and it’s amazingly satisfying! From October 27th till 31st PGW is awake!
