Nintendo says it will offer ways for its fans to try out upcoming products this year, but PAX East won’t be one of them.
Penny-arcade Expo (PAX) has quickly become one of the biggest conventions in gaming. From its humble beginnings in Bellevue, it has spread all over the country, and even to Australia, attracting the biggest and best names in gaming, comics, anime and nerd culture. Unfortunately, Nintendo has now decided that PAX is no longer a priority for the company, announcing that it will be skipping 2014’s PAX East in Boston.
“Interacting directly with our fans and letting them play our games firsthand is a key component of our approach,” a Nintendo spokesperson told Polygon. “That doesn’t include PAX East this year, but we will offer our fans a variety of opportunities to get their hands on Nintendo products in 2014. Keep an eye on our social media pages for more information about where we’ll be and what you can play.”
Sega, which has an exclusive partnership with Nintendo, also announced that it would not attend the event, but did say it would be there for PAX Prime.
This marks the first year that Nintendo has not attended PAX East. We’ve contacted Nintendo to see if this means it will also be skipping PAX Prime and PAX Australia.
Nintendo has become increasingly weary of large-scale exhibitions in recent times, electing to skip its E3 press conference last year in favor of a Nintendo Direct. Traditionally, Nintendo also elects to not attend Tokyo Games Show, the biggest gaming trade show in Japan.
It’s a shame that PAX attendees won’t be able to get their hands on upcoming Nintendo games, but i’m interested to see what alternatives the company will come up with to promote its lineup.
Source: Polygon
