Game on: ChinaJoy hits town
Asia's biggest annual gaming show, ChinaJoy, opens today in Shanghai as part of the city's efforts to establish itself as a national esports and digital entertainment center.
In 2017, Shanghai’s gaming industry revenue hit 68.4 billion yuan (US$24.6 billion), accounting for one-third of the country's revenue from the sector.
Gaming has become an important part of China’s economy and society. In the first half, revenue from the sector was 105 billion yuan (US$15.4 billion), the industry regulator said at a ChinaJoy forum yesterday.
“It has become a new digital entertainment era beyond games only,” said Robert Xiao, CEO of the Shenzhen-listed developer Perfect World.
Gaming crosses diverse areas, from literature to drama, film annd esports and includes new technologies such as virtual reality artificial intelligence and blockchain.
Perfect World is introducing Steam, the world’s biggest game distribution platform, into China. The new Steam China will help independent game developers find more players and create games for the world market based on Chinese culture and stories, Xiao said.
An international esports competition, Y-Power, also made its debut in Shanghai yesterday, with organizers including the Communist Youth League. The event will be held in various cities around the nation and also overseas, including South Korea.
About 300,000 people are expected to attend the four-day ChinaJoy at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in the Pudong New Area.
With Shanghai expected to be hit by weather from Typhoon Jongdari today, organizers are taking safety measures such as reinforcing billboards and opening an empty 12,000-seat hall.
International esports competition Y-Power made its debut in Shanghai yesterday.
a and South Korea, organizers said today.
