Game on: Hong Kong computer festival puts e-sports in the spotlight

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Esports is a growth industry in Hong Kong and beyond. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Published: 7:00am, 7 Aug 2015Updated: 12:35pm, 19 Jun 2017

Hong Kong’s annual computer and gadget festival from August 21 to 24 will feature smart televisions, 3D printers, and plenty of discounts, but one of the main events will be a giant stage for competitive video gamers.

The annual Computer and Communications Festival at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai is a major event for the industry. Organisers said last year’s festival drew 700,000 visitors; companies did around HK$30 billion in business.

Last year’s festival featured a 30-square-metre booth with a stage where players competed in the popular online game League of Legends.

This year, the booth will be an enclosed structure within the Convention Centre, so its interior will not be visible unless you enter it. Instead of 30 square metres, the booth will be significantly more spacious, measuring almost 800 square metres. Inside there will be a 240-square-metre stage, complete with lighting effects and three wall-sized LED screens of the variety seen at large-venue concerts.

Sam Hui Kin-sang, director of the Chamber of Hong Kong Computer Industry, which organises the annual festival, said the focus on competitive gaming, known as esports, reflects its growing popularity in the industry.

According to market research firm Newzoo, the number of esports enthusiasts, which includes people who watch and participate in competitive gaming regularly or occasionally, has grown in recent years, from 58 million in 2012 to 89 million last year. And in another reflection of the popularity of esports, 40 per cent of the people who watch esports actually don’t play the games themselves.