Video-game vendors have good reason to celebrate the Christmas season after record crowds visited the Asia Game Show, snapping up the latest consoles and trying out new products.
More than 110,000 people visited the exhibition yesterday, its last day. The four-day show attracted a total of 472,000, up 4 per cent from last year, event director Evette Chan Yee-wai said.
Total sales increased by 5 to 7 per cent to HK$28 million, with one big spender shelling out HK$30,000 to buy 10 PlayStation 3 consoles.
Sony's PlayStation Vita gaming device was the hottest item at the show, with all 100 consoles available yesterday snapped up by 11am.
James Hong of Sony Computer Entertainment HK, the show's biggest exhibitor, said its sales had grown by 12 per cent over last year, reaching HK$26 million, and accounting for almost all the show's sales.
He attributed the unexpectedly strong increase in business to the Hong Kong government's HK$6,000 cash handouts to permanent residents, and enthusiastic shoppers from the mainland.