Ani-Com & Games Hong Kong: virtual reality takes centre stage
Gamers waiting to play Pokemon Go can get some satisfaction with hands-on demos of PlayStation VR, while cosplayers, anime fans and comic lovers will also get their fill of fun and instruction at fair
Ani-Com & Games Hong Kong returns this week with more cosplay, dance and figure design competitions as well as what is billed as the largest Doujinshi (Japanese manga and visual novel) event. But taking centre stage will be a host of virtual reality games that are scheduled to hit retail stores later this year.
To run between July 29 and August 2 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the annual fair is expected to offer temporary relief for frustrated gamers who are still waiting for the official local release of Pokemon Go, the augmented reality mobile game that has been taking the world by storm in the past fortnight.
On July 28, Sony Interactive Entertainment Hong Kong will announce the launch details of PlayStation VR in Asia. Then the company will showcase the virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 4 console at the city’s biggest game and comics fair together with titles such as Hatsune Miku VR: Future Live, Final Fantasy XIV VR Experience and Batman: Arkham VR. (PlayStation VR will be released in the US and Europe in October, priced at US$399.)
“Virtual reality is a new milestone in the world of gaming,” says Jacqueline Chiu, assistant general manager of SIEH. “In the past, users stared at the television screen when playing video games. But when you wear the VR device, the visual is 360 degrees and it really does feel like you’re physically situated in the gaming world.”