The new strategy is also an insurance against the fleeting patronage of mainland Chinese tourist-shoppers, who contribute to as much as 5 per cent of Hong Kong’s retail sales, but whose numbers have been neither consistent nor reliable.

Tourists from mainland China made up 78 per cent of the record 65.1 million tourists who arrived last year in Hong Kong, having recovered from the 2014 slump when the city was occupied by 126 days of protests rallies and street demonstrations. Their arrivals and spending budget – subject to visa and capital control regulations by mainland Chinese officials – can make or break a Hong Kong mall.

On Nelson Street in Mong Kok, around the block from the bustling Sneaker Street where shoppers teem for the trendiest shoes, the Cyber Games Arena (CGA) offers 25,000 square feet of space for e-sports, video gaming, virtual reality, tournaments, and shops that sell gaming hardware and accessories.

The complex, converted from a mall that sold shoes and accessories, has attracted 10,000 gamers on average every week since its January opening.

Sales of video games hardware grew 3 per cent last year to US$131.6 million in Hong Kong, according to Euromonitor’s data, which estimates 2021 sales to increase to US$142.4 million.

“The proliferation of these e-sports centres creates alternative retail experience in an indoor setting. Hong Kong has long been hailed as a shopping and eating paradise. But entertainment is an area that has not seen significant breakthrough for a long time,” said Lawrence Wan, senior director, advisory and transaction services for retail at CBRE Hong Kong. Gamers “are becoming a new genre of retail tenants and are beneficial to the retail industry development in Hong Kong,” he said.

The property, leased for five years, pays a seven-digit monthly rent, said Kurt Li, the co-founder and chief operating officer of the mall.

“Our stadium will have to be open 24/7 and Mong Kok is the most convenient place in Hong Kong,” said Li, 33. “It has all kinds of transport available round the clock. It is a ground floor site, and that means we can have more traffic.”

CGA’s stadium boasts of 150 gaming computers, including those in the VIP areas, where professional e-sports players and teams practise. A section is dedicated to tutorials where novice players can pay for coaching by CGA staff. The booths can also be used by couples or friends to play as duos.

A ladies’ zone is also marked in the arena, with chairs, computers, and other gaming accessories all in white and pink colour scheme that calls to mind Hello Kitty.

The venue has its own cafe, where diners can play video games on three TV monitors available to them.

A portion of the stadium serves as a retail shop where gaming accessories and gadgets are for sale. In the basement is a tournament venue that can be booked by e-sports competition organisers.

Not everyone, however, believes e-sports centres will eventually replace traditional shops to be the anchor tenants of malls.

“It is unlikely that e-sports centres in Hong Kong will be able to replicate the same revenue contribution as traditional stores in top malls,” said Steven Kwok, associate partner at OC&C Consultants, a retail and consumer consultancy. “Their impact as traffic drivers could see malls hosting e-sports tournaments and events on an ad hoc basis, rather than as a permanent fixture.”

At Causeway Bay’s Fashion Walk is Strokes, a 9,000 sq ft mini golf course that includes a cocktail bar and multipurpose room. 

And soon at New World Development’s Victoria Dockside in Tsim Sha Tsui, a 20,000 sq ft Legoland Discovery Centre, an indoor family attraction chain, will also open.

“For shopping malls, entertainment-related and fashion or cosmetic retailers are different,” said Knight Frank’s Mak. “Even if a landlord receives less rental from entertainment operators, the traffic they retain in their shopping centre means other shops make more business, and these other shops pay higher rents.”