Days of lining up in the summer rain paid off for gaming fans yesterday as they got their hands on the best goodies as the city's 17th Ani-Com and Games convention opened its doors.
At the very head of the line were Alan Chien, 15, and a 19-year-old who identified himself only as Chan.
They had been waiting since 8am on Tuesday, camping outside the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai in rain that became torrential at times before they were finally allowed into the building after 7am yesterday.
"Alan and I each took turns waiting in the queue," said Chan, a first-year university student. "The heavy rain this week made it tough. I couldn't sleep." Chan said he brought a video game to try to keep himself entertained.
The convention is an annual fair featuring animation-themed video games, toys, books and other products. This year's event will run until Tuesday.
Last year's edition drew more than 700,000 visitors.
Chien said he had made new friends during the wait and was intent on one thing once inside. "I want to buy the Love Live anime concert tickets," he said. "I was sick during the Toy Festival last week so I couldn't buy them."
His patience paid off. When the exhibition opened yesterday, Chan was the first to rush to the Sony booth. Spending over HK$7,000 on PlayStation 4 games, he also won a model Metal Gear Solid bionic arm.
Fair highlights this year include the world's first public demonstration of Project Morpheus, a virtual reality game headset produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. Jacqueline Chiu Sin-ying of Sony Hong Kong said the game was brought to Hong Kong "because the traffic is very good at Ani-Com".
Expecting a 10 per cent increase in sales at this year's convention, Chiu said she was not afraid of competition from Microsoft, which set up a booth near Sony. "We have many exclusive Japanese game titles," she said.
Video game promoters nabbed considerable attention with eye-catching animation, blaring music and smiling showgirls. Yet non-digital products - such as comics, action figures and models - still pulled in customers. They included a 1:6 scale version of Star Wars spacecraft the Millennium Falcon.
Action, a hobby shop in Choi Hung, came to the convention to sell Japanese anime collectibles and stationary, including stamps. When asked why her store deals in stamps in the digital age, the manager of the booth said: "People still collect them. Customers are spending money on our products."
The fair also attracted students from the mainland. Ryan, who declined to give his full name, said he and his friends were keen to buy Heaven's Memo Pad, a Japanese light novel series.
With HK$500 to spend, Ryan said: "Even though the items in Hong Kong are slightly more expensive, I came down here because the exhibitors in Hong Kong are better than those in the mainland."
Visitors can also check out dream homes built by local enthusiasts using Lego bricks.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Fans enter fantasy world as Ani-Com lands
