Every year over the past decade, China Joy has been delighting video game fans in and outside of China. The most memorable parts of the show that are caught on camera often focused on the booth companions and some times the games. What gets left behind by all the glitz and glam of China Joy are the people that attend every year, the very same people that make China Joy what it is.
Chinese gaming news portal NetEase has put together a small piece on nine different people who attended this past China Joy, the following is a translation of excerpts from NetEase:
Wang Yan China Joy Story: Carrying a 3DS In Hopes of Meeting New Friends
On the third day of China Joy, the air conditioning blew out. Without the AC on the convention hall was a dreary place but that didn’t deter Wang Yan from waiting in line for over an hour. At first glance Wang Yan looks like a regular housewife, but she has a secret, she is a video game fanatic. In fact Wang claims to have put in at least a thousand hours into Monster Hunter 3g on the PSP
On that very day Wang was standing in line at the Sony Booth to play Street Fighter vs. Tekken. Wang also came to China Joy for another purpose. Having gone to video game meet-ups in the past Wang never attended China Joy before. Wanting to meet other gamers Wang decided to finally take the trip up from her hometown of Nanjing to Shanghai.
Thinking that China Joy would be like some other smaller gamer/cosplayer meet ups Wang bought with her, her 3DS in the hopes of meeting other Monster Hunter aficionados. Unfortunately Wang was unable to meet or even Street Pass any like-minded gamers during her time at the show. According to the show’s organisers, over 52,000 people were in attendance that Saturday.
Wang laments the fact that she didn’t find any other Monster Hunter players and hopes that in the future, Nintendo, Capcom and Sega will show up at China Joy.
Mr. Gong the Pavilion Builder
On the opening day of China Joy, 60-year-old Mr. Gong with two young construction workers sat along a wall in the Shanghai New International Exhibition centre over looking his handy work. Mr. Gong, a carpenter by trade had constructed the bulk of the pavilions in exhibition hall N1 with an 89-man team in a matter of 3 days.
During those three days, Gong and his fellow workers breathed in a lot of dust wood shavings. Due to the oppressive summer heat in Shanghai and the fact that the air conditioning wasn’t on it wasn’t possible for the workers to wear facemasks. Gong says that they worked overtime every single day to make sure they could meet their deadline.
Gong currently lives in a factory dormitory where he shares a small room with seven other migrant construction workers. Hailing from Jiangsu province, Gong left his home for Shanghai in order to send money back to his wife and daughter.
“How can I not come out and work? If the peasants don’t work, nothing is done,” said Gong.
The Super Otaku in the Bunny Outfit (above)
Walking through China Joy this year, you hear all kinds of things about a man dressed in a “sexy” bunny outfit. Some of the comments range from “Wow” to “OMG that’s sick” but none of the comments deter the Bunny Man.
Aptly dubbed the Bunny Man, this self-professed super nerd refused to provide his real name. Bunny Man walked around the four day conference decked out in his fake pink wig, tight mini skirt and white blouse for 3 hours a day. Enduring gawks and jeers as well as unflattering camera lenses, Bunny Man continued strong.
Bunny Man said that at one point in his life he wanted to be a manga artist. Unfortunately for him, an unsteady hand dashed his dreams. Working in various odd jobs relating to the video game and animation industry, Bunny Man says he and his friends are all fanatics. In 2004 he sold his manga magazine collection to a paper recycling plant, earning him over 300 yuan ( about $US50 US).
The bunny suit isn’t his favourite cosplay costume, Bunny Man said recalls a time when he and his friends dressed as the 12 Gold Saints from the anime Saint Seiya.
When asked about why he was wearing a bunny outfit at China Joy, Bunny Man said it was to do a favour for a friend. “No matter how much money you give me, I won’t take off this outfit till my friend said it is OK, I can lose face but I can’t lose my honor”.
一群撲通人的故事 [NetEase]
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