Global fever on 'Black Myth: Wukong' drives shopping spree of electronics, tourism

The global fever on Chinese new video-game "Black Myth: Wukong," which is based on classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West", hasn't abated three days after its official release on Tuesday.

As Chinese gaming fans have stayed up all night to immerse themselves in the country's first self-developed AAA games, the market excitement has also sparked a spending spree across various sectors, including retail, tourism, and consumer electronics. Sales of some electronic items, such as personal computers and PS5 gaming consoles, have more than doubled, while gaming-related stocks listed in the A-share market saw impressive gains.

Analysts believe that the phenomenon will spur massive potential for the release of more China-made games and even drive Chinese tech industries to spend more on research and development (R&D) for hardware upgrades and semiconductor breakthroughs.

The number of concurrent players of "Black Myth: Wukong" on gaming platform Steam has reached 2.243 million, recording a new high at around 9 pm on Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday night, the number hit 2.223 million, the second-highest globally on the platform.

According to a statement Tmall sent to the Global Times, the sales of PS5 consoles in the official Sony PlayStation Tmall flagship store has increased by over 100 percent year-on-year in the past week, making it the top-selling gaming device for four consecutive days.

Also, sales of household gaming devices in Tmall's 3C (computers, communications, and consumer electronics) digital category have surged by more than 80 percent year-on-year. Among them, the top six hottest vendors include PS5 gaming consoles, gaming laptops, DIY desktop computers, keyboards, mice, and gaming headsets, with brands like Sony, IPASON, Razer, and Logitech showing significant sales growth.

Sales of PS5 also recorded a new high in online second-hand market Goofish, with a peak of over 700 units sold in a single day, the Global Times learned from the platform.

A representative from Suning's Shanghai subsidiary told the Global Times that driven by the market heat, overall sales at its brick-and-mortar stores jumped by 80 percent on Tuesday, with sales of TVs and computer devices skyrocketing by 150 percent.

"The China-made game has a large number of downloads both domestically and internationally, which has palpably driven the market demand for various hardware products. Currently, the traditional consumer-grade computer chip market is dominated by products from US companies like NVIDIA. The rise of high-quality domestic games is unlocking significant market potential, prompting domestic chip companies to accelerate investments in more specialized market segments," Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance for alleged internet infringement, told the Global Times.

In addition, a dozen of Chinese and foreign companies, ranging from tech firms NVIDIA, Hisense, and Lenovo to retailer brands such as Luckin Coffee, and JD.com, also announced cooperation with "Black Myth: Wukong." On Tuesday, the Tengyun Americano, a special edition of coffee Luckin released in collaboration with "Black Myth: Wukong" issuers, was immediately sold out after putting into the shelves.

The game features 36 filming locations across various provinces and cities in China, with 27 situated in North China's Shanxi Province.

Bookings for one of the filming locations even rose by 236 percent on online travel platforms compared with the same period last year. According to a Beijing News report, ticket sales of Minor Western Heaven Scenic Spot, a well-known Buddhist temple in Shanxi, jumped by 300 percent year-on-year on Tuesday.