New console, better game

Sexy tech: Scantily clad booth girls and hired dancers (top) add to the excitement. Photos by Gao Erqiang / Shanghai Star

Snapshots from ChinaJoy 2014

Shaolin develops kung fu games

"We came to China Joy this year to show off our game with the Xbox One," says Zhou. "Chinese gamers such as myself have waited for years for this and now it's finally come. To have a developer kit for the Xbox geared for the Chinese market is a historic event, and to be one of the first games released on the console is a great honor."

Zhou says that with the console finally being legitimatised in China, more consumers will be introduced to a new style of game play, one that he and many others want to share with a new generation of gamers.

"The majority don't play console games, and now that they're placing these in markets, in stores, they're going to be in the public eye. People are looking for living room entertainment devices. I'm optimistic," says Zhou.

"This whole shift may also help move a lot of developers from the mobile and online game market into making games for consoles and perhaps raise the whole level of the industry to match the quality of Western games."

While game developers such as Zhou are delighted to work with Microsoft and the Xbox One, it still comes down to just games for gamers.

After waiting for close to an hour, Hu's turn comes. He sits down in the driver's seat, hands at ten and two. A Microsoft showgirl helps him set up the controls, and off he goes. About five minutes later, all of his anxieties about the Xbox are gone.

"The game was great! I want to have another go," says Hu. "I'm excited. I'm looking forward to taking this home!"