WHAT: "How China Plays: the history, future and global context of digital gaming in China," an RASBJ in-person talk by veteran gamer Jesse Young. With a special DISCOUNT for those under 26

WHEN: Friday March 1 2024 from 7-8 PM Beijing Time. Doors open 6.30 PM for drinks and nibbles.

WHERE: JINSHANG YUAN 金尚源 at JINSHANG SQUARE Bldg 20, Chaoyang District, Beijing北京市朝阳区新源里西20号

FOR DIDI: XINYUAN LIXI Building No.20

MORE ABOUT THE EVENT: Jesse Young, a gamer for the past 30 years, will tell us all about the digital gaming scene in China – a massive industry drawing in over $60 billion in revenue and more than 600 million players. Jesse will present a capsule history of gaming in China, and discuss perspectives on its future. He will describe how gaming in China compares with gaming elsewhere and how his personal experience fits within the broader global narrative. Internationally, organisations such as Video Game History Foundation have helped mainstream the importance and challenges of video game preservation, as academic interest has broadened to include social history, material culture and regionalism. Yet gaming in China has largely been obscured by language barriers, stigma surrounding bootlegs, heavy-handed regulation and complex dynamics between Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland. Local gaming history has been ignored even in China in favour of a focus on the big global players – Japan and the US. But things are changing, as a China chapter of DiGra (Digital Games Research Association) established a decade ago has led to archives, museums, collections and publications appearing across the Sinosphere.

MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Jesse Young is an independent researcher and freelance writer/translator/artist with published work in Sixth Tone, The World of Chinese, Beijing Review, Spittoon Literary Magazine, Chaoyang Trap and China XYZ. His primary outlet in recent years has been as host of Happy Gaming House (欢乐游戏之家) – an online video channel covering retro gaming and gaming history in China. His areas of interest include retro tech and niche cultural obsessions. He hopes to write a book on the history of music in games.

HOW MUCH: RMB 200 for RASBJ members; those under 26; and members of partner branches in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul. RMB 300 for non-members. You may find payment via Alipay easier than via WeChat. You also can pay by credit card.

Interested in becoming an RASB member? Join us at http://rasbj.org/membership/​

HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Please click "Register" or "I will attend" before February 28 and follow the instructions. After successful registration you'll receive a confirmation email with a link to join the event online. If you seem not to have received it, please check your spam folder.

REFUND POLICY: If the organiser decides to cancel or postpone the event, registrants will be refunded. Registrants who find they cannot attend for personal reasons will be refunded if they notify RASBJ at least 72 hours before the start of the event. No refunds will be available for cancellations less than 72 hours before the event.