When travellers visit Hong Kong, most start thinking about what they want to buy before they even reach the city. Shopping is everywhere in Hong Kong, and quite often the price of what you’re looking for is cheaper here than in your home country.
One of the most common questions I see on the internet about Hong Kong shopping is “Where can I buy video games in Hong Kong?” That’s a very good question, and I’ll explain why.
If you’ve ever been to Hong Kong you know there’s no stores like Wal Mart or Gamestop that have large displays of video games for sale. And if you visit a big mall, like Cityplaza, Pacific Place, or Times Square, you probably won’t find a store selling video games in there either. You might get lucky and find games in somewhere like Toys R Us, but they’ll be for sale at full price.
After searching around for a while, visitors might wonder how a city famous for cheap electronics has very few places to buy video games. Even street markets don’t sell video games.
If you’re looking to buy video games, consoles, peripherals, or electronic devices in Hong Kong, you want to visit the Wan Chai District in Hong Kong Island. Here you’ll find a mall called the Oriental 188 Shopping Centre.
The Oriental 188 Shopping Centre is a shopping mall dedicated to video games, movies, anime, toys, electronic devices, and all sort of other goodies.
The mall itself is quite small when you compare it to other malls in Hong Kong. The hallways are narrow and shops are crammed into the limited space inside. The shops consist of mostly independent shop owners who sell any of the items listed above. The prices inside these shops are cheaper than what you would find at chain electronics stores like Broadway and Fortress. And prices for games are cheaper here than what you’d find them for in stores in Hong Kong that sell video games.
There are a few things you need to know when buying video games in Hong Kong. And since most shop owners at the Oriental 188 Shopping Centre don’t speak English, you’ll need to know these things before you go.
1. Some video games consoles have region locks on them. Meaning you can’t play games from Asia on a North American or European video game console. These consoles include: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and XBOX 360.
2. Game consoles without region locks on them include: PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS. You can play any game for these consoles no matter where it was made or where your console is from.
3. Getting to the Oriental 188 Shopping Centre can be a bit difficult since the MTR doesn’t stop anywhere near this mall. The best way to get here is by bus. Look for a bus that stops at 298 Hennessey Road (at Kwong Sang Hong Building) or Wan Chai Road and Heard Street.
4. A computer shopping mall, called 298 Computer Zone, is found in the same building as Oriental 188 Shopping Centre. If you’re looking for Computer products, give 298 Computer Zone a look. You won’t have to walk very far at all.
5. This mall is packed with young people on the weekends. Go to 188 on a weekday to avoid large crowds of people.
This is just some of my information on the Oriental 188 Shopping Centre. Click Here for more information on this mall and other shopping centres in Hong Kong.
