Bilibili World, an annual three-day event for gaming and anime enthusiasts, took place from July 11 to 13 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, occupying eight halls.

With a focus on cutting-edge technology for gamers and AI creators, the event featured 700 exhibitors, including industry giants such as Intel, Lenovo, and Nvidia.

Renowned Japanese game designer Hideo Kojima remarked that games have achieved "high-level dignity," earning recognized social statuses and large fan bases. During the event, he and PlayStation announced the Chinese-language dubbing team for Kojima's highly anticipated Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

New Computers for Gaming and AI

In Hall 4, Lenovo showcased its "AI family" products, including Motorola smartphones, Yoga and Legion computers, as well as new smart glasses. The latest Lenovo computers offer over 200 cross-device AI functions, including AI search with "fuzzy matching," real-time AI translation across seven languages, and autonomous AI-powered note-taking that summarizes and refines key information.

According to market research firm Canalys, global PC sales rose 7.4 percent to 67.6 million in the second quarter, driven by AI advancements. Lenovo retained its position as the world's leading PC vendor with a 25 percent market share, followed by Hewlett Packard, Dell, Apple, and Asus.

China's Colorful Technology demonstrated its AI image generation technology, offering visitors 3D-printed gifts created from photos within 30 seconds. The company also highlighted its iGame product line, including graphics cards, motherboards, and AI-powered PCs that support "AI teammates" in the game NARAKA: Bladepoint for enhanced gameplay.

In Hall 3, Nvidia held a flash sale for its limited-edition graphics cards: the RTX 5070, priced at 4,599 yuan ($639), and the RTX 5080 Founders Edition, priced at 8,299 yuan. Fans lined up for the rare opportunity to buy directly from the company.

Among them was Hei Tu, a postgraduate student from Shanghai Jiao Tong University dressed as a character from a miHoYo game. He purchased an RTX 5080 FE to upgrade from his current card, aiming to improve his gaming experience with Helldivers II and support his research in computer vision.

Now the world's first $4 trillion market-cap company, Nvidia showcased its ecosystem with 50 high-performance RTX computers from brands such as Asus, MSI, and Honor. Visitors experienced China-developed games such as Marvel Rivals and Wuthering Waves, both powered by Nvidia's DLSS 4 multi-frame generation, which has been adopted by over 125 games.

Exhibitors targeted students, who represent both avid gamers and future tech consumers, offering discounts worth thousands of yuan. These offers align with China’s trade-in subsidy initiative designed to stimulate domestic consumption, which has generated 1.1 trillion yuan in sales during the first five months of 2025, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Bilibili World also boosted Shanghai's tourism, drawing many visitors from outside the city.

Xiao Xu and two friends traveled from Suzhou, Jiangsu province, for the three-day event. Xu spent 8,299 yuan on an Nvidia graphics card and other gaming merchandise.

"I booked my hotel a month early — thankfully," he said. "As the event got closer, prices shot up and rooms sold out fast."

Trip.com, China's largest online tourism platform, reported that hotel prices tripled within a week and were 26 percent higher than during last year's event.

Bilibili World is a key feature of the "Shanghai Summer" campaign, a citywide initiative launched earlier this month to enhance Shanghai's tourist appeal. Running until October, the campaign includes concerts, sports tournaments, cultural events, and brand activations across various districts and commercial hubs.

Upcoming highlights include BW 2025 and ChinaJoy, Asia's largest growing gaming fair, which kicks off next month.

Source: Qingpu district government