Hong Kong’s Game Industry and Cultural Policy

by Prof. Anthony Y. H. Fung

Prof. Fung, Co-Director of the HKIAPS, has been continually concerned about the market situation, challenges, and competition surrounding Hong Kong’s creative industries, especially the game industry. Hong Kong was one of the earliest cities in the Chinese region to develop online games, and has been well known for its creative industries; however, Hong Kong’s creative industries are now lacking in momentum, and the industry itself is facing competition from mainland China and other parts of East Asia. In his upcoming book, Cultural Policy and East Asian Rivalry: The Hong Kong Gaming Industry, he outlines the keen competition from mainland China and other parts of East Asia that the Hong Kong game industry must now address.

Cultural policy is thought to be a major force in shaping competition and markets in creative industries. Prof. Fung’s main argument is that, as a typical creative industry in Hong Kong, the game industry is no longer able to compete with other players in the region because of a general lack of cultural policy in Hong Kong.

After giving a general introduction to creative industries in Hong Kong, Prof. Fung points out that the game industry has become one of the largest sectors in Hong Kong’s creative industries. However, given keen competition in mainland China and other parts of East Asia, Hong Kong’s game industry is facing a bottleneck in development. The absence of a comprehensive cultural policy in Hong Kong to drive research and development, to promote the development of distribution channels and retail markets, and to spur the industry’s entry into the China market is also causing Hong Kong to lag behind other competitors in the region.

Prof. Fung then uses the cases of China and other major East Asian countries to explain how cultural policies can drive the growth of cultural industries in the region and promote exports. In mainland China, the market is in fact carefully planned and maintained by a set of very complicated cultural policies. At this point, a case study of mainland China’s game industry will naturally serve as a model for Hong Kong’s game industry. The markets and cultural policies of other regions are also discussed to illustrate how discourses on cultural policies do or do not influence other countries.

The global creative cluster is specifically introduced in this book, as the cluster approach is believed to be the most interventionist approach in the realm of cultural policy. Evidence from the Japanese and Chinese game markets shows that the clustering of industry practitioners played a significant role in helping the industry in those countries to flourish. Examples worldwide prove that powerful networks and exchange platforms are essential for the game industry to grow.

In conclusion, Prof. Fung suggests that instead of seeing Asia’s creative industries as rivals, Hong Kong should seek a more collaborative approach. That is, a cultural policy that enhances Hong Kong’s creative industries to partner with the creative industries of mainland China or Korea is urgently needed. This will require a completely new paradigm of thinking about Hong Kong’s role in the region. ■