Just click it: why Hong Kong is No 1 in the Popcat online gaming craze
- It’s not as inane as it appears, insist players who have chalked up more than 121 billion clicks, saying city’s top ranking gives them sense of identity
- Game created for fun by Sheffield undergrads has spread worldwide, sparking intense competition
Hongkongers may have arrived late to the online game phenomenon Popcat Click, but they have raced to the global top spot with no sign of waning enthusiasm.
The most ardent players admit this competition requires neither skill nor hard work. All you have to do is click on a picture of a cat. That makes the cat open its mouth, forming a big “O”, with an accompanying “pop” sound.
There are no prizes for individual players, but every click scores a point for the player’s city or country.
So far, Hongkongers have chalked up more than 121 billion clicks and counting, because the playing never stops.
The city has been No 1 since August 24, when it overtook Taiwan. This week, Thailand was in second place, followed by Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia.
“It’s a channel for Hongkongers to display their sense of identity,” declared real estate employee Carson Woo, 23, who claimed to be among the first in the city to play.
The game was created last December by computer science students Joshua O’Sullivan, Edward Hails and Freddy Heppell at the University of Sheffield in England.