Taking 20,000 brisk steps to see through BW: Bilibili sets the stage and PC manufacturers perform, all just to capture the young generation.
When it comes to BiliBili, I think most people will immediately think of "anime culture". As one of the largest anime exhibitions in China, BiliBili World, which has been held since 2017, has become the most anticipated event in the midsummer. This year's BiliBili World 2025 (hereinafter referred to as BW2025) kicked off on July 11th and lasted for three days.
After walking 20,000 steps and visiting almost all the exhibition halls, I found that the influence of BW has gone beyond the "anime culture".
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PC manufacturers compete at BW to attract young people
To be honest, I was really a little shocked by the enthusiasm of PC manufacturers to participate in BW when I saw that they occupied most of Hall 4 and also took up about half of Hall 3. As a leading player in the PC industry, Intel joined hands with multiple brands such as Lenovo, HP, ASUS, MECHREVO, Thunderobot, and Alienware to form the largest PC "battle group" at BW2025.
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Why use the term "battle group"? Because in the exhibition areas of these PC brands, you can see ubiquitous "battle" elements. The deep integration of games with BW2025 and young people's love for games are the reasons why Intel attaches so much importance to BW.
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One day before the opening of BW2025, Intel officially launched the new concept of "AI Silent Gaming Laptop" in Shanghai. Each of the cooperating brands also brought their products designed based on this concept to BW2025. This was also the first public appearance of the AI Silent Gaming Laptop. For example, Thunderobot displayed multiple new-generation gaming laptops based on the Core Ultra 200 series, including the recently popular Blade series.
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When I stopped at the PC booths of Lenovo, HP, etc., I quickly found that each brand had its own focus. For example, Lenovo's booth was all - around. Multiple product lines such as Legion, Xiaoxin, and moto were all on display. It didn't focus solely on games. Instead, it aimed to let young people know more about Lenovo by showing a rich product ecosystem.
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Among all the participating brands, HP's booth was the most popular. This time, HP not only brought the upcoming Omen MAX but also set up a professional e - sports stage on - site. Through on - site competitions, it allowed the audience and participants to directly experience the performance of HP PCs. At the same time, it also set up a large number of experience areas, allowing passers - by to sit down and play a game on the spot. I have to say that this approach is really popular among passers - by.
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In the past two years, HP's Omen series has been moving closer to the youth market. This year, the Omen 11 with a new mold has become one of the most popular gaming laptop series. Lei Technology also conducted a real - test experience recently, which will be released soon. You can look forward to it. It's worth mentioning that all the peripherals used in the competition were from HyperX. Since being acquired by HP in 2023, it has also achieved good results in the PC market in recent years.
Since Lenovo and HP, two of the top three PC brands, have come, ASUS naturally won't be absent. The classic combination of Tianxuanji + ROG can be said to have a high concentration of "anime culture". At ASUS's booth, you can see many PC products designed with Tianxuanji as an element, from complete machines to DIY hardware, which are enough to attract young people who are keen on anime culture to stop.
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Moreover, ASUS previously announced a collaboration with the popular anime IP "Hatsune Miku". This time, it will release the second batch of co - branded products at BW. Lei Technology will continue to follow up and report. It can be said that ASUS is the brand that plays the anime marketing game best. Relying on its self - developed anime IPs such as Tianxuanji and collaborations with popular IPs, it has already established a solid customer base.
ASUS wasn't the only one to launch new products at BW. MECHREVO also brought its latest Yaoshi Pro series. The Yaoshi Pro series targets the market of lightweight and high - performance laptops. At the same time, it uses a new A - side processing technology. The pattern and feel similar to diamond crystals are obviously more attractive to young people than traditional designs. It can be said to be a product specially designed for students and the young population.
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After visiting all the laptop brand booths, I found that all brands focused on promoting "cost - effective" products. Even Alienware, which is known for its "high prices" (self - mocking as a "luxury" at the Intel press conference), is also promoting the launch of cost - effective product lines. On the premise of ensuring quality and design, it aims to promote Alienware laptops to more price segments.
In addition to higher cost - effectiveness, the combination of e - sports collaborations and anime IPs has become the common choice of all brands. This has also made laptop manufacturers regulars at major ACGN exhibitions. For example, at the Firefly Comic Convention held in Guangzhou, brands like ASUS are also regular participants.
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Lei Technology simply counted. Basically, all the well - known first - and second - tier laptop brands in China were present. If we really have to say who was missing, it might be Dell, which has been getting less attention in recent years (actually, strictly speaking, Alienware also belongs to the Dell brand). Moreover, manufacturers like ASUS and HP attach great importance to BW. A brand PR told Lei Technology that many brands value BW even more than CJ (ChinaJoy) because they see the potential of young people in the digital consumption market.
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It's not only laptop manufacturers that understand this. Some PC hardware manufacturers with a keen sense of smell have also started to take action. In Hall 3, besides brands like ASUS and MSI, the appearance of ZT, a storage brand, surprised me the most. As a high - end storage brand under Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd., ZT can be said to be a representative of domestic solid - state drives. Its reputation among users even exceeds that of established manufacturers like Samsung.
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Moreover, as a young brand, ZT had previously collaborated with IPs such as "The Three - Body Problem". This time, it directly entered BW and targeted the core youth market. However, ZT wasn't the only storage brand present. Diagonally opposite its exhibition hall, ADATA also brought its anime IP. ADATA might be the storage brand that started to focus on anime IPs the earliest. With its anime - based strategy, ADATA's popularity has been significantly improved.
It's not hard to see that the target group of PC manufacturers is changing rapidly. From focusing on "professional gamers" in the past, it has shifted to the "general anime - loving gamer group". As the proportion of the general anime - loving (animation, games, etc.) population among young people is getting higher and higher, we can say that capturing the anime culture means capturing the future.
BW's popularity hits a new high, and the general anime culture has great potential
Through communication with Bilibili insiders, Lei Technology obtained some data about the first day of BW. As one of the largest ACGN exhibitions in Asia, it is estimated that over 300,000 people will visit during BW2025, and the number of people who booked tickets in advance exceeded 900,000. Meituan travel data shows that the booking growth rate of Shanghai's cultural and tourism increased by 35% month - on - month, and the ticket booking volume of flights to Shanghai from various places increased by nearly 50% year - on - year. Its boost to the tourism market was very obvious.
Meanwhile, BW2025 was also the largest in the history of BW. The official data shows that it had an exhibition area of 240,000 square meters, with more than 700 exhibitors of various types and more than 800 decorated cars participating in the exhibition. It was also the largest decorated car gathering in Asia and attracted more than 1,000 guest UP - owners from around the world. Even Aenes Malafi, the Consul - General of the Consulate - General of Kuwait in Shanghai, came to visit multiple main booths.
Image source: bilibili
In addition, Sony Entertainment also brought multiple popular IPs under its banner to BW2025. For example, the author of the popular anime "Bocchi the Rock!" chose BW for the first overseas autograph session. "Death Stranding 2", invested and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, also chose BW as the first stop of its overseas promotion. The game's star producer, Hideo Kojima, even came to the scene for promotion.
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To some extent, BW has become a new calling card for Shanghai to Asia and even the world. It has an increasingly high influence among the general anime - loving group. In fact, the spill - over effect of BW's influence is very obvious. In the exhibition hall, I also saw exhibition halls of various brands such as Zhijie, Chow Tai Fook, M&G, and Deli. These brands, which are outside the traditional