Getting the most joy out of an expo

"I'm very excited to see the Xbox. Its launch price (3,699 yuan) is okay. I've been a gamer all my life and now there will be a proper channel for me to pick up my favorite games." - Yu Silu

New console, better game

Snapshots from ChinaJoy 2014

"It is one thing if a video game company pays women to dress up in sexualized versions of their games' characters or something.

"Having models hold up hard drives, which were essentially unbranded, was kind of a confession, 'yeah, we're going to assume that you'll buy anything that has a pretty good babe next to it."

There were some aspects of the show that were still appealing to gamers.

Major foreign gaming companies such as Sony and Microsoft came to play this year with their latest video game consoles, with Microsoft showing Xbox One, the first of its kind in China in the last 13 years, and Sony with its PlayStation 4.

"There was definitely a lot of excitement about the Xbox coming to China," says Crouch. "When I was waiting to get inside, I stood next to a third-time China Joyer who said it was what he was looking forward to most."

Many gamers lined up on the tiny green-lit stage that was the Microsoft Xbox booth hoping to get a chance to play the Xbox.

At the end of it all though, China Joy was a rather eclectic mix of video games, dance shows, scantily-clad women, and a giant crowd.

For Crouch, spending six hours at the convention was a little bit too much. He says he was glad for the experience, the "novelty" of it all, but he probably won't come back.

"Oh man, I can't wait to go back and join a huge group of sweaty dudes taking pictures of girls," he says, tongue-in-cheek.