Greater Asia, 28 January 2016 – To celebrate the Lunar New Year and usher in the Year of the Monkey, Xbox unveiled the Lunar New Year Xbox One Art Series, comprising eight unique consoles designed by prominent and emerging artists hand-picked from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Conceptualized, designed and fabricated over a two-week period, each of the Lunar New Year Xbox One Art Series consoles are one-of-a-kind, and was designed to capture the essence of Lunar New Year – a time of festivities, togetherness and sharing.
Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, marks the beginning of the new year based on the traditional Chinese calendar. It is the most important Chinese festival across the world, typically celebrated over a period of fifteen days, starting on the eve of the Lunar New Year and ending on the 15th day of the first month. Customs and traditions such as reunion dinners, relative visitation and fireworks are some of the festivities that mark Lunar New Year celebrations all across the world.
“Lunar New Year is the most important holiday for the Chinese population all across Asia. This year, we partnered with both leading and up-and-coming artists from four different markets, to create the special Lunar New Year Xbox One Art Series that is steeped in the spirit of the New Year. We know that our fans will love to get their hands on one of these unique consoles, hand-crafted specially for fans, and we hope that these consoles will bring their new owners joy, prosperity and good luck throughout the New Year,” said Zeph Stuart, Head of Xbox Asia.
Unveiled at an exclusive launch event in Hong Kong, the Lunar New Year Xbox One Art Series will be given away to eight lucky fans in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan via a giveaway held on the respective local Xbox social media pages starting 29 January 2016. To participate, fans will need to “tag a friend” on the Xbox social media pages below, and describe in 88 characters or less why they deserve to bring home one of the eight artistic consoles1.
- Xbox Hong Kong – facebook.com/xboxhk
- Xbox Singapore – facebook.com/xboxsg
- Xbox Taiwan – facebook.com/xboxtw
Here are the eight consoles featured in Lunar New Year Xbox One Art Series:
Monkey Ear, Monkey Year by Kevin Chou (周育潤)
Two big round ears symbolize not only the year of the monkey, but also echoes the concept of “reunion,” an integral part of the Lunar New Year spirit.
Kevin Chou is an international designer and is a recipient of the prestigious Red Dot Design Award.
Golden Sand Ingot by Song-Kuan Wang (王松冠老師)
The “golden sand” is shaped into countless gold ingots, symbolizing auspiciousness, good fortune and well wishes of multiple successes that will accumulate into endless fortune this year.
Song-Kuan Wang is a well-known sculptor and artist. He focuses on human solicitude and expresses this in traditional and modern art forms.
Good Fortune Monkeys by Tzu-Yu Chao and Chang-Yi Ho (趙子佑、何昶毅)
The pair of monkeys is seen presenting the rare peaches of immortality, conveying wishes of longevity. While the abundance of firecrackers and lanterns signify well wishes of infinite happiness.
Tzu-Yu Chao and Chang-Yi Ho are both young, talented Lego artists who show off their passion and creativity through their work.
What the Luck by Jan Curious
A break from the traditional red, the black and white in this piece represent the sky and earth, or ‘yin and yang.’ The large white Chinese character, ”福” which means luck, is in white and signifies happiness that seems unobtainable, but is actually the accumulation of all good memories.
Jan Curious is a designer and singer of the band ”Chochukmo. He hopes to get people thinking through his music and drawings.
Monkey Mountain by Graphic Airlines
Monkey Mountain is a popular spot in Hong Kong and with this year being the Monkey’s year, having Monkey Mountain on the Xbox One represents that the Xbox is the “best buddy” for everyone in Hong Kong this year.
Graphic Airlines is a creative duo comprising designers Tat and Vi, stalwarts of Hong Kong’s burgeoning street art scene.
Candy-box One by Ar To (阿塗)
The candy box design represents the gifting of happiness to people during Lunar New Year and interplays with how the Xbox One brings joy to its user
Ar To is an illustrator and graphic designer. Ar To’s works underscore societal happenings and reflect the “reality of the world.”
Big Fortune by Zoie Lam
Traditionally during Lunar New Year, people place panama oranges at home to bring good fortune. The square panama in the design represents breaking old rules and creating new environments in the new year.
Zoie Lam is a fashion designer, illustrator and stylist who established her own brand, ZL by ZLISM back in 2010 and was the first Hong Kong designer to be invited to join Fashion Week in Berlin in Fall 2015.
The Forbidden X by Cay Kou (郭祥)
A homage to the iconic Forbidden City and its beautiful architecture, this piece visualizes the tension between power and limits, creating a heightened experience for gamers.
Cay Kou, is a 24-year-old visual artist who graduated from the famed Tsinhua University’s Academy of Fine Arts
“We are extremely grateful to our legion of Xbox fans for their strong support over the past year. To kick off 2016 in a big way, we are rolling out attractive Xbox bundles that offer special discounted packages for a limited period this Lunar New Year, on top of the Lunar New Year Xbox One Art Series giveaway. We are committed to our fans in this region, and are working on delighting our fans in fresh new ways this year,” said Zeph Stuart, Head of Xbox Asia.
With 2016 featuring a whole host of exciting game releases and activities by Xbox, fans in Asia can look forward to much more when Lunar New Year comes around. With great new games, hundreds of additional titles coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility, a wave of investments in Xbox and gaming on Windows 10, new Xbox Live updates and new features for the console including Cortana on Xbox One, 2016 is shaping up to be an even bigger year for gamers in Asia. Some of the blockbuster games fans can look out for this year include:
- Lego Marvel Avengers
- Romance of Three Kingdoms 13
- Cobalt
- Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
- Far Cry Primal
- Tom Clancy’s The Division
- Plants vs Zombies™ Garden Warfare 2
- EA SPORTS™ UFC® 2
- Quantum Break
- Battleborn
1 The Lunar New Year Xbox Art Series consoles are designed for display only and are non-playable. Contest starts 29 January 2016 and ends 12 February 2016, 6PM SGT.
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