The game was advertised through a mail-order postcard system featured in obscure Japanese publications focusing on "magicoms"—unlicensed Super Famicom floppy disk drive accessories. These magazines were often related to the "underground game scene" in Hong Kong and Japan in the mid-90s, where pirate games were widely discussed.
Kurosawa revealed he designed the game to be intentionally terrible as a "black humor" critique of the mainstream gaming industry, which he felt was stifling and boring.
Uncovering the Legend: The Infamous "Hong Kong 97" Magazine Link and Game hong kong 97 magazine link
If you're interested in exploring more, here are some links:
Despite its tumultuous history, Hong Kong 97 left an indelible mark on the city's cultural landscape. The magazine played a significant role in shaping Hong Kong's indie music, art, and design scenes, inspiring a new wave of creatives to push boundaries and challenge conventions. Today, Hong Kong 97 is recognized as a pioneering publication that helped pave the way for free expression and alternative culture in Hong Kong. The game was advertised through a mail-order postcard
The ad didn't look like a standard video game ad; it appeared more like a bizarre, amateurish advertisement, emphasizing its "worst game" status. 2018: The Truth Emerges
The only way to prove the game was a legitimate, commercial product released in the mid-1990s is to find : magazine advertisements, previews, or reviews from 1995–1997. Uncovering the Legend: The Infamous "Hong Kong 97"
To the uninitiated, this might look like a typo or a niche financial publication. But to gamers, horror enthusiasts, and historians of cult media, this string of words represents the Holy Grail of lost media: the search for verifiable, period-authentic magazine scans or articles that reviewed, advertised, or discussed the infamous Hong Kong 97 video game.
offers one of the most comprehensive "guides" to the game's development, explaining how it was created in just two days to satirize the industry. The Creator's Perspective : A detailed interview with creator Kowloon Kurosawa Siliconera explains his intent to make the "worst game possible". Fodor's "Hong Kong '97"