[Shanghai Secrets] is a column devoted to the city's most elusive treasures – the tucked-away spots, under-the-radar experiences, and word-of-mouth wonders that even longtime locals might not know. From clandestine cocktail bars and unmarked dumpling dens to artisans and ateliers hidden in plain sight, we curate Shanghai's best-kept secrets. If you have to know someone to find it, you'll find it here.

Here's a sweet cheat code for your life if you're a PC or console gamer looking for the latest releases, computer hardware, peripherals, and accessories at great prices – it's the Republic of Gamers (ROG) mall at Exit 9 in Xujiahui.

Select, start!

The layout is classic Shanghai Mall style, with dedicated bigger brand name shops on the first floor, independent clusters of vendors on the second, and even more random clusters of vendors deeper in the back halls of both floors one and two. ROG is actually a sub-brand of ASUS, the Taiwanese manufacturer, but this mall has blossomed into an everything-gaming hotspot, so dig in.

PlayStation, Switch, Xbox Games, Games, Games

It is, of course, never easier to buy games online, but if you're a physical copy purist, or even if you like to shop old school, browsing through shelves of games, this is the spot. As soon as games are released, they pop up here, ranging in prices from 250 yuan and up, basically matching Taobao rates. No waiting for shipping – this is instant gratification!

Let's salivate over some of these.

Everyone is still banging on about our favorite mythical monkey – here's Black Myth: Wukong, which just got its physical release after burning up sales records in 2024 to be the biggest game ever from a Chinese developer. Or maybe, it immobilized sales charts, whipped out Pluck of Many, and then did a fully charged Smash Stance on them. (If you know, you know.)

Browsing through some of the other latest releases, we saw the new Assassin's Creed: We Finally Did a Samurai One, The First Bezerker: Kazan, and the new Indiana Jones, which is supposed to be pretty rad. All of those came out, like, five seconds ago.

There are several stores with racks and racks of Switch, Xbox, PS4, and PS5 games, but we like the one right when you get off the escalator on the second floor. They've got everything organized better – all the FromSoftware games together, for example – and the widest selection. Basically, if it was nominated for GOTY in the last 8 years or so, it'll be here.

Oh, hey, what's this Contra all about? That's the good thing about browsing your games IRL. You can make some discoveries you might not know about.

Make sure you ask for the English language version of the games. A few are Chinese releases only.

All PlayStations Available and Switch 2 on the Way

To take a step back, if you're looking to radically improve the quality of your life or ruin it completely, they've got stacks of PS5s in all variations for around 3,000 yuan for the original recipe and 6,000 yuan for the PS5 Pro – again, comparable to Taobao prices.

We asked a few vendors if they're going to be stocking the new Switch that's coming out, and they said, "Next month." Righteous!

Advanced Nerdery: Parts and Builds for PC Gamers

PC gaming is over our heads, so we're just going to point you in that direction and humbly let you take it from there. Push beyond the flaps on the second floor, and you'll see the PC builds section, with stacks of hard drives, webcams, sound cards, monitors, and motherboards everywhere, as well as brainy-looking dudes putting all the pieces together. Some of these guys look like they could use some sun, but I bet they could put together a real sweet gaming 'puter if you're in the market!

Random Electronics, Repairs

Along with the consoles, PC stuff, and games, it's also everything electronic – cellphones, new and used; Apple products and accessories; and repair stations thereof, therein.

If you go...

The Republic of Gamers is at Exit 9 of the Xujiahui Metro Station. When you leave the station, take the escalator on the right outside, and it's on your left.