Alipay launches AR red envelope game for Chinese New Year

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By CGTN’s Grace Shao

Alipay, a third-party payment platform, launched a new cash grab game based on augmented reality (AR) technology, giving users a chance to test the game just in time for the Chinese New Year.

Ling Long, the product manager of Alipay’s AR red envelope game, showed how the game works.

Users can tap on the screen for a clue to find the hidden envelopes. The app uses location-based services and users can only pin envelopes within 500 meters from their actual location.

Xinhua Photo

The AR technology in the app utilizes user’s location through an advanced GPS system to show them the closest red envelopes, or Hongbao in Chinese, and then uses the camera from their phone to identify the object they’re looking at. To release the red envelope, they just need to scan the object with their phone and click on the money bag.

Xinhua Photo‍

“Giving red envelopes is a traditional custom in China. We hope this fun new activity can bring everyone together during Chinese New Year. We also hope this will allow more online-to-offline interaction of people in the digital world. And this app can be used by retailers to attract more traffic to their stores during the holidays,” said Ling.

Who doesn't like free money while racking up the step-counts? By modifying and enhancing the perception of reality through input senses, AR definitely deserves the hype it's getting. This new function is certain to attract more users during the upcoming holiday season.