(Yicai Global) Feb. 6 -- While the nationwide spread of the novel coronavirus from Wuhan is hammering a slew of Chinese industries like tourism and restaurants, the local gaming sector is flourishing as many seek alternative entertainment sources while staying safe at home.

E-commerce sales of the Sony PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch have surged lately, and the number of players active online has seen a rapid boost, Beijing News reported, citing a Taobao seller who witnessed increased sales of consoles and games when the outbreak began.

Tencent's mobile game Honor of Kings turned over about CNY2 billion (USD287 million) on Jan. 24, Chinese New Year's Eve, marking a 50 percent annual gain, according to Sinolink Securities.

Game for Peace, the Chinese mobile version of battle royale PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, made an all-time record of between CNY200 million and CNY500 million the same day, Sinolink predicted, adding that it had up to 100 million daily active players during the holiday, crashing its servers and making it one of Weibo's most searched topics.

The epidemic has been a boost but marketing has also played a role in the surge, industry observer Ma Jing said. Very few people have been traveling during the holiday because of the outbreak, so they are killing time by playing games at home, he added.

One gaming firm that may not fare so well from the epidemic is Nintendo, which has several production lines in China so will be struggling to produce its Switch console locally, the report added.

Editor: James Boynton