A video game is an electronic game that can be interacted with using an input device, such as a controller, keyboard or joystick. Video games can be used for entertainment and relaxation but they can also be used for competitions, learning, education, training, health and much more.
From an economic perspective, the eGames industry is booming. In recent years, it has experienced outstanding growth. More than 2.5 billion people worldwide play games regularly.
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s estimated value is $13.4 billion. Annual global gaming revenue will exceed $200 billion by 2023, which is more than worldwide film box office earnings, music streaming, and album sales, as well as the top five wealthiest sports leagues, combined.
However, in Portugal, this sector has been known for its fragmentation and difficulty in leveraging despite the great potential and highly-skilled human resources. Therefore, the eGames Lab aims to address technological specific and operational challenges identified in Portugal, which will leverage the competitiveness of the members and position them in a worldwide context.
Covering the country from Évora to Lisbon, Madeira, and the Azores, the project will diversify the Portuguese economic fabric that is heavily dependent on a single industry (tourism), thereby increasing the country’s competitiveness in IT and Web 3.0 industries. The eGames Lab will build capacity for retaining in the country a young, well-trained generation of different backgrounds: design, storytelling, engineering, marketing, and fine arts. It will also attract key stakeholders to Portugal and create a long-lasting sustainable ecosystem for game design and development, playtesting, and successfully bringing to market the results from creative research and development efforts in interactive entertainment.
Facilitated market launch and financial sustainability; Innovation Centers available for hands-on testing, acceleration programs, physical working space and access to top equipment; Highly-qualified job creation and retention of skilled workforce. Facilitation of new EU-funded projects in complementary areas.
Significant job creation in a peripheral region; Creation of a new competence center for Dell; Building up R&D capacity at ITI/LARSyS in Madeira; Exploitation of the upcoming Funchal Cultural and Innovation Center; Diversification of the economy;
Retention of a recently-graduated, well-trained generation of students with experience in the dual-degree programs between the Univ. of Madeira and Carnegie-Mellon: Interactive Media Design, HCI and the MSc in Entertainment Technology.
Increased R&D capacity, strengthening the relationship with Portugal’s historical scientific international partnerships; Highly-qualified job creation; A new ecosystem for all Portuguese eGames companies, with clear benefits such as promotion, marketing, acceleration programs and entrepreneurship- in-residence program.
Highly-skilled job creation in a specific field with economical potential for the global market; Market launch of several eGames produced in the Azores, positioning the region in the global value chain of a new industry.
Capacity-building at the Évora Technological Park; Strategic specialization of Évora as a new key actor regarding immersive technologies, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs and artificial intelligence; Access to VCs from a low-density region of Portugal.
