Far from being a mere toy, video game playing is having an enormous impact worldwide both culturally and economically. The European industry is now the sector’s second most powerful player. Which explains why the EU intends to make the most of its capabilities.
Soft power is the type of influence that a nation exerts without resorting to military or political instruments, but rather through culture or other industries. Hollywood stands out as an example of US soft power par excellence. Another example is the video game industry, a powerful cultural vehicle, with over 3 billion people worldwide who consider themselves gamers, and business worth more than the film and music industry combined.
Following the slight drop in turnover in 2022, caused by problems purchasing the semiconductors needed to produce new consoles, 2023 should see a return to positive numbers. This is the result of research by Ampere Analysis: the sector grew by 26% from 2019 to 2021, reaching a record turnover of $191 billion. Sales fell in 2022 for the first time since 2015, losing 1.2% year-on-year. Nonetheless, the market is expected to reach the $195 billion mark this year.
A European Video Game Observatory
Faced with these figures, the European Union has understood the strategic importance of the sector, stating as much officially in the report on eSports and video games, approved on 10 November by the European Parliament. The legislator must now translate the principles set forth in the resolution into concrete acts: increasing the number of video games produced on the continent and promoting public and private investment, as well as creating a European Video Game Observatory and an archive to preserve the most culturally significant European ones.
The aim is to consolidate the European ecosystem, retaining talent and enhancing the EU's role in this industry, which is also essential for training of young people. Likewise, the report calls for video games to be promoted that showcase European history, diversity and values, such as fair play, solidarity, anti-racism, social inclusion and gender equality.
Poland, the leading producer
“Today, video games represent a huge cultural sector that combines art, technology and interaction. They have huge potential in terms of economy, soft power, education and intergenerational connection,” said MEP and report author Laurence Farreng at the European Parliament after a session in October 2022, where measures were demanded to promote video game development in the EU. The importance of some national video game industries in the EU were key to inspiring this operation. Particularly Poland, the EU’s leading producer in this field. So much so that in 2019, the Warsaw stock market opened an index dedicated to companies in this sector, thereby enabling the attraction of new capital into the country.
Historically, the leading producing countries in the industry were the US States and Japan, but in recent years things have changed with the boom of the huge Chinese market, which in 2021 accounted for 54.6% of global video game exports, resulting in nearly $15 billion in turnover. Japan ranks second and, some way behind, are Poland, Germany and the US. States
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