Esports Innovation Center: A Hub for Competition, Research, and Collaboration
By: Andrew Weilgus, Director, Esports Innovation Center, 淫性视频
When people outside the industry think of esports, the image of out-of-shape teens playing endless hours of confusing games is often what they envision, but nothing could be further from the truth. Esports, like traditional sports, cannot be pigeonholed into a single category. In traditional sports, the audiences for basketball, football, hockey, and baseball vary widely from fans of motorsports, track and field, and strategy sports like chess.
Andrew Weilgus
Director, Esports Innovation Center (EIC) - 淫性视频
Esports works the same way, there are dozens of video game titles people play competitively but the ecosystem surrounding it is a multi-faceted, multibillion-dollar industry that includes tech titans Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and many others. Do you want to know how big esports has become?
Microsoft just purchased one of the most prestigious game developers for close to $70 billion (yes with a B). In the 1990s, the Nintendo World Championships offered $10,000 for first place. Fast forward to 2022, DOTA 2 (Defense of the Ancients)鈥檚 鈥淚nternational鈥 had a prize pool of over $40 million for a single event.
It鈥檚 easy to get caught up in the hype or buzzwords surrounding esports, but the key thing to keep in mind is the industry supports a variety of high-tech, high-paying jobs that have NOTHING to do with being a professional gamer.
Think of it this way, students study sports management because they hope their passion for the sport could translate into a career in the sports industry not because they believe they will play pro. Gamers are the same way, their skill sets support a broad industry that has jobs including computer programming, graphic design, event planning and management, local and national marketing etc. but at their core, they enjoy the game itself and that drives them to participate in the overall ecosystem it is a part of.
Atlantic City is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing esports passion for several key reasons."
Fourth, the industry depends on skilled labor for growth and the higher education system in the tri-state area is among the best in the world to complement the esports industry. Over a dozen New Jersey schools have active esports programs with 淫性视频 University boasting 700 participants and a global No. 2 ranking among universities in Rocket League, one of the most played esports (think of soccer but instead of players, high-end cars move a ball across a field to score goals). The ability to turn a passion for esports into a career in esports is a major focus of the Esports Innovation Center at 淫性视频. We invite you to learn about this growing industry and its many components. Our Innovation Center will begin operating this October on the world-famous Atlantic City Boardwalk at 淫性视频鈥檚 campus.