I was not at all surprised when the internet's newest game sensation, Fortnite, started selling skins for real money. It is a manipulative technique to take money from teenagers who are already hooked on the game to spend not just their time, but their money on it. It has been successful for many other games that sell virtual clout for real money, such as the Kim Kardashian game.
However, I was surprised when people in my grade that I interact with everyday actually buy them. I know that Fortnite has taken the world by storm (haha) and I know that they play regularly, which I don't really care about. It is just shocking to me that so many people I know are obsessed with Fortnite enough that, even though it is a video game and in a year, it won't be popular anymore, they still spend real money on it. It just shows how much Fortnite consumes their time and resources.
Seeing how other people interact with media and so influenced by it, I myself am noticing how I spend so much time on Instagram and Snapchat recently. I want to practice what I preach, so I decided to stop using those apps for the next week (unless I have to communicate with someone for school) and see how it affects my day to day. maybe I am just as obsessed with media as my Fortnite playing peers, even if I don't spend real money to flex on virtual games.
I know that this might be an unpopular opinion to the people that this blog applies to so please comment so we can have a constructive conversation!
xoxo,
Maevey
asking the real questions. my brother plays fortnite all the time, so i spend an awful lot of time listening to it while doing homework, and even if he doesn't buy the skins, he has friends that have spent hundreds of dollars doing it. maybe it's because they want to be a part of an elite within an elite, or to have a bit more control over the game. i honestly find it super interesting how games like fortnite inspire people to spend an awful lot of money on a fictional world, on something intangible. i'm excited to see other replies to this story!
ReplyDeleteAs a Fortnite player as well as owning several skins, I can admit I have spent around fifty dollars on the so called free game. On my first purchase, I bought the battle pass, an item that allows you to unlock different characters to play as through leveling up in the game. This is a worthy purchase to me, as it forces you to grind out the levels in order to unlock the skins you really want. In my case I wanted to get every single skin, so I needed to hit tier 100 which is quite difficult and I had to spend a good amount of hours getting high enough level. These cosmetics are said to not effect you in game, yet when I see someone with a really rare skin, or one that costs a hefty price, I can tell that they are invested in the game, which causes me to be more scared of them, and usually these players are very skilled. I prefer using skins that look good, while also being unique, and I think that these in game skins give everyone a bit of individuality. These skins are not a required purchase, yet if you want to look good and thus play good as some would say then they can help you be more confident in your skills.
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