Money Spent On Violent Video Games 2017

video game coins

Just caught this survey about Fortnite spending and I'm blown away…

Didn't even know this was a thing, did you?!

Per LendEdu:

77% of respondents have spent money on Fortnite in-game purchases, which was up from 69% in 2018.
The average amount spent was $102.42, which was an increase of 21% from 2018's figure of $84.67.
In 2020, 35% of Fortnite spenders were unaware that in-game purchases did not give them an advantage, and 34% said Fortnite was the first game that they started making in-game purchases.

Wha??? If it's not giving you an advantage then what are you buying?! $100 has to be more than the game itself costs, right?!

[Just Googled the cost, and um…. it's Free, lol…. Can you tell I'm not a gamer? :)

Fortnite doesn't cost m oney to play, but it sure generates a lot of cash. The game sells V-Bucks, which go for $9.99 per 1,000 and can be spent on customization items. Players use V-Bucks to buy emotes, which are dance moves, and skins, which are outfits and accessories. – Money Mag

Dance moves and clothes – got it!]

22% of respondents pay for a Twitch subscription account to watch others play video games, with 57% paying for the $9.99 per month model and 29% paying for the $4.99 per month model.

Paying to watch OTHERS play??

21% of respondents would rather pay money to watch someone, like Ninja, play Fortnite compared to the 67% that opted to watch a major sporting event, like the Super Bowl, for free.

Who the hell is Ninja?

Richard Tyler Blevins, better known by his online alias Ninja, is an American streamer, YouTuber, professional gamer, and Internet personality. – Wikipedia

Just….. wow…. haha…

I know I sound like an old man here, but I'm genuinely blown away by all this… I could barely get my parents to pony up the $25 or whatever for a new NES game back in the day – no less spending 4x that INSIDE of one! Not that that was even a thing back in the 90s…

And I'm sure there's a ton of older kids/adults playing this too (maybe even some of you?) so it's def. not kid-only, but man – what a world…

Want to buy an avatar you can use here on this blog to hang out? :) $20 and I'll even let you pick out your hair style! Lol…

But in all seriousness, no judging from here on my end…

As a guy who once spent $40 for a bottle of water or over $100 on a coin with a face value of 1/2 a cent I certainly have no room to talk ;) If you have the money and it genuinely EXCITES you, then great!! We're allowed to spend our money on whatever we want no matter what others say….

And I'm reminded of how our tastes and priorities change over the years too. Like how in the beginning we're all about toys and FUN and "stuff", and then later switch to clothing and cars and maybe some partying action (guilty there!!), and then later move to more traveling and "experiences" or even asset building activities.

I honestly can't think of a single thing I used to spend money on growing up that I do now, outside of clothing and food. We change SO MUCH as people over the years so of course our spending is going to too! But at every point in my life I distinctly remember how *important* those things were to me at the time, even if they're ridiculous to the now current me… (like with that dang $40 bottled water! Still unopened and on my shelf to remind me of my old ways!).

So I guess the point of all this rambling is that if spending $$ inside video games is making you happy on the daily, then by all means keep doing it! Even if lame people like me don't get it!

I'm pretty sure if you saw all the things I spend my money on you'd get a good laugh out of a few of them too ;) We all have our indulgences! And we're constantly changing!

Thoughts from you?

******
UPDATE: Got a lot of great feedback from y'all on this, and I must admit I missed one pretty important element here: spending good time with friends and others while playing! Which I am 100% for spending money on, ALWAYS. It still prob won't be enough for me to join in, but I certainly spend a fair chunk of money reconnecting with others myself (grabbing coffees/lunches/vacations/etc). So I get all this a little more now, and wanna thank y'all for all your notes and emails! I'm glad you're having fun with everyone! (But will still make fun of the fact y'all buy digital clothes, lol…)

Jay loves talking about money, collecting coins, blasting hip-hop, and hanging out with his three beautiful boys. You can check out all of his online projects at jmoney.biz. Thanks for reading the blog!

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