00:00:00
shh
00:00:02
he's sleeping
00:00:04
now this right here used to be my
00:00:06
grandfather and I'm here because I'll
00:00:08
never forget what he said to me just
00:00:10
moments before he perished
00:00:12
he looked me in the eyes and he said to
00:00:15
me
00:00:16
Ren I need to tell you the biggest
00:00:19
regret and all my 90 years of life
00:00:24
was
00:00:26
forgetting to purchase the John Wick
00:00:29
skin in fortnite
00:00:33
foreign and that hit me incredibly hard
00:00:37
because
00:00:38
well I've never purchased a
00:00:41
microtransaction or skin of any kind
00:00:43
from any game in my entire life
00:00:46
but I mean can you blame me six dollars
00:00:49
to light your ghost on fire eighteen
00:00:52
dollars for a shotgun skin and 20 bucks
00:00:55
for a master chief skin when I've
00:00:57
already looked like Master Chief before
00:00:59
in a video game called Master Chief
00:01:01
Collection I mean twenty dollars is one
00:01:05
third of the cost of a full AAA game
00:01:08
right grandpa
00:01:11
maybe I'm being ignorant when I say that
00:01:13
I genuinely don't understand why people
00:01:15
spend their money on this stuff
00:01:17
sometimes but I think it's finally time
00:01:19
that I did and so I finally caved in and
00:01:22
for the first time in my life your
00:01:24
favorite little boy in the whole wide
00:01:25
world ran with two ends caved in and
00:01:29
bought a micro transaction
00:01:32
yeah and not with the money I get from
00:01:34
my patreon which all goes right back
00:01:36
into this channel but instead with my
00:01:39
very own money that comes right back out
00:01:41
of this channel
00:01:42
look at that 2800 V bucks
00:01:45
[Music]
00:01:46
what's the most amount of V bucks you've
00:01:48
had
00:01:51
I don't know either to be honest
00:01:53
as I browsed this store I was surprised
00:01:55
that the tinge of excitement I felt at
00:01:58
the notion that I was doing something
00:01:59
new guess I'll go with Dead Eye kind of
00:02:02
a Casanova of the crypt that's about 20
00:02:05
bucks 15 bucks
00:02:08
wow and it's that easy to just spend it
00:02:11
but even more so I was excited to show
00:02:13
off my new skin to the underprivileged
00:02:16
and unwashed youth of the fortnite
00:02:17
landscape hey uh junior what do you
00:02:20
think of my skin
00:02:22
pretty cool yeah pretty cool I like your
00:02:25
skins very cool it looks nice what made
00:02:28
you want to get that skin you got there
00:02:29
oh
00:02:31
oh no this is my son's account saying my
00:02:35
account I only use it because
00:02:38
I don't have it on my other account
00:02:41
how much money would you say you've
00:02:43
spent on skins
00:02:45
I used to play a lot more probably like
00:02:47
80 bucks too much too much yeah too much
00:02:51
I think it's a fair observation do you
00:02:54
feel shame from that or do you think
00:02:55
it's benefited
00:02:56
oh
00:02:59
I like it
00:03:01
so how would you feel if this game had
00:03:03
something like established titles like
00:03:05
titles like
00:03:07
you wear title like titles you wear no
00:03:09
established titles is a Project based on
00:03:12
a historic Scottish custom where
00:03:14
landowners are referred to as Lords and
00:03:16
Ladies in English and they are today's
00:03:19
sponsor
00:03:21
uh I don't know a title pack will get
00:03:24
you at least one square foot of land on
00:03:26
a private estate in Scotland they do not
00:03:29
however allow you to be buried there you
00:03:32
know your purchase also comes with a
00:03:33
certificate which features a unique plot
00:03:35
number on it with which you can see the
00:03:37
location of your land and it's way
00:03:39
cooler than a camo skin what you can
00:03:43
also have them put whatever name you
00:03:44
want to on here I had them put the name
00:03:46
Carter because I planned on doing a
00:03:48
movie review of the Netflix movie Carter
00:03:51
but then I decided not to do that so now
00:03:53
this just says Carter
00:03:55
but what's cool is after buying it you
00:03:57
can officially change your name to Lord
00:03:59
or lady and have that put on your credit
00:04:02
card so you could say Lord Jr the killer
00:04:05
on your credit card yeah sounds cool
00:04:07
they plant a tree with every order and
00:04:10
they work with great Charities like
00:04:12
trees for the future one tree planted
00:04:15
One Tree Hill the birds in the trees
00:04:17
grounds for treason trezits and chorizo
00:04:20
burrito
00:04:21
some pretty good Charities established
00:04:24
titles actually makes for a great last
00:04:26
minute gift and they're actually running
00:04:28
a massive sale but also if you use the
00:04:30
code rr10 you can get an additional 10
00:04:32
off your purchase so go there to pick up
00:04:36
some land
00:04:36
[Music]
00:04:39
[ __ ]
00:04:41
while it was nice to have a new skin I
00:04:43
still didn't feel that it was worth my
00:04:44
money as that excitement that I had from
00:04:46
getting it soon wore off with time but I
00:04:49
did get a deeper understanding of skins
00:04:51
throughout the process see there's this
00:04:53
Rush of dopamine that hits when you buy
00:04:55
something new
00:04:57
it can also be nice to show appreciation
00:04:58
to a game that you've been playing for
00:05:00
weeks by buying something from it
00:05:04
skins can be a great way for people to
00:05:06
express themselves and they can be great
00:05:08
conversation starters which can then
00:05:10
leave the conversation
00:05:13
to something much deeper look at these
00:05:15
two buddies
00:05:17
hey man have you seen my new Master
00:05:18
Chief skin is it why yes I have matter
00:05:22
of fact I'm looking at it right now I
00:05:24
also have that same skin or at least I
00:05:26
used to back when I played Halo
00:05:28
but even if a ton of other people have
00:05:32
the same skin as you studies show that
00:05:34
simply buying it still makes people feel
00:05:37
unique as you've made a real life choice
00:05:39
that has impacted your gaming experience
00:05:42
now if you're using Laura Croft this
00:05:44
lets me know you're a pub stomper you're
00:05:46
the one who always has the most kills
00:05:48
out of everyone on the team and I don't
00:05:49
know how but you can take out a whole
00:05:51
Squad in under 30 seconds while they
00:05:53
don't have an effect on gameplay buying
00:05:55
skins does have a psychological effect
00:05:58
as people have reported that they do
00:06:00
feel more confident in certain skins do
00:06:03
you feel like certain skins make you
00:06:05
feel more confident in the as you play
00:06:08
um maybe a little bit does it make you
00:06:10
feel more confident to wear that skin
00:06:14
um kind of it's also just kind of fun to
00:06:16
collect stuff and as your collection
00:06:18
grows your investment in the game grows
00:06:21
along with it which gives you and more
00:06:23
importantly your friends a reason to log
00:06:25
back into the game bringing you guys
00:06:27
together and potentially keeping the
00:06:29
Friendship alive that much longer
00:06:34
[Applause]
00:06:36
and while all of that is nice I was
00:06:39
still struck by how pointless having a
00:06:41
skin actually is it's all for the sake
00:06:44
of vanity can you ride that around
00:06:46
yeah yeah
00:06:49
that's so stupid what this game is bro
00:06:52
and what do these skins prove anyhow you
00:06:55
know apart from the fact that you're a
00:06:56
fan of an existing property like Dragon
00:06:58
Ball Z or Star Wars there's nothing
00:07:01
unique or noteworthy about the fact that
00:07:03
you can look like someone else from
00:07:05
somewhere else and as a side note I
00:07:07
can't help but wonder if the likeness of
00:07:09
all these characters from other
00:07:10
franchises only serves to muddy up
00:07:13
fortnite's own identity
00:07:16
it's almost as though fortnite doesn't
00:07:18
even have one there's this long-running
00:07:20
connected narrative that weaves through
00:07:22
the games multiple Seasons but the
00:07:24
writers are forced to include the fact
00:07:26
that Darth Vader and Stormtroopers
00:07:28
somehow now exist in this world
00:07:31
got some visitors
00:07:34
first
00:07:38
it's very strange one day you're
00:07:40
bouncing off the spider webs at The
00:07:42
Daily Bugle and the next day the bugle
00:07:44
has suddenly transformed into a giant
00:07:47
pirate ship since the Spider-Man license
00:07:48
they bought from Marvel expired now how
00:07:51
does that not shatter any investment one
00:07:54
might have in the story or overall
00:07:55
universe and when a game has every
00:07:58
franchise all in one place the game
00:08:00
itself along with the franchises
00:08:02
included in it lose so much meaning
00:08:06
who would have seen the day Darth Vader
00:08:09
with Among Us on his back powering up
00:08:12
with Goku
00:08:14
yeah
00:08:15
Darth Vader wouldn't be caught dead
00:08:17
touching tips with Goku and master chief
00:08:20
would never sing a sea shanty while he
00:08:21
bangs on a tambourine there once was a
00:08:24
squad that red deed up with outfits of
00:08:27
fancy to say what's up their hopes were
00:08:29
high for a win that day call me squatty
00:08:32
boys go I don't like this these are not
00:08:35
really the characters we've come to know
00:08:36
and love instead they are only a visual
00:08:39
representation of them so I guess in a
00:08:41
sense that is fortnite's identity it
00:08:44
sells itself out to or purchases the
00:08:46
rights to any property that's willing to
00:08:48
be in the game regardless of how it
00:08:50
might impact the fortnite universe from
00:08:52
what I can tell it seems to be a new
00:08:54
form of marketing alternatively though
00:08:56
you know which game actually did skins
00:08:58
kind of perfectly you'll never guess it
00:09:00
it's
00:09:03
VR chat baby it's helped by the fact
00:09:06
that VR chat doesn't really have an
00:09:09
identity the game's sole purpose is to
00:09:11
encourage people to socialize I'm on the
00:09:13
edge of just accepting it and becoming
00:09:15
just like oh my God you're not [ __ ]
00:09:18
God skins are a huge part of the
00:09:21
ecosystem here this is the truest form
00:09:24
of self-expression a video game can
00:09:26
provide you can be any character from
00:09:28
any property or an altered version of a
00:09:31
well-known character
00:09:33
you can have attachments like working
00:09:35
guns it's tough to put this one in your
00:09:37
mouth
00:09:39
you can turn your hand into a fly that
00:09:42
also makes a buzzing sound which you can
00:09:43
use to mess with people
00:09:47
the Skins here genuinely change how you
00:09:51
interact with the game and if you're not
00:09:53
happy with any of the Skins at your
00:09:54
disposal well then just fire up blender
00:09:56
and create your own skin in there which
00:09:58
you can easily import back into the game
00:10:01
I think the skins in VR chat hold far
00:10:03
more meaning than the skins in any other
00:10:06
game although I do see how unlocking
00:10:08
something like the Darth Vader skin
00:10:10
could provide meaning to some because
00:10:12
it's living proof that you put in the
00:10:14
time and work required to hit rank 100
00:10:16
in the battle pass this season you kinda
00:10:19
had to earn this
00:10:21
[Music]
00:10:22
but apart from that there's nothing
00:10:24
beneath the surface of these Cosmetics
00:10:26
it's all skin deep
00:10:28
[Music]
00:10:30
because you really didn't earn your
00:10:31
Vegeta skin through gameplay you just
00:10:33
bought it with your own money
00:10:35
[Music]
00:10:36
now imagine if there were super special
00:10:39
skins that you could unlock by
00:10:40
completing High skill challenges like
00:10:42
winning five solo matches
00:10:45
in a row or maybe just getting a kill
00:10:49
with a sniper rifle from 200 meters away
00:10:51
something that proves that you've
00:10:53
accomplished something
00:10:55
something
00:10:57
to be feared
00:11:04
when we transfer our money into
00:11:06
something that is similar to money but
00:11:08
isn't money like points at an arcade
00:11:10
credits in a gambling machine or silver
00:11:12
it makes your money seem less valuable
00:11:15
it's no longer in your hand or your bank
00:11:17
account because mentally speaking you've
00:11:19
already parted with that money and once
00:11:21
it's been turned into fake money you're
00:11:22
more likely to splurge a little more
00:11:24
than you expected the amount of V bucks
00:11:26
you can buy in relation to what items in
00:11:28
the game cost are priced out so that
00:11:30
after a few purchases you'll just be one
00:11:32
or two hundred V bucks away from another
00:11:34
skin that you might want but of course
00:11:36
you can't just buy one or two hundred V
00:11:38
bucks the lowest amount you can get is
00:11:41
one thousand for 7.99 so you spend the
00:11:44
eight bucks buy that skin you wanted now
00:11:46
you got a few hundred V bucks left over
00:11:47
and the cycle continues this was the
00:11:50
very basis of the lawsuit that was filed
00:11:53
against epic games
00:11:55
which was settled out of court last year
00:11:57
for 26.5 million dollars
00:12:02
that and the fact that fortnite saves
00:12:05
all of mommy and daddy's debit card
00:12:07
information making it all too easy for
00:12:09
little Timmy to spend 15 bucks on a
00:12:12
Spider-Man's skin
00:12:14
and I guess parents do have a right to
00:12:16
be concerned because skins appeal to
00:12:17
Children way more than they do to adults
00:12:19
but we all know that right it makes
00:12:21
total sense that a kid would get more
00:12:23
out of her skin because when a child
00:12:25
buys something like a Spider-Man skin
00:12:27
and his imagination he has become
00:12:30
Spider-Man especially if he's swinging
00:12:32
around the map with a grapple hook
00:12:35
but then that made me wonder what does a
00:12:37
30 year old who is free of mental
00:12:39
illness get out of buying a skin why did
00:12:42
you buy this Chun Li's skin and what did
00:12:44
you get out of it uh I get to dance on
00:12:47
little kids that have no money she also
00:12:50
has a fat butt I do think that the
00:12:52
economy of skins can be manipulative as
00:12:55
well as most of these live service games
00:12:57
will have skins that are only available
00:12:58
for a limited time and if you don't
00:13:00
scoop it up right now it'll be gone
00:13:02
forever this makes us feel like we need
00:13:05
the skin when in all actuality we really
00:13:07
don't and man sometimes going for these
00:13:10
skins can be quite a chore like I'm only
00:13:12
at level 58 but I'm tired of playing
00:13:14
fortnite yet I gotta keep playing if I
00:13:17
want to get everything out of the battle
00:13:18
pass or get my money's worth
00:13:21
but I know this grind all too well and
00:13:24
with that thought I've had a realization
00:13:26
because in a sense I have been chasing
00:13:28
after Cosmetics throughout a majority of
00:13:30
my gaming career in the form of
00:13:32
achievements I mean when you think about
00:13:33
it gamer score is essentially just a
00:13:36
cosmetic right it's a worthless number
00:13:38
that you spend a ton of time trying to
00:13:40
make bigger so that your profile looks
00:13:42
cooler half a million gamer score is
00:13:44
proof that you've played a lot of games
00:13:45
the Darth Vader skin is proof that
00:13:47
you've made it to level 100 and played a
00:13:49
lot of fortnite I mean what's the
00:13:51
difference well you know besides the
00:13:53
fact that gamer score is living proof
00:13:54
that I've accomplished some seriously
00:13:56
difficult tasks throughout several games
00:13:58
but the general idea is the same
00:14:00
unlocking achievements gives you some
00:14:02
dopamine they're fun to collect they can
00:14:04
boost your confidence and they can be
00:14:06
great conversation starters so I guess I
00:14:09
completely understand the appeal of
00:14:11
skins now they're still not really for
00:14:13
me but they're just one of Gaming's
00:14:15
Simple Pleasures while they can be
00:14:17
manipulative pointless and sometimes
00:14:19
downright scummy skins do bring bring
00:14:21
people together and allow them to
00:14:23
socialize feel better about themselves
00:14:25
and overall just make people feel good
00:14:27
and that isn't that just special
00:14:30
[Music]
00:14:32
I'll see you guys in the next video
00:14:33
bye-bye
00:14:38
their hopes were high for a win that day
00:14:41
gold me squatty boys go
00:14:44
[Applause]
00:14:47
and leave
