Can you comfortably buy a sticker or a case of $1000 for your phone? What if it is your video game character’s iPhone?
This question sounds so incredibly stupid, right? But the truth remains that there are a lot of people that are ready to buy stuff like the above, though it may not be exactly a virtual phone case – instead i’m talking about skins you can use on Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, trade with others on CSGO jackpot games or gamble online. Now, with what criteria do we decide which in-game item is worth buying with our real money and the one that is not?
Now, let’s consider common sense and logic. If you play a particular game, and you give it some hours every week, then if you wish to invest in a new sword or gun or even want to upgrade to get more power for your characters, it would be completely understandable. The fact that many games monetize primarily with in-game purchases is a well-known one. This may be the only way to rake in reasonable profits for mobile games.
Appearance of Fresh In-Game Items
Here, we are not just talking about character upgrades and weapons; there are many other things that people use their money to purchase in-game. Another set of in-game items exist, and though they only offer cosmetic functions, they do not influence the character of the game in any form or way, except when it comes to their looks, because some of them give them different looks. In this angle, the game that has recorded the highest amount of success is the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), which is a bestseller from the stable of valve corporation. The name given to the in-game items in this game is skins, and they stand as the virtual goodies that mesmerize the majority of the players.
CS:GO used skins to start customizing its weapons. However, these skins have no effects on the firepower of any of the weapons. The only thing they do is to change the design of these weapons. However, some users are actually very ready to shell out thousands of dollars for any design of the knife or gun that seems rare, and which catches their fancy. When you play CS:GO, you receive skins. However, if you want to buy special ones, you can do so at the Steam Community Market owned and run by Valve.
When you get to the market, you will discover that most of the skins are very cheap, so the business may seem to be an unsuccessful one. However, it has to be recalled that there are millions of active monthly subscribers to the Counter Strike Global Offensive game. Now, it is good to note that they make very high profits from the trade, because 15% of every purchase that has to do with the CS:GO goes to Valve. The final revenue becomes even bigger because you don’t have the capacity to withdraw the money from Steam. Instead, you can only buy with it from the Steam Community Market.
Evolution of the Skin Trading Industry
The entire skin trading industry was occasioned by the fact that it is limited. Independent platforms lower their prices and this entails paying real money for the skins. Most of them are used as trade listing platforms. Others, including skin.cash, offer different currencies and payment methods to buy CS:GO items. In some online casinos, skins are even used as chips. So, something that was introduced to the game as cosmetic pieces in 2013 has evolved into a digital currency of a sort in 2019.
So, we are still left with the question, is it right to purchase a virtual item that offers nothing but aesthetic satisfaction with real money? When this is considered on its merit, the brain will say no, but we all know the heart and how it will say yes, after all, there are some very cute AK 47s available there. Can you resist buying them?