Over 30 million people in Europe play “Fortnite” on a PlayStation every day – for two hours or more! That is one game, on one device, in one continent. Whether it be “Fortnite”, “PUBG” or “Call of Duty”, the world is certainly gripped by video games: in fact, one in three children under the age of seven are classified as addicted to gaming. Are you addicted too?
There are many techniques gaming companies use to entice the unsuspected gamer: whether that be V-bucks or the Robux, they always leave you wanting more.
Each small purchase seems like nothing until you add it all up. By making the prices low at any one point, they make you feel like you are not spending that much money, but after 10 or 20 purchases, you might find yourself - like a few others - with a hefty bill.
I started by making a purchase of £7.99 and swore never to buy anything on this “Fortnite” again. That soon became a lie; I kept spending both my money and my time on the game. I had always had to have the latest skin or glider; I would spend tens of hours a week playing and thinking about this one game. Not once did I stop and think about how much money I was spending and how much time I was whittling away. But one day, my mum handed me her phone and told me to check my debit card app. There I realised the terrifying true figures which had blatantly ignored: hundreds of pounds on a stupid game. She made me look at what I had bought and forced to think about what I could have bought with it. From that day on, I slowed down; I reduced my time on the game, until I was not going on every night for more than half an hour.
Do not fall into the same trap as me, no matter how hard it is. Resist the temptation to buy in-game purchases.
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