On this episode of Game Talk Live, host Mandie Roman talks with panelists about the recent success of Fortnite streamer Tyler "Ninja" Belvins that has seen him break numerous Twitch records in recent weeks, as well as the recent controversy surrounding Fortnite's latest Twitch Prime partnership and how it translates to the positives and negatives that the overall marketplace of selling in-game items brings to the gaming industry. Joining Mandie on today's show is Dot Esports Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Reporter Jamie Villanueva, Twitch Streamer and YouTuber Nati "The Zombi Unicorn" Casanova and voice actor, producer and game developer Dexter Manning.
Ninja has seen unprecented growth in a very short time as he has risen to become the face of Twitch by breaking numerous records. His immense rise in popularity has also caused celebrities such as Drake, Juju Smith-Schuster and Travis Scott to join in and play Fortnite with Ninja this past week. However, it is speculated that a large portion of the thousands of subscribers that Ninja has received being from the recent Twitch Prime Partnership with Fortnite that gives members access to exclusive skins. This is believed to have led to the creation of fake accounts to obtain these accounts in order to sell them later on.
Is there evidence to suggest that these fake accounts have inflated Ninja's subscription count? The panel discusses that while it is possible for these bot accounts to contribute to Ninja's subscription numbers, he has no control over who subscribes to his channel and that his high level of skill, entertaining personality, hard work and Fortnite's popularity are the main reasons for Ninja's success.
Discussion then turns to the topic of why these Twitch Prime accounts are being created and then sold. Due to the high demand for these exclusive Fortnite skins and how they are only available for limited time periods, they become extremely valuable and give people an opportunity to profit off of them.
The panelists discuss whether or not the success of Twitch Prime exclusive skins in games could eventually lead to a digital marketplace for these items on Amazon and if this would be a positive or a negative. Discussion also covers how the success of Twitch Prime partnerships with games could affect future games. Will developers of lesser known titles look to Twitch Prime to help market their game by providing in-game incentives?
"The #gamedeveloper makes [skins] worth money by giving people the ability to #trade them. I think that’s why it’s still legal. I do think it’s #gambling." -@TheZombiUnicorn
— GameTalkLive (@GameTalkLive) March 16, 2018
Watch Live: https://t.co/oGQVrJgutG #skinbetting #skins #skintrade #gameskins #gamers #csgo #game pic.twitter.com/2cSmp0alOQ
Game Talk Live then moves on to the topic of gambling regarding in-game skins, especially for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Should trading digital items be considered gambling if no real money is being exchanged? Each panelists give their thoughts on whether or not they believe that the gambling of virtual skins should be classified and or treated as gambling with actual monetary currency. While the skins themsleves do not hold any monetary value, developers like Valve who allow the trading of these items give players the ability to assign monetary worth to the in-game items.
Discussion moves on to exploring the third part sites who allow people to gamble and profit off these in-game items and if there is or should be a way to regulate them in order to keep shady business practices from preying on younger players who might be persuaded to spend and lose large amounts of money.
Topics also discussed include Valve's legal liability when it comes to these sites using their products to conduct business, Valve's willingness to shut down these sites when they help in keeping people playing CS:GO for years and if esports teams should be able to be sponsored by these gambling sites when there might be a conflict of interest, due to them being able to profit off in-game skins that directly relate to them.
"The #gamedeveloper makes [skins] worth money by giving people the ability to #trade them. I think that’s why it’s still legal. I do think it’s #gambling." -@TheZombiUnicorn
— GameTalkLive (@GameTalkLive) March 16, 2018
Watch Live: https://t.co/oGQVrJgutG #skinbetting #skins #skintrade #gameskins #gamers #csgo #game pic.twitter.com/2cSmp0alOQ
Finally, the show turns its attention to how the loot box system has encouraged these virtual marketplaces for in-game items and if there should be future legislation to regulate how these microtransaction systems should work. With many instances of players, including young children, spending large amounts of money on these virtual items, it seems likely that microtransactions will be addressed at some point. A clear example being EA's recent decision to remove all in-game purchases from Star Wars Battlefront II, due to extreme backlash from the community over the microtransaction filled title.
"Every #game now has #lootboxes…It’s damaging #gaming and #games in general." -@dexterjmanning
— GameTalkLive (@GameTalkLive) March 16, 2018
Watch Live: https://t.co/oGQVrJgutG #lootbox #csgo #GearsofWar #Overwatch #gamersaregood #gamedev pic.twitter.com/dQitxN8KbU
Game Talk Live has ended for today, but you can see the episode in its entirety in the video above. Be sure to check out the previous episode, where experts discuss scandals in esports and the effects they have on gaming arenas.
