Hillsdale dorms and fraternities alike are raving over “Fortnite”. While “Fortnite” first went on sale this past July for $40, it wasn’t a big hit at first. To attract more interest, the game’s marketers decided to create a free version alongside the paid game.
Since the release of the free version in late 2017, Epic Games Inc., the creator of the game, has had a difficult time keeping the “Fortnite” servers running. This is most obvious in the latest numbers released by Epic Games in February, stating that had been 3.4 million concurrent players playing “Fortnite” in early February. This means that at one point, across consoles and PC, there were 3.4 million players playing at the same time. This number is very similar to the concurrent players total of the Call of Duty series after a new release.
The difference between Call of Duty and “Fortnite”, however, is that Call of Duty’s popularity is at its peak when the newest game is released. “Fortnite”’s popularity has been consistently trending upward and shows no sign of stopping.
The free version is modeled as a 100-player fight to be the last person or team standing, similar to the concept in the book “The Hunger Games.” Friends try to outdo each other for bragging rights, and viewing parties form whenever someone is among the final 10 players remaining.
“Fortnite” is a combination of a building game like “Minecraft” and a traditional shoot-‘em-up, like Call of Duty. Although the free version is vastly more popular, Epic Games has been able to monetize this game mode by selling character costumes, among other virtual goods. According to an estimate from SuperData Research, Epic Games has made at least $157 million off this mode.
“It’s played 24/7 on every TV [in Simpson],” freshman JJ Self, who lives in Simpson Residence, said. “That’s not even really an exaggeration.”
Multiplayer games that allow players to talk to other players have been around for years. The free version of “Fortnite”, however, eliminates the barrier of needing to purchase the game. Because of this, anyone can play if they have an internet connection. This has allowed more than 40 million unique players to play “Fortnite” by early January, the most recent estimate by Epic Games.
“I have a buddy who all he does is go to class, go to golf practice, and play “Fortnite” on his PlayStation 4 in his room,” freshman Joe Wagner said. “His roommate also plays “Fortnite” on a separate TV in their room on an Xbox One. He plays all day, and whenever he dies, he yells very loudly, and it can be heard throughout the whole dorm.”
This is not an uncommon occurrence in Simpson, the largest male dorm at Hillsdale. There are four lobby televisions in Simpson on which students constantly play “Fortnite”, as well as on TVs and computers in countless rooms.
Although Epic Games has declined to disclose sales of “Fortnite” to the public, Epic did say by early January the game had drawn 40 million players across both free and paid modes. The game, despite being a third-person shooter, is non-violent. When players are shot, they do not bleed. When they run out of health, their bodies simply disappear. This has separated “”Fortnite”” from all other shooters, creating a much more family-friendly game and gaining approval from parents across the country.
In an online gaming forum, a woman posted a picture of her pre-teen sons wearing custom-made “Fortnite” sweatshirts that she bought them for Valentine’s Day. She posted the picture with the caption, “I like the fact that if they’re not outside playing with their friends, they’re at least still interacting. I remember being a child and playing Atari and Nintendo in a room all by myself.”
Freshman Nate Chambers, who has been playing constantly for the past two weeks, was speechless when trying to put into words how much he wanted a victory. John Thistleton another freshman, who lives on Chambers’ hall and has achieved the elusive “Victory Royale,” was more open about speaking on his “Fortnite” experience.
“Every game you lose, you are unsatisfied with the outcome. And if you win, you want to win more,” Thistleton said.
Epic Games keeps players wanting more, taking suggestions from their social media followers and Reddit users. To show that they are listening to their supporters, they release a limited-time game mode every few weeks. So far, these game modes have ranged from “Sniper Showdown,” where every player could find only snipers or revolvers, “Solid Gold,” in which every gun in the game is its most lethal version, 50 vs. 50 events, and many more.
Some don’t think Epic can’t maintain this rise in popularity, including Owen Macaulay. When asked whether he thinks “Fortnite” will be around this time next year, Macaulay, a freshman Alpha Tau Omega pledge simply said, “I do not,” believing that Epic has caught lightning in a bottle.
Although the future popularity of the game may be in question, the current trend of the game is undeniable. Beginning as a niche game, the impact in the mainstream is greater than any video game is on a level that hasn’t been seen in the recent past. Just this past week, online streamer Ninja livestreamed himself playing “Fortnite” with rapper Drake. The stream picked up so much momentum online that Travis Scott, another rapper, joined their game. Soon after Scott joined, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster joined their game as well. In total, more than 600,000 people watched the group play on Twitch, a streaming service that allows people to watch others play video games.
After the UMBC Retrievers defeated the Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA Tournament to become the first 16-seed to defeat a 1-seed, Nolan Gerrity of UMBC described the feeling by saying, “It’s like your first “Fortnite” victory.”
Bill Phillips, a freshman in Simpson, no stranger to winning, making sure the fact that he has 17 victories so far be included in this article, said, “Your odds are only 1 percent of winning, so it’s extremely addictive and gratifying when you win.”
