Fashion smells like classism to me. I don't see anyone below a certain tax bracket playing the fashion game. Fortnite has already become kind of classist, with the well-off kids bullying people who don't gamble their parent's money for skins. I think the whole system is name-brand evil.

> I don't see anyone below a certain tax bracket playing the fashion game.

I grew up in lower middle class area and i saw it A LOT. To me it seems less like classism and more tribal or human nature.

Unless by certain tax bracket you mean poverty in which case yeah _maybe_ fashion stops mattering then, but I don't have any experience with that.

> I don't see anyone below a certain tax bracket playing the fashion game.

How do you know they are in certain tax bracket though? Do you ask everyone on the street about their taxes? Or maybe you're assuming their tax bracket on how they dress? :)

> Fashion smells like classism to me.

That's because that's pretty much exactly what it is. It's a signaling mechanism.

You don't gamble for skins in Fortnite, you buy them directly.

I don’t think the analogy carries because there are no “default” clothes. You have to make some sort of decision about what to wear, even the decision to avoid fashion trends is a form of fashion itself.

>same reason people pay for fashion.

Except when I buy a shirt or jacket or shoes, I don't buy a ticket and get something random with a minor chance to get what I actually want.

Then immediately I can sell it back (WOW!) for less than I have bought it and try again and again, yeah.

Your analogy is totally off.

yes, but fashion in games? paying for worthless pixels?

i do get what you're saying thou...

Are you into fashion IRL? I mean for a lot of people, flaunting their online looks is important, it pleases them - and they see others rocking a unique skin and appreciate that as well.

I mean I play FFXIV casually, but there's a huge subculture in that game for making looks, combinations and colorings of its huge library of clothing items.

All I'm saying is, withhold your judgment a bit on things you're not into yourself.

Online multiplayer games are how kids socialise online these days. They don't meet up on Facebook, they meet up on Fortnite or Minecraft. Appearance is an important status indicator.

At least Minecraft doesn't charge you to change your skin.

People play these games with their friends online. They also stream to potentially millions of people.

Their online persona is part of their identity. For some people, buying an expensive in game item makes them feel rich/successful/whatever, and some people will complement/judge them on their taste/expenditure etc.

It’s no different to buying a Rolex, a fast car or Louis vuitton hand bag. All of them are functionally the same but convey something about the owner

When it’s an online game played with friends, many will want their character to look cool/unique just as much as they want items/equipment that may give a competitive advantage