I don't understand

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Artorias

Artorias

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So. Occasionally, and I mean occasionally. I will play Team Fortress 2. I was bored and looked through my inventory today and found I had some weird 'End of the Line' chest, and was bored so I bought like a $2 key and unlocked the chest. I got some item that was called the 'Unusual Private Eye' and some effect on it called 'Death at Dusk' and so I browsed through this weird thing on Steam where people can sell items for real fucking money and shit. These stupid little 'Unusual' hats range from $30-$100, but apparently (According to annoying people on TF2 that keep asking for the damn hat) that it is even rarer because of the effect. It is an uncommon effect that is hard to get and blah blah blah.

What I don't understand is. Why the fuck would you pay $100 for a hat, on a video game that doesn't do jack shit at all, and I only really spent $2 on it.
 
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It's a rare cosmetic.

Knives in CS:GO can get crazy. Pixels are silly.

Anything for the e-peen.

You're also talking about a game that sells a fucking diamond ring for 100 US Dollarydoos in it's cash shop.
 
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Some people just have that kind of money to throw around - plus the stupidity to buy it.
 
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Maybe it is just me, but I can't understand the logic behind shelling out that kind of cash. I mean sure, it looks cool but that is all it does. Nothing else. No special stats, damage, game breaking shit, just a skinned hat with an effect. Same with CS:GO. The knife isn't anymore different than it was before, just with a new skin. I would be more than happy to sell it when I can. More money for me since I rarely play the game in the first place.
 
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For some, it's like building a collection. They like the idea of having every single one. Like any serious collector, they're willing to pay a high price for something that's rare and not yet in their possession.

I do agree that it's silly, though. Reminds me of the people who will pay hundreds of dollars for a used tissue that a celebrity sneezed into.
 
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This is how I always imagine people that buy that stuff and have a roommate.

Man 1:"I'm home and starving, did you buy the groceries today?"
Man 2:"Nope, I bought this cool unusual hat on TF2 today!"
Man 1:"A hat? Why couldn't you buy groceries?"
Man 2:"Because it cost a hundred dollars."
Man 1:"Why the fuck would you buy that!-"
Man 2:"Because it looks cool and I didn't have it!"
Man 1:"It looks cool? Does it looking cool feed us and pay the bills?!"
etc.

That is how I view that shit. Though if I somehow have in my possession these items that I somehow got without paying more than a few dollars for. I'm more than willing to sell them all away.
 
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I'm an infrequent TF2 player, and I spent maybe 25-30 bucks altogether on a couple weapons and cosmetic items for characters. I figured I didn't have to pay money to get the game, the in game sales gives a cut to the person who designed the item, and it pays a developer I love dearly.

My Pyro is fabulous now, thanks for asking.

It was a similar train of thought for Planetside 2 where I spent about 50 on it for few new guns, a camo, and a couple helmets. No regrets because I'm happier playing the game with gear that suits my playstyle.

That said, I would never spend over 100 bones on a game's in game store, and never, ever on an item that's that amount.
 
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It's a collectible.
Some people will pay a lot for it just because of their collection.
 
You've got to remember that they probably aren't paying $100 directly out of their bank for that. They will have credit on Steam from having bought/sold/won their own items at various points. There's entire micro-economies based on these items. For example, my brother plays a lot of CS:GO. Although he's spent a fair amount of money on keys to unlock items, he's actually at a profit overall by reselling or trading some of them.
 
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People will pay for it for the same reason that you paid to unlock it. Currency was involved, there was a roll of the dice and something "rare" popped out. The fact that money was added to the equation in the first place is what contributed to the value which it has now. I assume that it can't be gotten without spending money so the fact that not many people, who have paid money in search of it, now have it, it makes people who were willing to pay money in the first place pay extra for something that they only had a chance to randomly pay for in the first place. Microtransactions are stupid, freemium perks are stupid, people who feed the business model allow it to continue. If nothing else, it's a fancy doo-dah hat.
 
I never really understood this, either.
It annoyed me how even apps had in-game purchases you could make to unlock cool items or buy [special] game currency.

I do believe it has something to do with supporting the developers as well as the game itself. I used to play a bit of CS:GO, and I have to admit that I felt the urge to spend a fair amount of money on keys and skins. Why? I wanted a collection. I wanted to look cool for owning some rare skins. A typical and common feeling or desire, which a lot of people possess.

But, these guns and knives are only pixels. They don't do anything except improve your gameplay experience. Which isn't all that bad.

A lot of people choose to pursue their dreams gaming. If they do nothing but game, what else could they spend money on besides groceries and paying off bills? They could earn money by streaming, commentating while playing, and various other things. It may not get them much, but it is still something.

If an item improves the gameplay experience, gives special perks that not everyone has access to, etc., People would feel the need to buy it. And they'd probably be happy. They should be responsible enough to know what they are paying for. I don't think stupidity has anything to do with 'useless' purchases if they have a valid reason for making one.

I would have to agree on not spending $100 on a game item, though. Either wait patiently to earn it somehow, or find / be introduced to a shortcut like you have. Trade. Buy. See if there are different prices. So on and so forth.
 
You have people who got more money than they have sense.

Alternatively they got money with no sense at all.

Either way stupidity pays its own dividends in the end someway, shape or form.
 
Gwazi Magnum said:
They made a live economy RL activity MMO? o.O

I need to check this out if for nothing more than for curiosity and seeing how developers designed such a game.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's quite something. I guess the first point was how to make people feel truly invested in an electronic existence. The answer, as they apparently found it, was to allow for a money in and money out economy. With constant rates of exchange and (I assume) no artificial inflation, things just worked out.
 
Hey, it's easier to convince yourself to play an MMO all the time if you're making money off of it. :P
 
Same reason people pay way more than that for a charizard card that really isn't even that rare?

Srsly do an eBay search: it's almost funny
 
Minibit said:
Same reason people pay way more than that for a charizard card that really isn't even that rare?

Srsly do an eBay search: it's almost funny
Click to expand...
The only time, to my recollection, that the Charizard card was really valuable and rare was the very first foil card that came out back in the first edition of the card game. Those actually were rare, and even back in the late 90s they were fetching around 120 bucks in card shops.

Fortunately, I never had much of an interest in card games and all my Pokemon cards were gifts I got for free.
 
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