By: Jake Noble, Staff Writer
What do USA Today, Forbes, Variety, The New Yorker, New York Post, Newsweek, and CBS Sports, all have in common? They have all published articles about the fascinating phenomena surrounding the wildly popular online video game Fortnite.[1] One such particularly shocking phenomenon has struck me and left me scratching my head. Parents are hiring Fortnite ‘tutors’ to coach their children (and often themselves) on how to get better at the game, shelling out up to $25 per hour for coaching sessions or lessons.
Let that sink in a moment.
You may be asking yourself: why on earth would parents pay for video game lessons for their kids? If you have somehow managed to avoid encountering this game you may be asking: what the heck is a “Fortnite” anyway?
Due to abundant media hype about Epic Games’ ultra-popular video game Fortnite, it is fairly difficult to not have at least heard of it at this point. This is unsurprising when you consider that since releasing the Battle Royale mode in October 2017, the makers of Fortnitehave reeled in over a $1,000,000,000 on the free-to-download and free-to-play game, according to a recent report from research firm SuperData.[2] That’s a lot of money generated in a small amount of time, especially considering the video game costs nothing to download and play! Its kid-friendly aesthetic, availability across nearly all gaming platforms, constant updates, and addictively fun mechanics have contributed to the game’s mass appeal; children, teens, millennials, parents, pro-athletes, celebrities, virtually everyone seems to be getting in on the Battle Royale action.[3]
While I myself thoroughly enjoyed playing this game as often as I could before law school commenced and have loved the world of video games since my youth, the popularity of the video game shocked me. Fortnite reached a never-before-seen level of popularity for a video game.
Fortnite has taken the world by storm, and I do mean the entire world, which is understandable as huge celebrities like Drake and Lebron James embrace the madness that is Fortnite.[4] It is amazing how a video game has become so popular that hundreds of thousands of people watch, and even pay to watch, other gamers stream their gaming experiences on video streaming services like Twitch (a subsidiary owned by Amazon).[5] Prominent streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and famous R&B artist Drake’s co-stream hit 635,000 viewers, shattering viewership records.[6] This is amazing in and of itself; people don’t just love to play Fortnite, but they love to watch it be played by others too.
It is surreal to imagine a world where my parents would have paid for video game lessons for me. There is a special place in my heart for video games and I have always looked forward to the day they are taken seriously as forms of art, as photography and film, and not just something older generations blame for what’s wrong with the youth. Fortnite is arguably helping to bridge the generational divide, as parents and children alike bond over its unique and entertaining gameplay. In light of its explosive popularity, the puzzling emergence of video game tutors, and the tremendous streaming viewership of the game, Fortnitemight just one day help to usher this lifelong dream from my subconscious to the real world. Now more than ever the argument for video games as constituting legitimate expressive art forms is supported by real life phenomena mentioned above. I look forward to once again having the time to play Fortnite and will remain on the lookout for more evidence that video games are more than just mere entertainment.
Sources:
[1]https://www.google.com/search?ei=2sfPW_u1CKKL5wLD0oXACg&q=parents+hiring+fortnite+tutors&oq=parents+hiring+fortnite+tutors&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l2.9163.21438..21628…1.0..3.150.4753.35j16….2..0….1..gws-wiz…..6..35i39j0i20i263j0i10j0i67j0i131j0i20i264j0i131i20i264j0i20i263i264.yyrxYI0Rho4
[2]https://www.superdataresearch.com/reports/battle-royale-report/?utm_source=Media&utm_campaign=eb54293773-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_16_08_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3557a8fda1-eb54293773-138159427&mc_cid=eb54293773&mc_eid=3bd99ff792
[3]https://www.wraltechwire.com/2018/07/26/supercon-prep-bridging-pop-culture-divide-with-my-gen-z-son-via-fortnite/
[4]https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/03/juju-smith-schuster-on-playing-fortnite-with-drake-better-than-scoring-a-touchdown
[6]https://www.superdataresearch.com/reports/battle-royale-report/?utm_source=Media&utm_campaign=eb54293773-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_16_08_08&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3557a8fda1-eb54293773-138159427&mc_cid=eb54293773&mc_eid=3bd99ff792
