I've played CS on and off for awhile, (Since 1.5/6) and I've collected a number of skins in CS:GO, but I've never understood the appeal of buying keys/skins. Same for most other FPS's with loot box mechanics and skins....whats the appeal? What kind of person thinks its impressive that you've swiped your credit card a few more times then they did, for the same game?
It's not supposed to be impressive, at least for me.
Sometimes you spend some money on the game simply because you really like it and want to support the developers.
I occasionally buy skins for fighting game characters simply because I enjoy looking at those skins (more than I enjoy the defaults). Heck, some characters are played exclusively because of cool skins (e.g., Blanka Chan).
I see no problem spending money in something that just looks cool if you're getting your entertainment value from the game. It's the same reason why you would buy that cool shirt you saw on the internet: you already have plenty of shirts, you don't actually need one more, but it would be cool anyway.
I'm all for people doing whatever they want to do with their money, and I realize different folks have different interests, but I guess I just don't get how this specific model is supposed to work. You pay money for the loot box itself, and then you go back and buy "keys" to open the loot box, and you just keep doing this until you actually get the skin you want?*
I realize you can buy skins directly on the steam market, and avoid the whole random factor, but then you're just paying whatever the market rate is for "coolness" plus the costs of all the other people who did the key/box buying. Plus there is the whole "condition" mechanic, so the skin you get might not even look the way you actually want.
Like I said, people can do whatever they want, but to me its just silly. When you add to that the fact that Valve actively* stops people from playing on custom (i.e. private) servers with modded skins available and it just seems like shitty anti-consumer behavior.
Boxes are obtained for free by simply playing the game. You don't really need to buy boxes unless you want some specific one from a past event that is not available through the game anymore, but someone got it back then or if you want boxes at a faster rate than the regular gameplay provides. But you need to buy a key to open it, however.
Also, a given kind of a box contains one of the finite number of items. I think the idea is that if you get a duplicate that you don't want, you can either trade it with a player who doesn't have it for a skin that you want or sell it on the steam marketplace (so you can use that money on a skin that you actually want).
You need let go of the idea of "coolness", or outwardly directed motivation as the primary/only motivation, and it will make more sense to you. Sure some people want to look cool, but I (and I'd wager many skin buyers), just want a nice looking gun.
I made $130 Steam dollars off of skins without paying a dime. I'd sell the cards that drop from games, buy a skin I liked cheaply (cause I didn't have a lot of money), and sell it when I noticed it going up in value. It was all Monopoly money anyway though - so who cares? I ended up buying a bunch of real life games with fake money that Valve gave me. The skin meta game is a game in itself, and you can play it on the internet away from your gaming pc.
But I don't really get your hangup on this. If you're going to take that stance, it's almost like what's the appeal of anything aesthetic? Some people like it. Do you think it's ridiculous when someone buys the metallic paint option for a car? Or goes with a different graphic on a skateboard? Or chooses a camo pattern jacket instead of a gray one?
From my experience, it just feels good to have good-looking assets in the game. I used to buy with my spare money that came from freelancing gigs, so in my head I wasn't really spending any money that I needed, even because it never was a large amount of money, just enough to have some cool skins.
In hindsight, this money could've been better spent, but I won't blame my teenage self for enjoying a little bit of financial freedom.
Of course, you also get those really rich kids that only want to brag, others that buy in order to resell and profit from it, etc.
> What kind of person thinks its impressive that you've swiped your credit card a few more times then they did, for the same game?
The same kind of person who thinks it’s impressive that you swiped you credit card a few more times than they did for the same society? Rolexes, branded suits, designer dresses, branded smells, it’s all the same. Products that are effectively the same as cheaper alternatives except the are more expensive and carry along with them the awe of someone taking on that higher expense. That is to say, everyone, including you. You just aren’t conscious about it in the contexts where it happens.
Also, “Timmy can’t join our clan, he’s a cheap-ass who can’t even afford the flaming bucket helmet we all wear.” Is a powerful sales pitch.
CS:GO is the only game I've ever bought skins in. CS is an aesthetically static game and you spend hundreds or thousands of hours staring at the same three or four guns that take up 20% of your screen, so it's an easy call to upgrade the scenery. For me it's exactly the same as buying a deskmat/mousepad with a cool design instead of a pure black one. If I'm going to stare at something everyday I want something that I like looking at.
I get the mindset, that's how I felt before in every other game, but I'd consider my $50 of skins money well spent even if no one else could see them.
Fashion drives a huge chunk of the global economy. It's not an accomplishment to look fashionable, and people aren't deceived into thinking it is. Looking appealing is the appeal.
they're clothes man. people like to look cool, and spend untold amounts of hours on there, interacting with more people in the game than off the game, often
Some people buy expensive watches, cars, clothes etc only to be able to impress other people who care about that sort of thing.
When your circle of friends exist in a game, and they care about that sort of things, you buy this stuff to show off since there's no one around to notice your Rolex.
