There’s no doubt that having a nice, shiny skin for your gun or player model looks cool, and feels cool. But I’m the kind of person who can never justify spending actual money on those things, and I’m always fascinated by those that do.
So this week’s Big Question for you all: what convinces you to spend money on skins, whether it be a flashy CS:GO knife, an Overwatch loot crate, or something like retro rocket launcher for Quake Champions?
Is it the amount of time? Do you only buy skins for the guns and characters you use most often? Is it something of exclusivity – do you enjoy having something that nobody else has? And how many of you consciously decide to buy skins as a way of giving back, thanking the developers and creators for your hours of enjoyment?
Let us know. What pushes you over the edge when it comes to buying skins?
Comments
25 responses to “What Convinces You To Spend Money On Skins?”
Well when i played CS:GO i had a stat trak tranquility “Autoshotgun” With 5k kills on it, It was a pretty skin and EVERY game someone had to ask be it my side of theirs about it. And blowing people away with a pink shotgun is fun. “So much salt”
Also though not paid for, In The Secret World, Before they just let everyone have it, Soviet tech skins were rare as hell, I had a whole toon based in soviet gear and i looked awesome, It was fun to just look different from everyone else.
The only game I’ve paid for cosmetic items has been Path of Exile, as I felt I owed the developers something for all the hours I’d played the game for free (500 so far). This is definitely the kind of free-to-play model I can get behind.
Same here, for TF2. 1800 hours and still having fun, don’t feel bad spending some money on it at all.
Same. I was an original $10 backer back in the day but I still give them a few dollars every year for skins.
Much like @MushaConvoy, I’ve only paid for skins in one game. Rocket League. I got it for free on PS+ and played so much of it I felt like I should give the developers some of my money directly to encourage their practice of not charging for any game mode DLC.
agreed. I have done the same for rocket league.
I’ve bought a few skins for Elite Dangerous. Got in early with the lifetime expansion pass so all the huge updates have been “free”, and I’ve liked what they’ve been doing so don’t mind chucking a little in the tip jar here and there. Although I do think they’re a little overpriced, so tend to just wait til there’s a sale on and buy then.
Don’t think I’ve ever paid for any other DLC elsewhere at all.
Exactly this – I’ve bought a few ship packs here and there, because Tactical Ice looks AWESOME on most ships.
I’d like to see FDev include a few more skins and decals in game as rewards like they did with the Cannonn community goal or the Distant Worlds Expedition – a “triple Elite” decal, a decal for Sag A visitors, a paint-job for ranking up the Federal Navy, that sort of thing. But they’re mostly got the balance right.
No interest in skins unless they are unlocks and then they are just an added bonus. Won;t ever pay money for them but can be a nice in-game reward/RNG loot drop.
Same only skins I’ve had in games have been through unlocking achievements if dlc/pre-order bonus items.
Personally, I feel like it makes the character my own, making him or her look and act like someone I’d want to play and pretend to be. For my character in Destiny, looks always come before any extra benefits each piece of gear may include. I kinda like the idea of playing a bad-ass … maybe I’m trying to make up for something?
The dances and emotes add to that level of definition. I don’t mind spending a little here or there, and I think Destiny’s loot is a good example of being able to purchase exactly what I prefer instead of going on chance (though that isn’t always the case, of course). Besides, it’s kinda cool raiding with a group and all having different dances, or pointing back at Crota, stuff like that makes the experience all the more worthwhile for me.
I only buy skins when I want to help support the developer (if the game is free, and I’ve played a lot). Otherwise I wouldn’t pay for something that was purely aesthetic.
I only buy skins in an RPG where I’m spending a lot of time with a single character. I’ve spent a lot of money on the gem store in GW2 for example, and I’ve bought a couple of cosmetics for Elite: Dangerous. I will never purchase OW Lootboxes because it’s random and I can just take my time and build up my collection by grinding coins.
The reason I buy skins is because aesthetics is extremely important to me when I’m gaming. I like the ability to customise my look to fit my headcannon narrative and I generally like to be imaginative with my skins so I’ll mix and match components. I don’t buy skins that are just a single skin on the whole model. I want to be able to wear a different pair of shoes for example.
I play a lot of rust. I buy skins for that game only and do so because they server a purpose in a lot of cases. Be that distinguishing uniforms for team mates, or armour that blends with a certain environment (biome).
I never spend money on skins purely for aesthetics, I see it a big waste of money but where a skin has a practical application that effects gameplay I will consider it.
I’ve dropped a few bucks on skins for Warframe, partly because I’m so enamoured of the developer and their commitment to the game, and partly because they looked frickin’ cool and I knew I was going to be spending a lot of time with them.
Nothing can; because I’ve seen the price of drum kits.
😛
Bu-Dum Tsh!
May a thousand cats run through your bedroom at 3am.
I only do it when I want to intentionally ‘reward’ the developer for making a good game, especially an independent or smaller studio.
I almost always buy them purley because I want to support the game/developers and only because I enjoyed the game enough to warrant a purchase of a skin.
If the game allows the unlocking of skins via grinding (or levels and such), then I almost no quarrel with paying for a skin or two, since it helps the game last longer (eg Overwatch and its free DLC) and promotes more devs and publishers to adopt a free unlocking model (where you can grind to unlock OR pay).
I have spent many hours in Overwatch and spend around 80? dollars in loot crates and haven’t thought twice about the spending. The game provides frequent free updates, the ability to unlock all the skins alternatively via leveling up and nothing is behind a paywall (however with a retail price of 60-ish dollars, I expect none).
However a game like Call of Duty, with its 80 dollar price tag THEN 60-80 dollar season pass and then in game loot crates (or whatever they are called) that are not cosmetic and actually change the game, I would NEVER pay for those. Its double dipping and favouring paid players.
Even GTA V, which despite some criticisms in its shark cards, still provides a decent way to earn in game case, despite being somewhat un-balanced compared to paying AND all the DLC to that is free. While I have never bought a Shark Card, if I did play GTA Online as much as I play other games, its another service I would not think twice of throwing 20-50 bucks for in game items.
Mostly it’s to support a game that has provided me with tons of enjoyment.
I buy compendiums/battle passes for dots. It supports the developers and pro players and gives access to tournament streams and in game quests etc
Nothing so far. I’m mostly against them on principle but I have to say it’s most games doling them out via random loot boxes that is the least encouraging at the moment. I’d be fine with buying a ‘pack’ of skins for a reasonable price.
I drop money mostly in free games – a few TF2 hats here and there, a few CS:GO skins (mostly stat tracks), but the majority of the money I’ve dropped has been in Dota.
I’ve played Dota 2 for ~2k hours, and I played the original dota for another several thousand hours as well, so I don’t mind dropping a bit of coin here and there to support the devs. When you spend so long in the game, it’s nice for a bit of variety – and not just in the character skins. I’ve got different announcers, music packs, terrain, HUDs, basically everything that can be customized.
Nothing, I’m not a moth looking for pretty colors, just sprays of red.
Spent money on black ops 2 weapon skins, stopped spending money when it became a pay to win a gamble on weapon mods and actual in game weapons that werent accessible any other way.