How 'Fortnite' Defied Convention and Became a Hit
February 16 2018 - 8:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah E. Needleman
Teenagers -- and their parents -- are raving about "Fortnite."
The question now is whether its creator, Epic Games Inc., can turn
buzz into profits.
"Fortnite" wasn't a big hit when it went on sale in July for
$40. To attract more interest, Epic Games made an unusual decision:
It created a free version alongside the paid game.
Since then, Epic Games has struggled at times to keep its
"Fortnite" servers running as players rushed to play online with
friends while chatting together through headsets.
Epic Games declined to disclose sales of "Fortnite," which
launched in beta in July. By early January, it said, the game had
drawn 40 million players across the paid and free modes, putting it
in league with Activision Blizzard Inc.'s hit "Overwatch."
"It's all they talk about," said Glen Irvin, a teacher coach at
a high school in Sauk Rapids, Minn., said of "Fortnite"-playing
students. "The only other game I've ever heard kids get this
passionate about is 'Minecraft.' "
"Fortnite," which is available on consoles such as the
PlayStation 4 as well as PCs, mixes two popular genres: It is a
building game like "Minecraft" and a traditional shoot-'em-up.
Multiplayer games that let friends play and talk together online
have been around for years. The free version of "Fortnite," though,
solves a problem: Since buying the game isn't a barrier to play,
fewer friends are left out.
Parents and players also appreciate that contests typically last
around 20 minutes -- less if you don't survive -- so players can
pop out to do chores or homework and quickly join another
match.
Jen Mandarino of Saddle Brook, N.J., doesn't mind that her sons,
ages 11 and 13, play "Fortnite" for about two hours a day after
school.
"I like the fact that if they're not outside playing with their
friends, they're at least still interacting" with them, said Ms.
Mandarino. "I remember being a child and playing Atari and Nintendo
in a room all by myself."
For Valentine's Day, she got them custom-made "Fortnite"
sweatshirts.
The free mode of "Fortnite" mimics a style of play popularized
by the 2017 hit "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," in which 100
players fight to be the last person or team standing -- basically
akin to the book "The Hunger Games."
Epic Games is planning to make the main version of "Fortnite"
free later in the year. So far, it has made at least $157 million
off the free mode since late September by selling virtual goods
such as character costumes, according to an estimate from SuperData
Research.
Selling in-game items can be polarizing, though less so when a
game is free to play. A fan backlash in November led Electronic
Arts Inc. to temporarily reverse its decision to add in-game
purchases to its "Star Wars Battlefront" sequel.
On Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s recent earnings call,
Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick dismissed the idea of giving away a
console game after an analyst noted the "Fortnite" free mode's
popularity.
Mr. Zelnick said only a fraction of players spend on in-game
purchases. "That's not going to support the very significant
investment that a triple A title requires here and in our
competitors' shops," he said.
Thomas Fuller, an eighth-grader in Brooklyn, N.Y., said he
downloaded the "Fortnite" free mode mainly because many of his
friends did. With other multiplayer games he owned, only a few pals
had them, too.
It took some nudging to get Thomas to explain the game's appeal
in a phone interview. He apologized -- he was distracted playing
"Fortnite."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 16, 2018 08:14 ET (13:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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