Skins and cosmetics are often seen as a downside to live-service games, with critics arguing against aggressive monetization schemes and tactics. But they can sometimes be quite impactful in a positive sense, driving players to purchase heroes or characters who have particularly striking cosmetics, as one Reddit thread shows.
Marvel Rivals, a game with a fair amount of good looking characters and skins, seems to have inspired its players to purchase particular heroes precisely because of their skins. In one March 9 discussion, Rivals players spoke out, highlighting the characters they purchased and got good at so that they could rock some flashy bling and actually have something to show for it. “I bought the Infinity War bundle and went “shit now I actually have to play [Captain America],” one player wrote, adding how they’ve been quite successful with the hero since.
“I learned Luna Snow because of her 2099 skin,” another wrote, while one player didn’t even plan to purchase a Winter Soldier skin and did so “accidentally.” Now, they see themselves picking the hero repeatedly, likely inspired by that very cosmetic.
Not everyone follows the mantra, however. As noted by one player, “I don’t see the point of buying a skin for a character I don’t play.” Not every hero even has proper cosmetics, with some saying the likes of The Thing have some of the worst cheap variants available. Even so, I myself have been attracted by the sly allure of great skins and cosmetic items in many games, which led to my uncovering that I actually love playing roles or characters outside of my usual pick.
Good skins can have quite a positive effect, as we can see from the examples above, though developers need to pay attention to how they monetize and implement said cosmetics.
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