Phenomenon of Fortnite: Is it Overhyped?
In recent months, Fortnite has broken through the confines of the gaming world and become a worldwide phenomenon of pop culture. Released in June 2017, Fortnite is now in its 4th season. It is a social game where 100 people drop onto a map and play until there is one person left alive, similar to the idea of The Hunger Games. The widespread obsession over the game has made it relevant throughout pop culture, spreading to reach the consciousness of anyone paying attention, showing up often in social media and through memes, for example. So, why all the hype? To find out why Fortnite has gotten so much attention, I asked some experienced players their opinion on the topic, as well as non-players.
Why is Fortnite better than other video games?
Andres Perez ‘18: “I don’t necessarily think it’s better, I just think it’s different and it’s refreshing that it’s different because a lot of video games are just repetitive, like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Battle Front, all these games are just shooting and this one introduces the concept of battle royale, which is interesting and it makes it a competitive game against 100 other players. It’s very different from what’s already out there.”
Is Fortnite overhyped?
James Mahedy ‘18: “I don’t think it’s overhyped at all. I think it’s a very, very fun game.”
Why is Fortnite better than other video games?
“It’s very social, a lot of other games are antisocial, but you meet a ton of people on Fortnite.”
Jack Posner ‘18: “Call of Duty is still historically a better game, I’m gonna actually say that on record. If I think about the max peak in my life when I enjoyed COD the most versus when I enjoyed Fortnite the most, I enjoyed COD more. Fortnite’s just really fun because you can play with your friends and they make it a little too easy to ready up. It’s four in the morning and your boy says, “We running it back?” and you can’t say no. I actually don’t have any recollection of ever logging off of Fortnite. I just fall asleep, that’s, like, the only time I ever stop playing, or I have to go to school.”
Finn Mulligan ‘20: Absolutely. It’s a bad game that caters to a simplistic group of people and it’s only been hyped due to social media oddities. It really shouldn’t have gotten as much attention as it has, it’s just an unfortunate series of events that got it to this place, and really it’s sad. It’s not good.”
Chase Gardner ‘20: “No, it’s really fun, you play with your friends, you play with random people, just a way to be sociable.”
How is it better than other video games?
“With the new update, you can turn into, like, Thanos from Avengers and kill people, they just always have updates that are really interesting that other games don’t have.”
Jorge El Koury ‘18: Fortnite is not overhyped. It’s a really fun way of hanging out with some friends and clowning around and having a good time enjoying each others company while delving into the adventures that are ‘fork and knife’.”
Jeremiah Wilkins ‘18: “Not at all. It’s the most underrated game I’ve played in my life. I was never a gamer until I started playing Fortnite, and now I can’t find myself sleeping at night.”
Why is it better than other video games?
“It’s so competitive and I feel like the way that it’s formatted in the sense that it’s a fight to the death, you have to outplay 99 strangers, and that’s something that other games don’t have. If you do win, it’s an outrageous feeling. It’s ethereal.”
Kai Ossé ‘20 (Friends Seminary): I think it gets a bad rep because so many people don’t play but have a preconceived idea about people who play video games.”
Tahryam Touré ‘20 (Hackley): “Fortnite is just as hyped as other video games, it’s just had a wider outreach because it’s free.”
What makes it better than other video games?
“I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily better than other games because I like other games, just not as much. It’s like if you listen to Kanye, it’s not because you think Kanye is better than everyone else (though he is), you usually listen to a range of music that includes Kanye and the same goes for games.”