Coaching classes of English, Math and other subjects are old news now as Fortnite tuition classes are the new rage among parents. According to the Wall Street Journal, there is a growing demand for the gaming tuition among the parents who want their kids to achieve higher ranking in the Battle Royale phenomenon as well.
Fortnite tuition classes – why are they needed?
Parents are reportedly ready to shell out as much as $50 per hour for experienced gamers to give coaching classes to their kids. Talking of the reason for the Fortnite tuition classes it might sound weird, but its true – pressure to succeed is no longer limited to the academics, according to the parents.
Parents do not want their kids to feel bad about their less than average performance in the video games at school. Speaking to the WSJ, one parent, who paid for a Fortnite tutor for her 10-year-old son said: “There’s pressure not to just play it, but to be really good at it. You can imagine what that was like for him at school.”
Sports and game activities (now video games as well) play a vital role in kid’s social lives. It is apparently for this reason parents fear that not performing well in one of the most popular games globally could hit the self-esteem of their kids. It is not just the kids who are going for the Fortnite tuition classes. Parents too are taking classes to enhance their skills to compete alongside their kids.
On the other hand, there are many who believe that Fortnite has become quite an addiction among kids. Also, experts believe that due to excessive game playing kids are having difficulty concentrating in school. One school in the UK even banned the “flossing” dance, which was popularized in the game.
Catherine Cox of Ilfracombe Junior School in Devon told The Telegraph, “Children in our school have been using these dances to surround and intimidate other children.”
Rising importance of eSports
In the U.S., Nick Mennen reportedly paid a $20 hourly rate for his son to get the lessons. Mennen hopes that the lessons would eventually enhance the skills of his son and earn him a scholarship. Yes, gaming scholarships are happening in 2018.
Ohio’s Ashland University includes Fortnite as one of the games that can be used to get a discount on tuition. Other games eligible for the scholarship include Overwatch, Rocket League and League of Legends. The college would offer top Fortnite players $4,000 worth of tuition to join their new esports program.
Ashland is a small school with only 4,600 students and ranked 223rd in the country by U.S. News and World Report. Although some have accused the smaller schools like Ashland of trying to use esports as a publicity stunt, there is no visible harm in it as the students are not only getting some tuition free but an education as well.
Lately, Esports is starting to get recognition with cable channel ESPN, even broadcasting the finals of The Overwatch League in July. The network will also broadcast the league’s season in 2019, and there are expectations that other video games would also see similar support. Fortnite might be one such title. With Epic Games regularly updating the game with new content, the developer would not have to worry about a decline in the player count anytime soon.
Are new in-game cosmetics coming?
Meanwhile, developer Epic Games it seems is ready with the next update to keep the players busy. Fortnite data miners have found a new feature within the files, and if it indeed is true, then Epic Games could soon be selling another set of in-game cosmetics. Data miner FNBRUnreleased tweeted a part of game code that hints hats and vehicle decorations are coming to the game.
The tweet includes a screenshot showing the listing of “favorite” items such as loading screen, pickaxe and spray with a certain identification number of the specific item besides it. Further, there are two lines of code mentioned on that list for “hat” and “vehicledeco” or vehicle decorations.
Siloxleaks, another data miner, tweeted another screenshot of the code and explained how the data is sent by the game’s servers about the player’s favorite items. As of now, it is not known if these codes would become a part of the title or if these apparent features will be available for purchase or as freebies.
