2 hours ago
7
While cash or a voucher to spend at a local shop used to be a welcome gift, nowadays many young gamers would rather receive virtual currencies under the tree.
V-Bucks, Minecoins, Robux and FC Points are some of the most popular in-game currencies that players use to unlock different features within popular titles – from “skins” to personalise your player to new buildings to style your online world.
This Christmas week, retailers expect to see many shoppers pick up cards loaded with virtual currencies as last-minute gifts and stocking fillers for kids.
Yet in-game currencies can be perplexing to the parents and relatives being asked for them.
So if your child is asking Santa for Robux, or a gift card loaded with FC Points, here is what you need to know.
The basics
In order to keep players engaged, developers introduce new items, features or power-ups that personalise a player’s game, and they can be bought using the in-game currency.
Gems, tokens, points … the currencies have different names but most work in a similar way. They are typically available to earn within the game but can also be bought.
It will usually take a significant period of time to build up the amount that you can buy instantly with a few clicks. With most games, you don’t get a competitive advantage by spending more – instead, money is usually spent on what your avatar looks like.
Andy Robertson, the founder of Family Gaming Database, a site that aims to help parents understand gaming, says: “Like the desire for the latest trainers when I was at school, having new outfits or appearances for your character in online games is a popular driver of purchases.”
As with real-world currencies, how much you get for £1 varies depending on the game and sometimes on how you buy it.
While you can buy 1,000 V-Bucks for £6.99 for Fortnite, for roughly the same price, you get 1,720 Minecoins for Minecraft. And a fiver will buy you 500 Robux for Roblox.
Currency values can fluctuate, so an add-on or an item in a game may increase in cost or the currency may become more expensive over time, says George Osborn, a consultant in the gaming industry.
Buying currency
There are two main ways to buy currency: on the device you are playing the game on or via gift cards sold in high street shops.
These cards, virtual and physical, are sold by the sterling amount – for example, £10 or £20 – or by the amount of in-game currency they give you.
It is worth shopping around, as prices can vary a lot. For example, when we looked, a digital gift card of 1,720 Minecoins cost £8.49 at Argos but £5.99 at the online gaming store Loaded.
If you are playing the game on a console, you will be able to buy currency through the “storefront” or the digital market on the machine – for example, the Nintendo eShop or the PlayStation Store. Often you can buy through the game itself. Payment will be taken via the method (such as debit or credit card) that is connected to the account.
Some games platforms, as well as consoles, have settings that can be changed to ensure that children cannot do this without the cardholder’s permission. The not-for-profit Internet Matters site has a directory of how to limit controls on whatever way your child games.
Buying the currency on a gift card is an easy way to limit how much your child can spend. An Argos spokesperson says interest in the gift cards peaks during the week of Christmas.
Problems
There has been concern that the differing values of each currency can create confusion about the real-world value for children, and for parents. Vicki Shotbolt, the founder of the parenting group Parent Zone, says: “It’s impossible for parents to quickly understand how much something costs when the price is presented in a virtual currency.”
Campaigners say that the value of the unregulated in-game currencies can change at any time, so one item may increase in cost, or you may get fewer coins for your pound.
Shotbolt says distancing real money from payments in a game is a way to make it easier for people to spend more. “Using virtual currencies is a classic way to obfuscate value, and it’s done deliberately to encourage spending that feels like gameplay,” she says.
Adam Jerrett, a lecturer in games design at the University of Portsmouth, says the bundles that currencies are sold in mean that kids can often struggle to understand the real cost of them when they are bought.
He adds that the amount of currency you buy often does not align neatly with the price of items available for purchase, so players can end up with “stranded currency”.
The currencies are particular to the game that a child is playing and can’t be transferred between titles. And they can’t be transferred from one player to another.
However, Robertson says buying the currencies can be an opportunity to learn financial literacy. “My kids have sometimes been desperate to buy something in a game that I don’t think is good value,” he says. “Letting them spend some pocket money in this way enables them to learn about value, particularly if spending here means they can’t buy other things they want this week.”
Game options and exchange rates
Fortnite
Fortnite is free to play but players buy “skins” and various other items to personalise the game. The currency used is called V-Bucks.
Exchange rate Buying them through the store of the developer Epic Games will get you 1,000 V-Bucks for £6.99 (which is 143 V-Bucks for £1). Economies of scale kick in with the more you buy, so £17.49 will get you 2,800, £27.99 will get you 5,000, and £69.99 will buy 13,500 (193 for £1). Fortnite gift cards in sterling denominations (£10, £20, etc) can be bought online and in shops.
What you can buy V-Bucks can buy you “skins” to personalise your in-game persona, “emotes” (a dance move your character makes) and other cosmetic items. A new skin for your character comes in at between 800 and 2,000 V-Bucks.
Minecraft
Minecraft allows players to explore and build in its apparently infinite terrains. Its in-game currency is the Minecoin.
Exchange rate Minecoins can be bought for £7.99 for 1,720 units (215 Minecoins for £1) via the PlayStation store. Gift card prices vary – for the same amount of coins, Asda is charging £8.39 (205 for £1). Coins can be sold in greater numbers: 3,500 are priced at £16.74 at the toy retailer Smyths (209 for £1), while Amazon has 8,800 for £41.74 (211 for £1).
What you can buy It costs 310 coins to give your character blue jeans and 490 to buy 12 goth skins, giving your character a “unique style”. For 490 coins, you can buy a “Cherry Bonsai Treehouse” to defend yourself from enemies on the ground.
Roblox
Roblox is a constantly changing world of online games, mostly free and often made by users and amateur developers. While most of the games are free, users can buy extras within games using Robux.
Exchange rate Buying Robux from the Roblox online store will get you 500 for £4.99 (100 Robux for £1). You can spend up to £199.99, which will get you 24,000 (120 for £1). Gift cards are available in rounded amounts such as £10 and £20.
What you can buy Black messy hair with a Santa hat will cost 60 Robux, while a “Sword of the Lands”, which promises to do significant damage when used, costs 1,000 Robux.
FC 26
The latest title in the hugely popular football series uses FC Points as its in-game currency.
Exchange rate Prices start at 99p for 100 points. You can pay £8.99 for 1,050 (117 for £1); £21.99 for 2,800, right up to £129.99 for 18,500 (142 for £1) on the PlayStation store.
What you can buy The points can be used to buy packs, which are virtual bundles of players for your team, and other add-ons. A premium gold pack, which gives a mixture of players and other features, costs 150 FC Points.
