Vidjama Gmaes Work

It’s uh…

Fortnite’s Simpsons season has officially kicked off and the response from players is mixed over several things as they usually are. But for the sake of this article I want to talk about the new sidekick system. Mostly because it’s giving me Kicks vibes and this is the internet so the discussion of course is chock full of needless hyperbole.

Fortnite gave everyone a free sidekick which for right now is the only one available because Epic loves introducing new systems in the most bare minimum way possible and then gearing up from there. My guess is also that Epic likes to use the drug dealer approach; the first is always free, and then give them enough time to enjoy the thing before you ask for money for more.

Epic added in sidekicks starting with banana dog Peels. Peels is adorable and immediately showcases the greed built into the system because Peels has a few customization options. You can customize the chonk level, the color, and the ears of Peels. Once you lock those in, they are permanent. There is another layer of cosmetics (clothes/emotes) for Peels that can be obtained and changed out to your heart’s content, but the base appearance options are permanent.

This is wholly a limit that Epic artificially introduced in order to sell the solution; you can buy sidekicks more than once and they won’t be cheap. Talkin somewhere in the realm of $12-20. But here’s why I say they’re wholly for the buyer. Sidekicks are only visible to you and your squad. Which makes sense since you wouldn’t want a dog running around revealing your location if you were hiding, nobody would use them.

I compare sidekicks to kicks because while full body skins are to some level to look good to others or show how long you’ve been playing, kicks and sidekicks are wholly just for your own enjoyment. Kicks can barely be noticed when you’re jumping around like a nutcase. Sidekicks can’t be seen at all by opponents. Its presence is entirely a “I just think it’s neat” to use a timely Simpsons meme.

There’s little doubt in my mind that the permanent customization thing is a “can we get away with it” that is completely subject to change depending on if the number of people actually buying duplicate sidekicks matches Epic’s projections/expectations. And if they don’t, you can expect Epic at some point in the next 16 months to put out a survey asking players if they would buy more sidekicks if the customization wasn’t permanent, and then just flip a switch and allow it. Because that’s really all it is is a switch.

Overall I can’t get too annoyed with sidekicks because it’s such an easy thing to not buy. If you don’t like the idea then it’s probably not very tempting to spend money on them. I am more interested in how Epic is going to throw brands in and what characters we’ll see. I don’t see myself spending any money on these personally.