With Esports and Fortnite continuing to grow here in New Zealand, our reporter D'Angelo Martin spoke to the Gregoire whānau, who attended the Armageddon Expo in Auckland which celebrates gaming, animation, cosplay and more, to see if playing Fortnite is an alarming issue within their household.
There is no doubt that Fortnite is an addictive game for some, and according to Titan Gregoire, a frequent player of the game, nothing beats it. "First, I saw my brother playing it and I said 'oh can I have a go?' and he said 'yeah' and so I played it, then I carried on playing it then yeah I got addicted to it," he says.
The thirteen-year-old has been playing Fortnite for two years now, according to his dad. In that time, he's become lost in a virtual world. "We used to play outside all the time and create friendships with real people and do real things, and now I can't even get the kids outside to clean up around the property," says Tyrone Gregoire, Titan's dad
"He hates Fortnite, and we're only allowed to play it on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays," says Titan.
The game Fortnite was launched in 2017 and has an estimated 250 million players worldwide, with the majority of the players youth.
"When it starts to get boring then I'll probably stop and play like Call of Duty or something and find a different game to play. But yeah I'll probably keep playing it," says Titan.
"All my sons just sit there and decide to play games, we've got three PlayStations in the house now so things are getting out of hand," says Tyrone.
Regardless of the multiple concerns that this father has for the game, parents are well aware that this is what is trending for this generation. "They do get their way in terms of the game still being in the house, they do get to spend some time on it but I think it's just more important to monitor and put restrictions on so they don't spend all their time on it."
Titan has some words of advice for other young gamers. "Go hard, don't rage, and get good at the game and don't die," he says. "And be nice to your parents, so they don't kick you off."
Meanwhile, Titan is eagerly awaiting the release of the new Fortnite season.
Regional | Gaming