Screenshots have all been provided by the interviewee. We hope our talk with E-san can fill in the full picture of what kind of person these "whales" are. Stay tuned for a full analysis of the four interviews.
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So what games are you currently playing? What kind of time do you spend on your games?
Games I am currently playing? Well in terms of mobile games my main game is Fate/Grand Order. I recently got back into Shadowverse and I'm slowly dropping out of Azur Lane. I also played FEH for a short time.
On average how much time do I spend on games? Well I end up opening any of my mobile games during all 3 breaks I have at work and then I play maybe on average at least 2-3 hours. Sometimes more, like when I stream FGO on Thursdays. Other than that I end up playing a physical card game (Weiss Schwarz) I also spend money on.
You mentioned FGO is the game you play the most, and you characterize yourself as a whale. But you have a friend who's a "Grand Whale". What kind of spending do you do, compared to your friend?
In terms of spending I only spent above 10k but I haven't hit 11k yet due to how far my job at the time allowed me to whale. Whereas my friend has a job that pays a lot more than me and easily has spent almost twice as much.
Though I actually have a good paying job now and will end up investing much more as time goes by.
Do you plan out your spending? I know for FGO, since the NA version is years behind the JP version in content, you can plan ahead for certain servants.
I've been playing FGO JP since release along with my friend. Originally I was F2P (free-to-play) until my favorite character was released on my birthday, Mordred. On that day I decided to just spend on gachas to make my life easier. Seeing how I don't get the luxury of knowing future gachas to come out I don't plan ahead past the minimum 1-2 max buys per gacha (Assuming its a new character or someone I don't own and actually want). If its a character I'm waiting for to be released, like Semiramis, I'll do a minimum 2-4 and then more if needed. But my account is generally pretty lucky when it comes to pulling the 5* on rate up.
Are you and your friend big Fate fans?
Yes I would consider myself more of a fate fan and him more of a typemoon fan, seeing how he is really big on the Kara no Kyoukai series. I haven't read all of the VN yet but I have finished 2 out of the 3 routes. I read a few volumes of Apocrypha, watched all the anime that exists. Read the Illya manga. I even go to Fate Cosplay meet ups at various conventions!
Though I wish I read more of the other series, I do own the Fate/Extra game trilogy.
Nice! Are you in the US? I love how much support Fate has been seeing as of late. Like the Heavens Feel theater showings.
Yes I am located in the US! I live in NJ and always go to various anime movie showings in the city with friends. The Heaven's Feel showing was amazing.
That sounds like fun! Do you think there's any particular reason the JP version of FGO is so popular in NA?
I think its the fact that Fate/Stay Night is insanely popular in NA that when FGO was released a lot of the Fate fans all started to play it. Especially the idea of being able to summon our favorite characters in the anime we enjoyed really hooked us in. Then the introduction of lesser known servants from other series and even brand new servants kept us playing. I've seen many people quit to wait for NA version and I have seen people just come back to play due to how long it took for the NA version to even come out.
Not to mention as a community be it in FB groups or reddit etc. It was always fun to show off to each other our servant progression, our rolls, etc. And seeing someone succeed really baited others to wanting to roll as well.
Has seeing someone else get good rolls ever baited you into rolling?
ALL THE TIME. Especially if I'm watching someone roll on twitch or my friend shows me an insanely good roll, I just think to myself, "Well maybe I should give it a shot as well!"
It's so easy to influence each other when you're both willing to spend money. "Hey I'll max buy if you max buy"
It sounds like you have a pretty good friend if you can make spending pacts like that! If you were not so engaged with the FGO community would it be safe to say you'd spend a lot less?
Yes. If I wasn't so engaged in the community I would end up spending less on FGO and more than likely more on a different mobage or card game
You mentioned you play Weiss Schwartz. I have a few friends who play that actually. Do you think gacha mechanics are comparable to opening card packs?
In a sense gacha mechanics are comparable to the excitement of opening a pack and hoping you pull something of value, though some people wouldn't compare something physical to something digital. In the game I play, Weiss Schwarz, each pack is guaranteed 1 R+ just like how FGO gives you a guaranteed 4*+. Though with card games you can just buy the cards individually which you can't do with servants unfortunately.
Do you ever feel uncomfortable with how much you have invested with FGO?
I never have any regret with how much I invested thanks to how much fun I have playing the game with friends. When I look at my support list and all the 10/10/10 skills I get a sense of accomplishment. The only time close to regret was when I gave myself a limit on a specific banner, reached my limit and decided not to continue rolling even though I actually did want to roll her. At the time I had a large card game purchase and didn't want to go over my spending allowance I give myself. Especially since she wasn't a limited servant.
If you could give some advice to other FGO players, what would it be?
You don't need Meta tier servants to clear through the game. Just because your favorite servant isn't high rated doesn't mean you can't build a team around them! If you fail the gacha it's okay they more than likely have multiple rate ups. And don't forget to level up your 3* and lower servants! There are a bunch of super useful low star servants that get neglected because they aren't gold. Look into the useful ones and you won't regret it!
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