This whale spends up to US$2,100 on a single game character to be 'competitive'

Everyone has a hobby. Some choose to spend their time and resources on travel, sports, art, or K-pop idols, among other things.

Like any other hobby, gamers also use their time and money to upgrade their rig, buy the latest console, or get the latest game.

Then, there are gamers who spend their money on in-game items. Huge spenders, also called 'whales' in gamer lingo, dedicate large sums of money for in-game purchases to acquire skins, crafting items, or a chance to get the latest character in (usually live-service) games.

This is one of the reasons why gacha games like Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail are so successful, with millions of players willing to spend money to get new characters and equipment.

According to an article published by Udonis, a mobile marketing agency, only 2 per cent of the gaming population are considered whales.

Some of the biggest whales can spend up to US$1 million, like the player that journalist John Koetsier mentioned in his article about gamers in 2018.

For some Southeast Asian gamers, though, an average of US$400 to US$700 a month can be considered whale-levels of spending, as that would already be about two to three times (or even more) of their country’s minimum salary.

This spending is usually met with stigma by the society around. To most people, it seems a mystery how and why someone would be willing to spend on something that is intangible in real-life.

From the perspective of many non-gamers, it is a waste of money, compared to buying something that you can see or use, and likely last a little while.

And while this could be true, each person has a reason and a motive.

In a thread on the official Genshin Impact subreddit posted in March 2023, user Comfortable_Park6194 responded to the question: Genshin Whales, what do you do for a living?

They said, “I work in healthcare and [don't] go out much. What's the difference between spending $300 on restaurants and gacha? At least I can enjoy gacha more.”

Yahoo Southeast Asia spoke with three whales who shared their insights on the matter. Each of them had a different perspective and a different style of spending.

For this article, we talked to Eugene, the 'Competitive Gamer'.

How a competitive gamer whales?

Eugene is a precision engineer working in South Korea. He’s been into gaming since 2013. Currently, he is into games like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.

“I usually spend around US$450 per character,” he shared.

But if Eugene really wants the character, specifically the female characters some communities call “waifus”, he usually spends “around US$1,700 to US$2,100 to max out the character and their signature weapons” (multiple copies of the characters and weapons are needed to unlock their full in-game potential).

In Genshin Impact's gacha system, a player is guaranteed a random 5-star character or weapon after 90 pulls, with the featured 5-star character guaranteed after a maximum 180 pulls. 5-star weapons, on the other hand, can be received after a maximum 240 pulls on the weapon banner. Getting the featured character or weapon on a non-guaranteed 5-star pull is known as "winning the 50/50".

90 pulls cost around 14,400 of the game's premium currency, known as primogems, and players can buy slightly over 8,000 primogems for US$99.

According to Eugene, his competitiveness is what motivates him to spend so much many on his games.

“When my competitive spirit kicks in at any game, I want to be at the top of everything,” said Eugene. He shared that while he played other games in the past, he only started spending huge sums of money on Genshin Impact.

When asked what he gets out of pulling wishes in Genshin Impact and eventually getting the character, he said, "I feel happy when I get what I want in-game, specifically if I went all-in with 'whaling'' for a certain character or weapon."

Eugene also shared one of his most memorable pulls in Genshin Impact.

"One of my most memorable pulls was with this character named Shenhe. She's definitely a waifu," he said.

Initially aiming for Shenhe's C6 constellation and an R5 weapon (which requires seven copies of the character and five of the weapon), his plans changed when another character, Itto, was pulled first.

Despite his initial hesitation towards Itto, he invested in Itto's constellations and weapons instead spending his premium currency on Shenhe like he intended.

When Shenhe's banner finally arrived, Eugene did have a touch of luck,. He won both 50/50 rolls and obtained Shenhe, along with her weapon.

Despite intending to save his remaining in-game currency, curiosity got the better of him, and he couldn't resist doing more pulls, eventually getting enough copies of Shenhe without missing the 50/50 several times.

Instead of needing over 1,200 pulls to max out his character, Eugene only required less than 300, a stroke of luck that led to Shenhe being affectionately known as his "accidental C6 character".

Eugene also added that he loved flexing (showing off) his character to other game players, especially to streamers that he follows.

"There’s this streamer that told me that I seem to be the only whale they’ve met that whales in-game, but still plays the game," Eugene shared.

"I'm one of the players that are persistent in collecting achievements in-game, for bragging rights".

Sometimes, he shares his achievements with streamers that have become his friends, so that they can see what the new character is about.

Budgeting for gacha

Contrary to what most people would think, Eugene actually sets aside a specific budget for his whaling.

“I do have a specific budget, especially since I still need to be a responsible adult and pay my bills and investments in the Philippines,” he said.

"But most of the time, I go over budget because the RNG is hard to beat sometimes," Eugene admitted.

To maximise his resources, Eugene makes sure to check out reviews and information on the character and items, before deciding if he will whale for it. He also looks at website guides, so he’s sure he’s getting the most for his money.

He admitted that what he currently spends in Genshin Impact could be perceived as excessive.

However, Eugene emphasised that not everyone has to spend like him. He thinks he still spends responsibly, making sure all of his expenses are covered and that he has investments and savings that he keeps an eye on.

“If you have the ability and responsibility to spend on a game, you can always opt for the monthly pass.”

According to him, many F2P (free-to-play) or low-spending players excel in the game with just the monthly pass and battle pass.

"You don't really need to spend as much as I do just to complete the end game content."

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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