Retailer creates cell phone rental store for children to play Free Fire
The owner of a video game store in Itatiaia, in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, had the idea of creating a cell phone rental store so that children in the neighborhood could play Free Fire e Fortnite. The idea is proving successful and reports of the games are almost 20 thousand followers on TikTok.
Anyone old enough to have lived through the 1990s probably visited a video game rental store. Due to the high price of consoles and the difficulty in accessing the devices (many were imported and had no official representation in Brazil), these places allowed children and adults to pay by the hour to play their favorite games. It was a real craze.
Imagining a place like this today, in the midst of the connectivity generation, may seem like a far-fetched experience for many gamers. Unless you live in the outskirts of the city, where the lack of resources makes online games a luxury. With this in mind, the owner of a video game store in the city of Itatiaia, in Rio de Janeiro, created a video game, notebook and smartphone rental store. The prices per hour of play range from R$3 for consoles and computers to R$1,50 for cell phones.
Named WD Games, the gaming house has been successful on TikTok and Instagram by showing the routine of its founder, William, managing the video games and sharing stories of the children who frequent the place to play. According to the founder, the cell phone rental company has devices capable of smoothly running titles such as Fortnite and Free Fire, in addition to the Playstation 3 and Playstation 4 consoles, of which the favorite is GTA V:
@wdgamehause and the era of the mask begins#wdgameshouse #tmj #comeplay #boradaplay #wearmask
Free Fire is the kids' favorite
Still according to his publications on TikTok, William comments that the absolute leader in the preference of the cell phone rental store's customers is Free Fire – battle Royale Garena which has already surpassed the 80 million daily players mark around the world. To meet the needs of the games, the owner of the rental store explains in the post that he started with two smartphones and two notebooks and gradually started acquiring new devices. In another post, he mentions that mid-range devices from the Moto G line by Motorola and the Galaxy A line by Samsung are used, see below.
@wdgamehause #wdgameshouse full steam ahead thank God#tmj #comeplay #boradaplay #foryou
Campaign for growth
Despite its growth, the cell phone rental project created by William also ended up raising a social side that aims to provide access to games for young people and children. In some publications, the founder reported that he allows some children to play for free.
This gesture of affection reached Twitter and some users started mentioning brands and gaming companies to support William with new titles and devices for the project. The user @pauloeurides was one of those responsible for spreading this story.
Guys, there's a little brother on Tik Tok who opened a kind of arcade with some cool video games and a cell phone in the hood for kids to play and he's making a living from that, but I think it would be cool if you gave the brother some light because he's doing a really cool job, but I have zero influence.
— Paulo Eurides (Bear Claw) (@pauloeurides) June 18, 2021
Will the trend catch on in other parts of Brazil?
