In Short: Samsung sent out a real-life Fortnite supply drop box to top Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins a while ago, and now the smartphone giant has put out a video compilation revealing a few other top players who got a free Galaxy Note 9 and their reactions. The supply boxes all contained mostly the same stuff that Ninja got, aside from customization of the eponymous stat sheet included in each drop and the naming on the special cases. There was one major difference, and that was bonus items. MarkPlier, for example, got a wig, beard and eyebrows set that resembles the exclusive Galaxy skin, likely a jab at the pink beard that has graced his YouTube channel icon and avatar from time to time.
Background: Ninja, top Fortnite player and the most popular streamer on Twitch, was the first to receive a supply drop and put up a video on YouTube. His box contained a Samsung Galaxy Note 9, a special case for it, a stat sheet showing his Fortnite accomplishments, and a framed picture depicting the exclusive Galaxy skin that only Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy Tab S4 buyers are supposed to get, at least officially. That same box has now made its way to Markplier, Ssniperwolf, Harry Kane, and Ali-A. All of the famous gamers were able to play an adequate round of Fortnite on the device, and heaped praise on it, helping along the publicity effort.
Impact: It’s hard to deny that Samsung was creative and bold in its push to couple the current most popular video game in the world with its newest flagship smartphone. The Galaxy Note 9 sports internals and features meant to support a great gaming experience, such as one of the best screens on the market and an envelope-pushing cooling system consisting of multiple heat pipes. Razer is reportedly coming out with a sequel to its first gaming phone in the near future, and we may well see a gaming-focused marketing push like Samsung has done here. Additionally, now that Samsung has done it, getting free devices into the hands of popular internet figures may be the wave of the future when it comes to semi-organic publicity. Logically extrapolated, this trend could see, for example, YouTube musician Nathan Sharp receiving a music-focused phone from the likes of LG and Huawei, who have played the audiophile angle before, or amateur movie makers getting their hands on future LG V-series or Sony Xperia series phones, both prized for their video capabilities.