Everyone loves a cute plush, especially when it's an intriguing shape or of a strange mascot. I saw the Android Classic plush and immediately wanted it; however, my hubris was quickly quenched when I checked how you can actually get one. Or not get one, as the case may be.
The little green fellow is a rotund, real-life version of the Android mascot known as The Bot. It appeared first in 2008 and has been a mainstay of Android's branding since. It's got a squat body with short arms and legs, and tiny antennae on its head - the plush has the same features coated in a fuzzy fabric, with small black eyes peeping out.
While I've never felt particularly attached to Google or Android, this guy is really cute, and really appeals to the side of me that feels compelled to collect 'small, round, guys' aka soft toys with too much middle filling and teeny tiny legs. Think IKEA's Djungelskog, Jellycat's toast Amuseable, and Sumikko Gurashi keychains.
Naturally, I thought to myself, I'll get one of those - I have some Google Play Points saved up! Ha, what a fool I am. Sure, you can use your points to purchase one in the UK, but it costs 3,4000 of them. Three thousand and four hundred points. There's no tax or shipping cost if you use your points, though, so that's one bonus.
You can outrightly buy one on the Google merch store for $36 in the US with $9.50 - 19.99 shipping, and $3.30 tax on top, or £24 in the UK. Except, it's not £24 - once it's in your basket, the price is £20 with £5.30 tax, and £6.50 shipping, bringing it to £31.80.
Let's take a look at how much of your local currency it takes to get points. Every time you spend money on an app or game through Google Play, you earn points. The more you spend, the better your rank becomes - you start at bronze, and can go all the way up to diamond. Here's how much you earn per pound and dollar spent:
- Bronze - 1 point per $1/£1
- Silver - 1.1 points per £1/$1
- Gold - 1.2 points per £1/$1
- Platinum - 1.4 points per £1/$1
- Diamond - 1.6 points per £1/$1
You can get multipliers while spending in games, or use the specific points boost to earn more. For instance, at the time of writing, there's a seven-times boost for Candy Crush lasting seven days, and a three-times boost in Pokémon TCG Pocket, getting you loads more points. If you're a fan of reading on the go, there are book deals that grant you a multiplier, too. The weekly prize grants you some extra points, too, though I only ever seem to get two or three.
Without these boosts, though, it would take you £3,400 at bronze level, or £2,125 at diamond level, to earn enough points to get the green guy. That's a darn lot of cash for a squidgy plush. There are, of course, some on eBay for inflated prices, so if you're really in need of one, that's an option.
It just seems like an absolutely wild amount to me. Also, why can't we buy them in the UK, like in the US? I get that it's an exclusive item, meant for those who are big spenders and avid users of Google Play, but good heavens, why such a big price? It's not like it's made of gold.
I guess I, with my measly silver level and 177 points, will have to skip this one and wait for enough points to get some credit to spend in literally any gacha game. Wish me luck, I've got new five-star Honkai Star Rail characters to pull.