Stardew Valley is a game that often encourages players to take their time with it. Patience and enjoying the general experience of farming crops, and building a better community is often rewarded in Stardew Valley. However, with over 15 million copies of the game being sold by September 2021, there's certainly a variety of Stardew Valley players, with some valuing the money-making side of the game over the quiet farming life.
One of the bigger choices a player can make in the game that can boost their resources is joining the mega-corporation in JojaMart. Players in Stardew Valley begin their journey as an employee of JojaMart, before growing disillusioned with their employment and seeking a quieter life. However, during the main story of Stardew Valley, a player can choose to turn the community center of Pelican Town into a JojaMart warehouse, gaining access to plenty of resources, but giving the game's town a clear corporate influence.
Popular YouTuber Philip DeFranco recently picked up Stardew Valley, and against the recommendation of his fans, decided to go down the JojaMart route. In a sarcastically apologetic Tweet, the YouTuber made a statement about his JojaMart experience, and how he thought the "Jojanomics" could help provide Pelican Town with more money for its local economy. The Tweet reads as a hilarious parody of traditional influencer apologies, with the statement being written on a black background, and ending with "I'll be taking some time away from my farm while I figure some things out." These comments came half an hour after DeFranco claimed he was going for the JojaMart route on his first playthrough.
Fans of Stardew Valley and Philip DeFranco enjoyed his joke apology about taking a more corporate route in the game, with many who commented on the post sharing their own stories of going down the JojaMart route. "I'm enjoying my Joja run because of how bizarrely out of order everything is," one player said, while another player stated they "only went Joja my second and more used play because I cannot, for the life of me, fish." Whether a Stardew Valley farmer chooses the JojaMart life out of a want for more resources, or they lack a certain skill required for the quieter route of the game, it seems DeFranco is not alone in his love of "Jojanomics."
Joining or leaving JojaMart is not the only decision a farmer makes in Stardew Valley. Stardew Valley has been praised for the series of options it gives its players including possible romance options that include same-sex couples, to choosing which crops to farm for the quickest money.
Stardew Valley is available for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.