Stop Buying Virtual Currency, please

[Boilerbuzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by nuckles2k2

Wait....so you're saying that people haven't complained about the micro-transactions in Madden's Superstar mode, or the Dynasty boosters in NCAA? Where have you been man? This is such a weak argument...facebook games? You'd have to assume that the majority of people on here play those games, and spend money on it. And as an addendum to your record...all of the on-court gear was available the minute you turned on 2K12, 2K11, 2K10, etc. If you're talking about the suits, and t-shirts....that's new to 2K13...and not essential. Wanna charge me fake money for a new suit? Cool. Wanna charge me fake money for a headband?....alright. Wanna barely supply me with that fake money in the game and make it almost impossible to earn IN THE MODE?....um....ok. Wanna overprice minor, standard, been in every game for the past decade, items to entice me to spend real money, to buy fake money, to grab my headband and wear it with the logo in the back?....line drawn, time to ask "what the ****?" Edit: I mean...people were complaining about EA trying to get into the post-wholesale market with the $10 online pass for used games. People lambasted them for doing it, "oh greedy EA; omfg I can't believe dey would do somthin like dis, wtf man??!?!? don't they make enough money?!?!? EA sucks....etc.." MLB: The Show does the same thing now..and the backlash wasn't nearly as big. Plus, the bottom line is...headbands and wristbands are not new content. It's one thing if the pricing of the items and distribution of the coins wasn't pushing you in the direction of buying VC. But that's exactly what it is.

1. You conveniently forget my first statement.
2. Where is this dudes thread in the other forums?. Link it and we are done.
3. Zynga made a LOT of money on this business model. A LOT of people play their games. You're a fool if you don't think some here don't play them. And that's beside the point anyway.

The bottom line is that I agree and I speak with MY wallet. But the people that come here trying to control other people's wallets are either kids, or fakes. These thread are worthless. EA is still doing it. They are still holding exclusive licenses because people are still buying their products. So what is the point of these whiny threads?

And people are returning the game for this? yeah right. Again, waste of time. You may as well get out of gaming completely pal because it will not stop. Get used to it.

[Boilerbuzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by 11anthony

Who said I was complaining about them making money? I'm just stating that more income doesn't ways mean a bigger budget.

But they do! You think MJ and JayZ came cheap?! And you don't think those things are going to continue? Games are getter bigger and more complicated. More people and assets are coming. And all because the consumer expects more, more, and more...

[Ken Griffery Jr.]

Quote: Originally Posted by Boilerbuzz

3. Zynga made a LOT of money on this business model. A LOT of people play their games.

Dude, Zynga MADE a lot of money off this nickel-and-dime model, but they're in a lot of financial trouble and have been for over 6 months. This model is great in the short term, but disastrous for long term viability. If it can't survive on Facebook - where it's free - what makes a developer think it's going to succeed on consoles?

To play a Zynga game you need a computer, the internet and a FB account; That's it. To play NBA 2K13 on a console, you need either a 360 or PS3; an internet connection (to play with friends or receive patches/updates) which necessitates an XBL gold membership (PSN is free unless you have PLUS). You also need to buy the $59.99 game and - in the case of last years 'Legends Showcase' - extra $$$ for DLC).

PC/Console gamers are not the casual crowd you find on FB, which is why all the mobile/FB spinoffs of games like Madden, FIFA, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, etc., have NOT been successful. All that brand recognition and none of them are in the same league as 'Cut the Rope'. Why? Because, by definition, a casual gamer is not as invested in a title as a hardcore gamer. Casuals get addicted for awhile and then drop the title while the hardcore play it over again. Casuals have no misguided sense of loyalty to a developer and will not buy the next Infinity Blade because it was developed by Chair Entertainment. It's a fact that hardcore gamers buy future titles based on a developers past track record.

For all the games that are super successful like Angry Birds, it's because they cost $0.99 cents for phones and $2.99 for tablets. NBA 2K13 is a $60 game son. For 2KSports to milk their dedicated consumer for more money is insulting and cheap, but we should've seen this coming. They spent more time this year promoting Jay-Z and Justin Bieber's inclusion than they did the legends and modes. That was a sign things were very wrong.

[mrprice33]

http://www.vgrevolution.com/2012/10/...nt-for-gaming/

[nuckles2k2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Boilerbuzz

1. You conveniently forget my first statement. 2. Where is this dudes thread in the other forums?. Link it and we are done. 3. Zynga made a LOT of money on this business model. A LOT of people play their games. You're a fool if you don't think some here don't play them. And that's beside the point anyway. The bottom line is that I agree and I speak with MY wallet. But the people that come here trying to control other people's wallets are either kids, or fakes. These thread are worthless. EA is still doing it. They are still holding exclusive licenses because people are still buying their products. So what is the point of these whiny threads? And people are returning the game for this? yeah right. Again, waste of time. You may as well get out of gaming completely pal because it will not stop. Get used to it.

http://www.destructoid.com/madden-10...s-143358.phtml

Quote:

t may sound like overload, and it is in many ways it is, but don’t fret too much: these micro-downloadables aren’t malicious. As far as we can tell, EA isn’t selling modes or other frill content players are accustomed to receiving with the purchase of a core Madden game.

But while 2K isn't directly selling the frill content in the game....they've certainly strategically priced the items, IN. THE. MODE. while also making it difficult to acquire coins IN. THE. MODE. Obviously everyone doesn't have the time, patience, or even desire to play the other modes to earn coins...I'm sure 2K could utilize the data that they collect from consoles that are online when playing the games, even in offline modes. How many times have we heard "and we review the data to see which modes are being played the most, blah blah blah?" If they know there's a large enough contingent of people who log more hours on MyPlayer/MyCareer than anything else....hmmmm, over-price items in that mode...make the coin distributions scarce, to say the lease....maybe people will be enticed to buy more VC coins....VIOLA!!!!!!

But I digress....

http://www.operationsports.com/news/...ore-lucrative/

Quote: Originally Posted by superbus

So basically, 4% of the market - the whales - are running things. This is depressing, because EA has shown they are not above making it so that you cannot compete unless you microtransact. Try doing Ultimate Team in any game that has it without paying. Just try it. The difference here is that Zynga's games are free to play. Yes, they're a terrible company that gets by solely on copying the work of other people and pretending it's theirs - "copy what they do until you get their numbers" - but you can at least play the game for free. EA's going with a microtransaction model on games that are $60 to start with, and need to be replaced yearly. No one's thinking this is a bad thing? Oh, I'm sorry. You're all working on your overpowered Ultimate Teams. My bad.

And I'll even throw in these links on the discussion of Madden's online pass....which almost broke the internet:

http://www.operationsports.com/news/...-faq-included/

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...dden-11-a.html

You make it seem like people just roll over and say "meh, ok...I'll pay."

PLUS, all of those micro-transactions you see in that destructoid article in Madden 10....they're all gone. So I guess EA said "we're SO sick and tired of making all of this money!!! Get rid of it..."

And I'll just throw this thread in there as well:

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...l-all-dlc.html

Quote: Originally Posted by blklightning

Good grief. I hope Madden isn't this bad. You used to unlock most of that stuff. Guess those days are over. But, I think Madden isn't as bad as NCAA in this aspect. But at NCAA's current pace, it'll be DLC to press the start button at the main title screen. Btw, here's a list if you wanted to know what you could be spending your money on: Spoiler NCAA Football 13: Season Ticket ($24.99) Get early access to NCAA Football 13, 20% off on all PDLC, free Super Sim on the web, free week advance on the web, free TeamBuilder slots, and a special Season Ticket icon in-game. NCAA Football 13 Pipeline State Addition ($1.99) Pipeline States can help you recruit in an area while playing Dynasty Mode. After purchase you will be able to select a Pipeline State anywhere in the nation.This will affect every team you control in Dynasty Mode and Online Dynasty Mode. NCAA Football 13 5 Star Defensive Back ($0.99) Your caliber coming out of the High School Playoffs in Road to Glory mode directly affects the attributes of your created player. You will be able to start your college career as a 5 star Cornerback, Strong Safety, or Free Safety every time you create a player in Road to Glory mode after purchase. NCAA Football 13 5 Star Defensive Line ($0.99) Your caliber coming out of the High School Playoffs in Road to Glory mode directly affects the attributes of your created player. You will be able to start your college career as a 5 star Defensive End or Defensive Tackle every time you create a player in Road to Glory mode after purchase. NCAA Football 13 5 Star Linebacker ($0.99) Your caliber coming out of the High School Playoffs in Road to Glory mode directly affects the attributes of your created player. You will be able to start your college career as a 5 star Linebacker every time you create a player in Road to Glory mode after purchase. NCAA Football 13 5 Star Receiver ($0.99) Your caliber coming out of the High School Playoffs in Road to Glory mode directly affects the attributes of your created player and a 5 star recruit. You will be able to start your college career as a 5 star Wide Receiver every time you create a player in Road to Glory mode after purchase. NCAA Football 13 5 Star Running Back ($1.99) Your caliber coming out of the High School Playoffs in Road to Glory mode directly affects the attributes of your created player. You will be able to start your college career as a 5 star Halfback every time you create a player in Road to Glory mode after purchase. NCAA Football 13 All 5 Star Recruits ($5.99) Your caliber coming out of the High School Playoffs in Road to Glory mode directly affects the attributes of your created player. You will be able to start your college career as a 5 star player at any position every time you create a player in Road to Glory after purchase. NCAA Football 13 All Dynasty Time Savers ($14.99) Unlocks all of the Dynasty Time Savers: Recruiting Advisor, Coaching Seminar, School Pitches Improvements, Maximum Player Training, Pipeline State Addition, Recruiting Reports, and SuperSim Online. These will affect every team you control in Dynasty Mode. Online features require NCAA Football 13 Online Pass. NCAA Football 13 Coaching Seminar ($1.99) The Coaching Seminar in Dynasty gives you the maximum chance to keep players from leaving your school early through the promises you make. Also this will add to the Coach Prestige grade by one level. This will affect every team you control in Dynasty and Online Dynasty. NCAA Football 13 Commish Bundle ($6.99) With this entitlement you gain access to Week Advance Anywhere and Commish of 5 Online Dynasties. You’ll be able to run up to 5 Online Dynasties as the commissioner and be able to advance the weeks from wherever you access www.easports.com/dynasty. Online features require NCAA Football 13 Online Pass. NCAA Football 13 Commish Of 3 Online Dynasties ($2.99) This entitlement will give you more space on the NCAA Football 13 Online Dynasty servers which lets you control more than one Online Dynasty. You will be able to control up to a maximum of 3 Online Dynasties as the commissioner with this entitlement. Online features require NCAA Football 13 Online Pass. NCAA Football 13 Commish Of 5 Online Dynasties ($4.99) Season Ticket subscribers get 20% off all downloadable content purchased from within the game. This entitlement will give you more space on the NCAA Football 13 Online Dynasty servers which lets you control more than one Online Dynasty. You will be able to control up to a maximum of 5 Online Dynasties as the commissioner with this entitlement. Online features require NCAA Football 13 Online Pass. NCAA Football 13 Max Coach Trust ($1.99) Get the maximum amount of coach trust to earn on field abilities like audibles, hot routes, and changing the play in the huddle. NCAA Football 13 Max Reaction Time ($1.99) Get the maximum possible reaction time by boosting your Awareness rating to 99. NCAA Football 13 Max Teambuilder Slots ($9.99) This will give you a total of 120 slots to download teams for use in Play Now, Online, and Dynasty Mode.Online features require NCAA Football 13 Online Pass. NCAA Football 13 Maximum Player Training ($1.99) This item will allow teams with lower prestige to train their players like one of the big boys. This will affect every team you control in Dynasty Mode and Online Dynasty Mode. NCAA Football 13 Power Pack ($24.99) Power up your NCAA Football 13 experience. Included are all the Dynasty Time Savers, Road to Glory Time Savers,120 TeamBuilder slots, Commish of 5 Online Dynasties, and Week Advance Anywhere. Online features require NCAA Football 13 Online Pass. NCAA Football 13 Recruiting Advisor ($2.99) The Recruiting Advisor will deliver premium recruiting info each week that you can use to gain the edge on the recruiting trail. This affects every team you control in Dynasty and Online Dynasty. NCAA Football 13 Recruiting Reports ($1.99) Learn where your rivals are spending their Recruiting Time every week in Dynasty Mode to help you determine how much time to spend on a prospect. This will affect every team you control in Dynasty Mode and Online Dynasty Mode. NCAA Football 13 School Pitches Improvements ($1.99) This item will increase your pitches in Recruiting by one level. This item will improve the following pitches: Championship Contender, Pro Potential, Program Tradition, and Television Exposure. This will affect every team you control in Dynasty Mode and Online Dynasty Mode. NCAA Football 13 SuperSim Online ($1.99) Have even more control over your team in Online Dynasty using www.easports.com/dynasty. Once purchased, you can access SuperSim Online and take control of your team’s games wherever you access the website. Online features require NCAA Football 13 Online Pass. NCAA Football 13 Triple Your Xp ($2.99) Improve your attributes faster by earning XP points at triple the normal rate. NCAA Football 13 Week Advance Anywhere ($2.99) With this entitlement you will gain access to be able to advance the weeks of your Online Dynasty from www.easports.com/dynasty. Online features require NCAA Football 13 Online Pass.

There's a few articles & threads for you to peruse and read up on all of the complaints of DLC. Some valid, some pure whining, but they're out there.

I just want to see if 2K tries to figure out a way to do what EA did with TeamBuilder...you know...a free feature, but limit the number of teams you can create...oh you wanna create more???????? Pay up, sucka.

I'm not on board the mindset of "oh if you let them start out with this, it'll get sooooooo much worse" I kinda think there's a limit to what companies can get away with...but TeamBuilder is a legit example of "we took an inch with all of the other DLC, let's grab this mile with TeamBuilder."

[ILLSmak]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ken Griffery Jr.

Good lord did you miss the point. *SMH* MrBigShot1, and other people in this thread, understood exactly what I meant. Just because it's not "realistic" to create a human (virtual) being from scratch and craft them into an NBA superstar doesn't mean all other forms of realism associated with basketball can be thrown out the window. By that logic, what was the point of marketing that they included the new CBA? Or that historic teams are as accurate as possible? If we're going to go by the "Hey, the whole game isn't realistic" mentality, why not just replace Kareem on the '87 Lakers with the Yeti from NBA Street? It's because while you can get away with some unrealistic aspects, you must ground your game in some form of reality. Even if your MP was earning 20,000 coins per year which, according to the example in my earlier post would be $20 million dollars, for him to pay the equivalent of $3 million dollars for an arm sleeve, sweater or whatever is outright ridiculous.

You underestimate the human mind, as if you believe what you are saying or have said is some abstract concept that only certain people can grasp. heh.

My argument is this, and I'm going to make it as simple as possible. I will do it with bullet points.

1. Your salary in mycareer is a fraction of what your total earnings should be.

2. An NBA player practices and plays in games. Time progresses differently for them. They can't "sim to next game." You have to equate 3000 VC to how many hours it would take to earn it playing well. You also are not taking into account the fact that a player has worked their whole life to get into the NBA and you just load it up and expect to be able to buy everything you want with your first paycheck.

3. An arm sleeve has much more value than an arm sleeve in real life. It's like shoes in the game. It's a status symbol. They know you want this, therefore, you have to work x amount of hours to get it. If playing casually for a week is too much for an arm sleeve, then you didn't really want it.

4. Last point, to summarize. YOUR TIME = MONEY. Not your player's salary. The cost of these things are calculated by how much time it would take for you to earn them. If you wanted a game that was more realistic, the rookie showcase would mean much less and you'd likely be jumping in and out of the NBADL to start. But no, you are promised to go as a first round pick. Play the game.

I don't see why someone would buy VC and the fact that you can means nothing to me. The game was balanced, in my opinion, to play without buying it. The ease of getting it with cash is a marketing tactic. If you are so opposed to working, then buy some ****ing VC and get on with your life.

-Smak

[Boilerbuzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ken Griffery Jr.

Dude, Zynga MADE a lot of money off this nickel-and-dime model, but they're in a lot of financial trouble and have been for over 6 months. This model is great in the short term, but disastrous for long term viability. If it can't survive on Facebook - where it's free - what makes a developer think it's going to succeed on consoles?

You really think they are struggling because of revenue? They grew to BILLION dollar company and started acting like the well was bottomless. They are having cash flow problems because of insane decisions, a huge cash out after going public, and now, a plummeting stock that's has become junk overnight. The big reason why the revenue isn't flowing is because the games have gotten stale, and the new games SUCK! It's not the model. Do your research.

Quote:

To play a Zynga game you need a computer, the internet and a FB account; That's it. To play NBA 2K13 on a console, you need either a 360 or PS3; an internet connection (to play with friends or receive patches/updates) which necessitates an XBL gold membership (PSN is free unless you have PLUS). You also need to buy the $59.99 game and - in the case of last years 'Legends Showcase' - extra $$$ for DLC).

And? A PC is MORE expensive than a console! What is your point?

Quote:

PC/Console gamers are not the casual crowd you find on FB...

Well duh! Ano me said that. Read my statement. They are different crowds, but don't think for a second that console players don't play those games as well. That's all I said.

Quote:

which is why all the mobile/FB spinoffs of games like Madden, FIFA, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, etc., have NOT been successful.

Really? Where do you get your information? Because Madden and Fifa and making a LOT of money with this model. And we are talking about the model. Not just Facebook, which is only a component.

Quote:

For 2KSports to milk their dedicated consumer for more money is insulting and cheap, but we should've seen this coming. They spent more time this year promoting Jay-Z and Justin Bieber's inclusion than they did the legends and modes. That was a sign things were very wrong.

It's clear you have a axe to grind. How you could draw those conclusions based on the use of celebrities - which they've done before - shows a predisposition to find issue with anything they do. This makes NO sense. And as for "dedicated" fans, are those the same ones ready to drop 2K the day EA releases a sausage making simulator and call it Live? It's funny how every the most negative posts are prefaced with "I'm a loyal 2K fan, but..." And some are legit. But many other, I doubt.

Let me repeat, I AGREE that this sucks!! I don't like it. But I don't blame 2k for being LATE to party that has been going all night. It's a business model that has been wildly successful for many companies and to call out 2k without equal play to the industry as a whole is crap. THAT is my position. My other point is that threads like this, "rallying the troops" are pointless. Once dudes hit send, they are going to forget all of this. Just like the Maddenites that were so ready to send the message to EA and the NFL and bouycott, turned around and continued to buy the game. All hot air.

[achieveduser]

Quote: Originally Posted by ILLSmak

The game was balanced, in my opinion, to play without buying it. The ease of getting it with cash is a marketing tactic. If you are so opposed to working, then buy some ****ing VC and get on with your life. -Smak

Too bad your novella became waste of time because of your last paragraph. The game isn't balanced when you are forced to go online to purchase & to equip accessories for your offline my player. The game was balanced last year because people without Internet connection for their system were able to edit their accessories. Now users are forced to play VC earning game mode just to be able to equip your offline my player can't be called a balanced game design for offline users. (offline players can only earn SP which is useless when you go online shopping in case you didn't know. Buy some VC and move on you say? This IS the dumbest thing I heard today. People without Internet connection can't do online transaction. Do you see how dumb you sound now? )

And to anyone who calls the game mode with accessories costing more than skill improvement a balanced game.. I will laugh at you all day... Out loud. I'm just speechless at your another failed logic. SMH