VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

[natelull]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

yeah this game has been scamming people out of VC so hard. They got rid of difficulty multiplier, you get less for each game you play now, some people have said VC has been taken away from them, and the game is unplayable without it. You get like 800 VC per game and that's pretty much how much it costs to buy a headband. Imagine your whole salary being spent on a headband or shoes. So stupid. And the endorsement contracts give you like 25 VC. There's not one thing I can buy for 25 vc. It cost me 80000 VC to get my guy to even a 75 overall


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[basehead617]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

the last 2 releases of NBA 2K have sold over 8 and 8.5 million copies they get their money back in dev costs. look at Rise of the Tomb Raider that sold 800,000 copies on the XBox One when it had that year long exclusivity money hat deal and that had a 2-3 year dev cycle.

2K has to pay the NBA a ton of money and a % of the proceeds, plus the players association and retired players association, the player partners, cover athlete etc. On top of that the first party (microsoft/etc) make a ton of it. And the team is huge as are the yearly dev costs.

They're making profits but not outrageous profits.

[basehead617]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

I actually don't mind 2K charging VC for everything. What pisses me are the items that are locked behind ratings caps

How is that any different than any other RPG?

[Marty Funkhouser]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

VC is actually beneficial because it keeps the cost of a game at $60"

[Dynamite]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

This is the creep of freemium games from mobile and internet spaces into console spaces.

The idea is that on a mobile with limited time, enough pressure on the core gameplay loop will encourage purchases for that "one more level" person, and cause enough frustration with the "eh maybe I can wait" person to encourage them to purchase. They don't care all that much about the microtransaction averse player that will move on in the mobile space, because with enough paying players they can be mitigated.

On console, this practice looks like: VC for cosmetic items (clothes, facial hair, hair cuts, shoes), VC also tied into upgrading players, VC also tied into card collection game mode (MyTeam), VC tied into franchise modes (MyGM) and all of the potential drains on VC outpace all of the VC income streams. This is done by design. This is the pressure on the core gameplay loop.

This has been a slow decline for 2K. This year it is especially pronounced because of all the amazing gameplay improvements, I couldn't possibly be more upset about the VC stuff despite purchasing some (I'm a father with limited time) and it's mostly because the game is so fun to play. Solid basketball works. Knowledge is rewarded (at times, ProAm still encourages some really bad basketball and cheese). This is the game I wanted 2k17 to be. But it really is marred by the VC practices.

[ggsimmonds]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

I have zero issue with the idea of VC. If players want to spend money to fast track their myplayer more power to them, indeed I even thank them as I am sure that revenue is a large reason why the game is able to make the improvements that we are seeing year to year.

What is not acceptable is locking basic cosmetic items behind the VC pay wall. Oh you want an armband? Gonna have to save a few game's worth of salary. And haircut is beyond absurd.
A visual representation:

_________|________________________________________ ______________________________*
That is the line and how far past charging VC for haircuts is.

[WaddupCouzin]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

I addressed that. I said I wouldnt be surprised if 2k18 cost them 100m. It's probably somewhere between 50-100m. Destiny is just an example of how high production costs can get in this generation of video games.

The point is though, the person I quoted said he doesn't believe microtransactions are keeping box prices down. This makes no sense. Game development costs have ballooned over the last 10 years, yet box prices have not changed. Their not going to eat losses. Their making up the increased production cost somewhere. Microtransactions are being used to offset those costs, and help fund other projects that are a bit riskier.

This man gets it. With the Price of games being the same for the past 10 years, they're going to make up the money somewhere. As gamers, you want all the Bells and Whistles, it's going to cost.

It definitely sucks for the people that buy VC and lose it, but I think we're all Prisoners of the moment, this happens every year! People buy a boatload of VC and lose it cause their MyPlayer gets corrupted. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

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[PPerfect_CJ]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

The South Park episode "Freemium isn't Free" was on the other night. I couldn't help but to think about NBA 2K. 😞

[sterfry1994]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

I definitely think the urge/need for players to want to buy VC was built into the game coupled with needing VC to make minute changes to your player in MyCareer. As for myself, like many other users here work full-time and saw the need to buy VC to enjoy the game with the limited amount of time we'll get due to our responsibilities.

[Radja]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

LAS VEGAS RULE #1: KEEP YOUR HIGH ROLLERS HAPPY.
VIDEO GAME DEVELOPERS RULE #1: KEEP YOUR HIGH ROLLERS HAPPY.

I run a small business. 2K would be absolutely stupid to stop selling VC and making it a focus of their game. I don't buy much VC, once a year, and only when it is on sale. For some reason, people feel companies are ripping them off. No, they are taking advantage of the video game market.

While older gamers and mid-range age gamers remember the time before micro-transactions and feel its a rip-off, most of the younger gamers have been raised on it. they are conditioned to buy micro-transactions. they have taken the place of the impulse buy waiting in line at a brick and mortar store. finding a cash cow that gets you $5 to $20 free dollars over and over again is every business dream. don't kid yourself, every game company on earth is looking for their share of this market.

there is no doubt VC has kept game prices the same for about a decade. game prices have not increased with inflation. yet companies are making bigger profits based on micro-transactions. they know some people won't buy VC. they factor that in. they also know they can continue to find out where the saturation point is until / if / when they reach it. when they reach it, there is a greater chance they will reduce the price of the game, or depending how far into the future this is, they continue to keep the price at $60.

no game company is producing games out of the goodness of their hearts. they are not our friends. they are a business. we are their clients. they know cannot piss all of us off. but they also know they can piss off a %, i.e. the % that doesn't buy VC. as long they continue to keep their VC High Rollers happy, they will be just fine.

[Radja]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

one last thing, watching the 2k awards last year there was an interview with one of the kids who won a jersey. that kid bragged he played the game 20 hours a day to get good. that was more time than I spent any one week last year playing 2k. I am responsible. I have a business to run. I don't think I could sit that long on a couch or chair ever without committing suicide. that was more time than both my wife and I spent working every day combined. I have so many questions for that kid and others like him. but he's too busy playing 2k to answer any of them.

back to topic, so even under any merit based system that did not rely on VC, I would still never be able to compete with they guys like him. if anything, 2k should provide tiers for my player. hard core to casual lobbies. it might already be there. because I am more a franchise guy, but I haven't seen it featured.

[fileman3]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

It was crossed years ago....

[ILLSmak]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

keep spamming the net, already got one thing changed. Keep spamming, lads.

Edit: also, the price of the game. Keep in mind they have 2k TV, naming rights, etc etc etc. Cool stuff, but I bet a lot of the price of the game goes into that, opposed to paying gameplay devs. I'd still rather pay 80 bucks for a game without VC than 60 for a game with VC. If it comes to that. If the game is that good, I would buy it. To me... 2k has made the largest strides in modes like park, my career cutscenes/story, 2k tv, the neighborhood. That took a lot of dev time. I would nix all of that stuff for lobby based match ups and good game play. Games that didn't take 15 minutes to load into, no unskippable cutscenes. Just saying.

The gameplay is good, I mean, but I just know it could be that much better.

-Smak

[natelull]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

keep spamming the net, already got one thing changed. Keep spamming, lads.

-Smak

Yeah but they probably won't change much else. I can see shoes and clothes being a bit expensive but the stuff they are charging is ridcioulus for how much VC we can realistically make


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[ILLSmak]

Re: VC in NBA 2K18: Have We Crossed a Line of Acceptability?

Yeah but they probably won't change much else. I can see shoes and clothes being a bit expensive but the stuff they are charging is ridcioulus for how much VC we can realistically make


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maybe true but you gotta still hold their feet to the fire. Whenever I think of 2k, I'm like VC sucks... Dudes just need to continue to brand 2k with that. It was already kinda like that, but now it's worse. Trust me, they are getting hit pretty hard atm. Metacritic, steam reviews, every user based review site has people talking about the VC issue.

-Smak