For years now, I have been complaining thattheNBA 2Kseries is by far the most egregiouswhen it comes to microtransactions and other aspects that could potentially be categorized as “gambling.” WithNBA 2K20, it looks like those elements will all be returning, and could be worse than ever before.
2K released a new trailer forNBA 2K20today centered entirely around the game’s MyTeam mode. If you’re unfamiliar with MyTeam, this is the mode where you build a roster by collecting player cards before heading online to face others. It’s comparable toMaddenandFIFA’sUltimate Team modes.
Anyway, this new trailer forNBA 2K20’sMyTeam was meant to show off some of the new aspects this year, but instead, it just came off as a strange commercial showing off fake “gamers” reacting to the strangest of things. The reactions, for the most part, were ones of joy in response to MyTeam’s randomly generated elements such as spinning a wheel to win prizes, watching a ball drop down a peg board, and another not-so-subtle one that is literally just a slot machine.
All of these random elements of MyTeam reward you with greater prizes, that is, assuming you get lucky. And this is what’s been the problem withNBA 2Kgames for years at this point. As time has gone on, the series has continued to rely more and more heavily on these loot box-like elements and presents them as “fun” instead of what they really are – borderline gambling. I mean, it’s not that subtle when you put a slot machine in your game for players to spin.
The trailer has been met with relative hatred from theNBA 2Kcommunity with the video currently sitting at a 74/1.7K like to dislike ratio as of this writing. That’s pretty bad. More than anything, this trailer is just extremely false in its advertising. Pretty much every instance in this trailer featuring the players has them winning the grand prize of each respective randomly determined mini-game. Know how often that’ll probably happen in real life? Not at all.
NBA 2K20is due out next week on September 6 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch. I really hope that this year’s installment isn’t as borderline predatory as past entries have been, but I’d be lying if I said I believe things will change.
