2k has now put unskippable ads in a $60 game...

[bluejaybrandon]

This is outrageous...talk about the bastardization of gaming. I've stuck up for 2k for a while now but this is cancerous. This isn't mobile, pay-to-win garbage where I need extra lives, this is a $60 product.

If 2k is willing to stoop to this level and have no pride in their product, then why should I? I've purchased multiple versions of the game every year for several years now. I'm done with this franchise, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

[sticky-fingers]

2K grinds too
Remember that they put ads and hastag adverts on previous versions...
thats why i buy 2K on grey market now

[bluejaybrandon]

2K grinds too
Remember that they put ads and hastag adverts on previous versions...
thats why i buy 2K on grey market now

I mean the grinding is bad but most modern games with micro-transactions have a ridiculous grind, albeit not to the same level as 2k. But there is literally no other major gaming company that has put legitimate commercials in their $60 product. This is some Candy Crush shit. Can you imagine if the newest God of War had random commercials between levels. Like my god, take some pride in your work you spineless corporate shills.

[Andrew]

It's a new low. It's one thing to have some advertising on the dornas or branding show up elsewhere. That's nothing new and it's even kind of realistic given the advertising that shows up during NBA games, but having unskippable ads on top of everything else is just bad.

Mind you, if the money was being reinvested into infrastructure and improving the servers/experience, I could probably grudgingly accept it for doing something that at least has a tangible benefit for us gamers. That definitely isn't the case, though.

[I Hate Mondays]

Lol they used to have ads as watermark logos during gameplay. I though that was too much. But this is next level.

Good thing I've just bought NBA Live 19 and I am having a blast with it this summer until the next game drops.

[EMan]

I'm so glad I haven't given Take Two any money since 2K15 (which I also regret buying). I'm having a ton of fun playing a combo of Draft Day Sports Pro Basketball, Out of the Park Baseball 20, and Franchise Hockey Manager 5. I did enjoy Madden 19 as well (being a PC player my last go around with Madden had been Madden 07). Strictly Franchise mode only. I never went near the Ultimate Team thing.

The writing was on the wall when VC was introduced. Glad I got out when I did. Take Two is an awful company. Every bit as bad as EA and Activision, if not worse since they're not in the public eye quite as much as the other two.

Oh, apparently if you turn off 2KTV you don't see the ad anymore. Some people on the 2K Reddit have said this works, some say it doesn't though. I don't have a copy of the game, so I can't say if it works or not.

[Murat]

Glad I removed the game from PC (remains at Steam library though). This is beyond terrible.

[Andrew]

Take Two is an awful company. Every bit as bad as EA and Activision, if not worse since they're not in the public eye quite as much as the other two.

It is strange how they seem to get a pass, at least as far as NBA 2K is concerned. I guess NBA Live's struggles play a role in that, but it's not an excuse. It's something I think the community as a whole needs to take more of a stand against, and not defend the microtransactions and gatekeeping. Incidentally (shameless plug incoming), that's the topic of this week's Monday Tip-Off: https://www.nba-live.com/mto-were-part-of-the-problem/

[Hadley88]

Shouldn't be a surprise. TakeTwo is pretty much the worst company when it comes to monetization. Look at GTA5...

[KyotoCarl]

Shouldn't be a surprise. TakeTwo is pretty much the worst company when it comes to monetization. Look at GTA5...

What's with GTA 5? They constantly update online mode.

[ClutchCityChris]

With all the games I being created and sold on steam by grassroots developers, why cant we all band together and instead of paying 2K $60 a pop for video games put that towards a go fund me and create a new basketball game for PC like AXIS football did. The game wasn't that great but worth the play because Madden on PC was absolutely HORRID! I understand the licensing issues but modding should take care of that. I'm sure the graphics wont be as great but it could have all the teams and rosters we want just probably wont have much online play. There are too many talented developers, programmers and graphics artists on this forum to sit and complain about the awful job EA Sports and Take Two are doing. I would definitely take part in the graphics side of things! Can call in NBA on PC LOL Just my opinion. Thoughts???

[bluejaybrandon]

With all the games I being created and sold on steam by grassroots developers, why cant we all band together and instead of paying 2K $60 a pop for video games put that towards a go fund me and create a new basketball game for PC like AXIS football did. The game wasn't that great but worth the play because Madden on PC was absolutely HORRID! I understand the licensing issues but modding should take care of that. I'm sure the graphics wont be as great but it could have all the teams and rosters we want just probably wont have much online play. There are too many talented developers, programmers and graphics artists on this forum to sit and complain about the awful job EA Sports and Take Two are doing. I would definitely take part in the graphics side of things! Can call in NBA on PC LOL Just my opinion. Thoughts???

Who do you know on this site that are high tier developers or programmers? There’s a huge difference between messing with graphics and actually starting from the ground up. Nobody that I’m aware of here could build a game from scratch. That’s a massive undertaking that would require a large pool of funding to get off the ground. Even if people knew how.

[ThePointForward]

You have bunch of issues:

• License. You cannot just use NBA branding and player likeness, you have to negotiate a license.
• Engine. What engine you want to use? Or do you want to code something completely from scratch? Popular engines are Unity and Unreal. You'd still have ton of work to make them work for sports game.
• Animations. 2K and Live take advantage of expensive motion capture setups. You'd need amazing animators to make something usable.
• Sounds. Again, 2K and Live have recorded sounds. 2K even made it one of their selling points that they went across the NBA and recorded sounds.
• Funding. Even if you somehow fake all of this it would take thousands of man-hours. People have full-time jobs and have to take care of themselves and their families. They can't just quit. And working 8 hours a day and then coming home to crunch 6 more for free? Yeah, no.
• Even the Axis Football seems to have taken 2-3 years of development to get their first game running. In that time you'll have next generation of consoles out on the market along with next-gen NBA games. The expectations would be even higher.

[StyxTx]

Wonder why they need the money from this. They make so much off micro-transactions. It's not that they don't already make enough, it's that they waste so much of what they make on eye candy, story lines (having to pay actors, etc). People wanted immersion (story lines, etc), well you got it. A game to play basketball wasn't enough. We needed virtual lives too. It takes money to create immersion. Money has to come from somewhere.

[ThePointForward]

Not really it's just that current mindset is that even if you make profit it can be perceived as a failure. Investors want growth of profit. You need to outdo yourself every year.

[Andrew]

Executives get some nice bonuses when the games hit certain sales numbers and recurrent revenue targets as well, so they're obviously going to want to squeeze every penny they can.