Secret Box from 2K21

[TGsoGood]

Troydan is an influencer that part of 2K's social media campaign.
He posted this video to his social media recently.

phpBB [video]

[sticky-fingers]

i checked his channel, the thumbnails make me dream...

[MrArni]

Wtf I just watched?

[ThaLiveKing]

a lot of them got the same box...2k will probably have a city in the next gen game lol

[ThePointForward]

The full text with stuff from under the "redacted" parts:

THE NEXT GENERATION'S DIFFERENT.
2K21 IS CHANGING THE GAME.
Want to get to the BIG STAGE?
Major in AERODYNAMICS or make a splash IN THE G.
Feel THE ENERGY of a sold-out crowd.
Then make THEIR NIGHT or RUIN IT with A BUZZER BEATER.
You're about to see THE GAME from a new perspective.
Get ready.

Wait, you thought we forgot about the Neighborhood? It's the REDACTED now.

Bolded are the blacked out parts.

[TGsoGood]

2K21 IS CHANGING THE GAME.
Want to get to the BIG STAGE?
Major in AERODYNAMICS or make a splash IN THE G.

This seems like its hinting at G-League and College prior to getting to the NBA (Big Stage).
But the Aerodynamics could be a reference to Dunking, just like "make a splash" could be a reference to shooting.
I still think "In The G" means G-League.
"Big Stage" could also be a reference to the Draft stage.

[Andrew]

The idea of expanding The Neighborhood into a fully fleshed out game world is intriguing, but also concerning. It suggests a further drift away from a game with core mechanics aimed at hardcore basketball fans, instead targeting gamers in general. And look, I'm not trying to engage in gatekeeping here, because there's too much of that these days. However, it isn't an absurd notion to suggest that an NBA sim should focus on being a simulation of the NBA, and building its wider experiences upon that.

With that being said, The Neighborhood is getting rather stale and uninspired as a game world hub. Events are fairly repetitive, and there's not really any benefit to exploring it apart from general curiosity to see what kind of details are hidden in the back alleys. If they're going more open world with the idea, that's interesting. Potentially very frustrating, as it's already annoying having to run around to different shops and buildings to get cosmetic items or load into MyCOURT, training, and connected modes like 2K Pro-Am and The Rec. Nevertheless, there's also the potential for a more in-depth and dynamic experience in between games; something engaging.

Of course, it would also mean more advertising, more ways of encouraging microtransactions with things to spend VC on. Furthermore, they can re-brand and expand The Neighborhood all they like, but if there continues to be no proper, in-depth matchmaking criteria and options in the Pro-Am modes, no matchmaking and a whole lot of toxicity in The Playground, unbalanced builds, shaky servers, and everything else that's currently dragging down the online experience in NBA 2K, it's going to amount to little more than a fresh coat of paint and cynical cash grab. These bells and whistles look great in trailers and they sucker a lot of people in year after year, only to discover familiar problems with the actual gaming experience. I'm interested to see what they've come up with, but also wary.

As for MyCAREER, being able to play in the G-League again for more than just a portion of the story would be interesting. In fact, if we have different options - different starting points and paths for our MyPLAYER to take - then that would be a great evolution of the concept, especially seeing as how the stories have generally boiled down to the same tale and basically been on rails. There's potential here, too. Of course, once again there are legacy issues with the amount of grinding that's necessary (and push towards buying VC if you want to skip that grind), and if they aren't resolved then it's going to be an all-too familiar experience with a few new (and ultimately superficial) wrinkles.

I'll admit that it's difficult not to approach these things with a certain amount of cynicism after so many years playing basketball games, covering them for the NLSC, and experiencing the hype, hoopla, and yes, misdirection, of many preview seasons. I'd honestly like to get more excited about things. Past disappointments and frustration have taught me to temper expectations though, so that I'm pleasantly surprised by being wrong rather than let down by something that doesn't live up to the marketing hype.

[[Q]]

I think they could be not referring to the in-game neighborhood but your neighborhood in a story kind of way.
BUT knowing the way they do things, they could be using the Neighborhood for the launch of all myCareer aspects, including advancing the story, editing your player, adding attributes using VC, etc.

I think with the new rules, they're going to allow you to either go to college or join the G-League select team as some high school kids are doing now. It would be an easy thing to do since the team will be playing exhibition games and not actually participate in the league

[Andrew]

They pretty much do that with The Neighborhood already, so I imagine it'd be expanding on that further in the name of it being more immersive...which could also translate to intrusive, which is my concern. Then again, I'd like to have a clean break with MyCAREER anyway, so it's something I could personally avoid. I still want it to be the best possible experience it can be though, not only in case I change my mind, but for everyone who plays MyCAREER and the connected modes, and has to endure the problems of the past few games.