NBA 2K14 VC Shows Its Ugly Side

[magicman32]

Quote: Originally Posted by dramachild11

At this point it would just make sense to sell games for $80 and include everything cause then people wouldn't have any cause to complain (of course people would still complain about the price tag anyway)... But promising a full gaming experience before the game hits the shelves only to make people pay more money after purchase just strikes me as greediness... I don't think it actually threatens sales though cause the youngest consumers will grow up with this being the norm

2k isn't making anybody pay money for VC. VC IS FREE!!! I play mycareer mode and VC hasn't prevented me from making MYplayer better. I do agree with the people complaining about how expensive some of this stuff is though. I also don't agree with 2k making you spend VC on stuff like changing "Rotations". However, nobody is forced to buy VC. I refuse to spend real money. I don't get down like that. LOL.

2k really need to look into lowering the purchasing prices or allowing us to earn more VC for free. But I'm thinking a lot of people don't mind spending a few "real" bucks for VC and this is the reason they are doing it. For every person that won't buy VC, there are probably 10 people that really don't care and are willing to spend the money. Whether they are spending it themselves or asking "mommy" for 5 bucks, people are obviously buying it.

[basehead617]

What's the difference between VC and 'gold' in an RPG?

[Hadlowe]

VC has secondary effects beyond just skewing the game economy.

The only reason why you are limited to 5 saves for MyCareer/MyGM is because of VC. They have to use cloud saves to prevent people from hacking the save files to give themselves free VC.

So when the cloud storage runs into errors (as in my case) where the save files become corrupted, the entire game becomes unplayable because of VC. I have a gorgeous $60 game that I cannot play at all.

It is patently ridiculous that you have to be online to play MyGM, a fully offline game mode.

I have been a loyal 2k customer for 6 years. I will not buy another 2k game until VC goes away outside of MyTeam mode. It has no place in any other game mode.

[Optik]

Pretty pointless blaming reviewers who generally don't give a rat's *** about sports games. Not really their job to inform the public. Aren't they paid by the game companies anyway?

Yeah 2K were tone deaf (as usual) with the VC thing, but they need to make that money. They'll probably tone it down next year when they know that Live will still be around so they can't just focus on just cashing in.

[Sinner]

Quote: Originally Posted by RayRay34

I wish VC was gone and would never come back. Unfortunately there are stupid people who spend money on it so as long as 2k is bringing in some sort of revenue from it it will never go away.

If sales go down enough to where that extra revenue they get from VC don't cover the lost you better believe they will change things, and i'm really hoping that's what happens.

We can send them negative emails...read, tweet, and/or post articles all we want but it's not going to mean a damn thing if people don't take action and not buy the game if they continue like they are.

[Sundown]

Quote: Originally Posted by SuperNova854

My biggest issue is the fact MyTeam just seems so unplayable and unenjoyable. Gold packs are 13,000 VC now. That's rediculous. The whole VC concept shouldn't exist. But if it does, at least don't make everything so darn expensive to the point where we actually HAVE to pay for more VC.

The massive hike in gold pack prices is extremely revealing.

Previously you could plausibly say that 2K designed all modes to be playable without buying VC, even if they tweaked the work/reward ratio to be a little less than satisfying. For all you know, some of the tweaks could have been for game balancing purposes (for example, I'm okay with slower progression than 2K11 in MyPlayer, even if I'm not okay with playing MyPlayer being the worst way to progress in MyPlayer).

Now the incredible MyTeam and gear price hikes have pretty much revealed their true intentions-- certain modes are not meant to be enjoyable or remotely competitive without spending additional money after you've purchased the game at full price. If they are willing to do that with one mode, what other modes are they willing to apply this sort of philosophy to? What's to prevent them from pushing things in that direction with every mode more and more, year to year?

The only thing that will stop whatever/whoever is driving this at 2K is massive pushback and maybe even loss of sales (which would be unfortunate if it comes to that), but the move this year has revealed that we might not be able to trust the series to continue to provide fair play value and allow reasonable progression in all modes (or worst case, any mode) down the line. 2K management seems extremely willing to test our limits and breaking points for the sake of additional residual profit rather than ensuring we are satisified with the value, balance, and playability of our purchase from day one.

What's funny is that if MyTeam prices were somewhat reasonable, I might have played it more and entertained the thought of dropping 5 bucks to pick up Steph Curry for kicks. Now I likely won't touch the mode and find the idea of buying VC distasteful, as it essentially means I would be spending money to encourage 2K to make my game even less satsifying in more modes next year.

[Smirkin Dirk]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hadlowe

VC has secondary effects beyond just skewing the game economy. The only reason why you are limited to 5 saves for MyCareer/MyGM is because of VC. They have to use cloud saves to prevent people from hacking the save files to give themselves free VC. So when the cloud storage runs into errors (as in my case) where the save files become corrupted, the entire game becomes unplayable because of VC. I have a gorgeous $60 game that I cannot play at all. It is patently ridiculous that you have to be online to play MyGM, a fully offline game mode. I have been a loyal 2k customer for 6 years. I will not buy another 2k game until VC goes away outside of MyTeam mode. It has no place in any other game mode.

Great post.

As someone above, said the only way VC goes away is if the losses from customers not buying the game outweigh the money they get from having VC.

No amount of internet whinging will get rid of it.

I wish I could un-buy this game.

[Smirkin Dirk]

Quote: Originally Posted by Optik

Pretty pointless blaming reviewers who generally don't give a rat's *** about sports games. Not really their job to inform the public. Aren't they paid by the game companies anyway?

I dont think they get paid but I know they get other benefits from being positive towards games.

Hypothetical examles: IGN gives 2K14 a great review, the publisher gives the site previews or whatever for other games.

Basically, reviewers and games publishers scratch each others backs.