Stop Buying Virtual Currency, please

[Codysseus]

Hello, of course it is entirely up to each individual how he or she spends their money, but for the sake of us all and the future of NBA2k, I must plead.

Please, please stop paying for virtual currency with real currency. I know it's tempting, you want your player to improve and you want to buy accessories, but is it really worth it? These same accessories have been offered for free within player creation for years. Now we have a virtual currency that we can either earn through playing the game or we can inexplicably pay them more money than the $60 we've each thrown at them. The choice should be obvious, but I've seen numerous people claim to have purchased virtual currency to be used on virtual (re: NOT REAL) products to supplement our game.

I don't mean to condemn 2ksports or Visual Concepts or whoever for implementing the feature. They want more money, they're a relatively large business, that's the role they've embraced. Fine. But why do we continue to pledge our support? At least they give us the option to earn the virtual currency through play, but it's clear that by making accessories so expensive and rewarding virtual currency so stingily (specifically in MyCareer mode, where it's most valuable) that they're trying to guide players into unloading additional actual money.

It's a good business strategy and one that appears to be working, but if we want - and I think we do - future iterations to not include such cash-grabbing practices (especially on content that we've already had at our fingertip), it's crucial to not open our wallets. If they don't make the virtual currency system a bit more balanced with patches, well that kinda stinks, but at least we're not encouraging them to continue.

What corporation are you aware of that scraps an idea that gives them extra cash? By supporting this, it's only going to get worse from here. I really enjoy this game and am happy to support its creators, but at some point we have to draw the line.

Thanks

[ritz104]

It's too late. Too easy and too tempting for the casual player to just shell out the $5-10 and improve immediately.

The sad part is, I can't blame them. I just recently got to the 50 games played milestone in MyCareer. 8 minute quarters and i'm averaging an A- team mate grade. For all that work, I have a 72 rating and an arm band to show for it.

How is the average person supposed to improve at that rate? Accumulating VC is impossibly difficult and one has to wonder whether 2K did this intentionally so as to force the user's hand into buying.

It's unfortunate. At this point it's my biggest gripe with the game and judging by how many people are spending, it's not going away.

[Codysseus]

It may indeed be too late but cutting down on the amount of money they make from this thing over time couldn't possibly hurt our cause, could it? I too understand people who do buy VC, I think 2k probably did implement the system the way the did in order to force the consumer's hand. That's why I'm pleading people to resist. It really is good business strategy, but it's morally suspect.

[pegout]

Play the game you DONT have to spend any money. Who does it really hurt if someone WANTS to buy VC. You act like its a must to play the game, you earn VC for everything you do in the game...

[ritz104]

Quote: Originally Posted by Codysseus

It may indeed be too late but cutting down on the amount of money they make from this thing over time couldn't possibly hurt our cause, could it? I too understand people who do buy VC, I think 2k probably did implement the system the way the did in order to force the consumer's hand. That's why I'm pleading people to resist. It really is good business strategy, but it's morally suspect.

Of course it would help, but I can't possibly see it happening.

There's always going to be the kid with his mom's credit card or the casual player who doesn't have the time to put in, and that;s fine with me. Where I agree with you is the fact that this is just an all round crappy move by 2K. Yes, they're in the business of making money, but it sucks to see an otherwise solid game bogged down by something so frustrating.

[Perfect23]

Its never too late...

[Codysseus]

Quote:

Play the game you DONT have to spend any money. Who does it really hurt if someone WANTS to buy VC. You act like its a must to play the game, you earn VC for everything you do in the game...

I actually explicitly stated that I know it's not required. They merely provide a lot of incentive TO buy VC but at the same time they've not only made player accessories not available from the start of player creation, they've made them incredibly expensive relative to how much VC you earn through play. I suppose they're penalizing the impatient, compulsive consumers who can't put in the time necessary to earn such rewards, so shame on them. What they're doing isn't morally reprehensible, since they are offering a choice, but it is morally suspect because they've obviously shifted the balance towards you giving them more and more money.

By throwing financial support behind this idea you encourage them to continue to restrict access to, what were in years' past, immediately available features. I don't mean they restrict it in general, I mean they restrict it to the saps willing to pay for immediate gratification, or the people who have the overwhelming amount of free time required to unlock everything through play, artificially drawing out the game's longevity.

[Codysseus]

There will always be those folks that are willing to pay, I'm not expecting everyone to quite buying VC all at once. I'm just hoping more people will choose not to. The less money they make from it, the better.