NBA 2K14: As Problems Mount, Some Gamers Getting Refunds from Retailers

[cjonesfan921]

How does one get a refund from Amazon?

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by nuckles2k2

I agree, and I say we ramp up the damage they have to control.

Out of curiousity, would the idea of turning up the heat on them be more to undoing the concept of VC completely? As I've said before I don't own the NG game so I can't/won't speak to the frustrations people may/may not be experiencing. But in reading all the comments, about how 2K's "squandered" what good will they've built up for the past 6-7yrs, I have to wonder - haven't they earned the opportunity to make things right?

Again, I can't speak to how much of a transgression the NG game may be. But from my perspective, we're talking about a single year release when they were the one company - ONE - that tried and by most accounts succeeded in giving gamers a true next gen sports game gameplay experience as a launch game. And they did this without ignoring the current gen game, as it was a significant upgrade in itself. They may have screwed up royally with their implementation of VC in the NG game, but at one point the mantra on this board was gameplay > everything else - and on that level they seem to have succeeded (not that everything else is to be ignored of course)

One thing NBA2K's been about historically is taking a kitchen sink approach - the game usually has far more features and content than any other sports game. It's entirely possible that in a year when they were going to take a hit revenue-wise because of NBA Live, at some point a decision was made to look at additional revenue streams. While 2K obviously overreached with VC in it's first next gen attempt, I don't see why some want to take the approach of seemingly needing to beat them into the ground and how they haven't earned the opportunity to make it better or fix it (not saying you are). While they're getting called out as greedy by many, I'd argue if they were truly greedy they'd have monetized the Legend content also. At the very least the Legend content has made the most sense to monetize the past few years yet it's been offered as part of the game. It's possible VC helps subsidize that and whatever else.

I'm not trying to justify anything as I think anything requiring an online connection is stupid, PERIOD. I thought it was arrogant for Microsoft to assume it'd be okay with most when the Xbox One was going to require daily online checkins. I'm just wondering if the level of reaction is merited given the fault. Or is this more people wanting to take a principled stance against the concept of microtransactions in games. On some level I guess it's some of both. As someone that doesn't own the game, I'm asking. Perhaps I'm looking at things the wrong way, as I'm factoring in 2K's history while some seem to be taking each release as one-offs - which would explain why a game like NBA Live is given a chance yearly to redeem itself. I don't see where 2K hasn't earned the right for the same, but again perhaps I'm looking at things the wrong way.

EDIT: wanted to acknowledge that I've read some say the game just doesn't work, so I know that's a valid complaint also - not just the VC

[Ricky Rozay]

Im kind of tired of 2K antics every year, its the same thing over and over and over and over again....I skipped the current gen version this year to buy the PS4 version... Like one poster said, the game is a like a devil under a beautiful ****** skin...

2K aint gonna get nothing right for 2K15, servers still broken? Glitches,bugs, basic features missing? Man, I pray for another company to make a bball game, EA sucks and 2K is just too cocky and dont care...

[jmillhimes]

Its an ok game but should have been sold for 39.99 out the gate..Its now marked down but should have been 39.99 and marked to 29.99

[VDusen04]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

Out of curiousity, would the idea of turning up the heat on them be more to undoing the concept of VC completely? As I've said before I don't own the NG game so I can't/won't speak to the frustrations people may/may not be experiencing. But in reading all the comments, about how 2K's "squandered" what good will they've built up for the past 6-7yrs, I have to wonder - haven't they earned the opportunity to make things right? Again, I can't speak to how much of a transgression the NG game may be. But from my perspective, we're talking about a single year release when they were the one company - ONE - that tried and by most accounts succeeded in giving gamers a true next gen sports game gameplay experience as a launch game. And they did this without ignoring the current gen game, as it was a significant upgrade in itself. They may have screwed up royally with their implementation of VC in the NG game, but at one point the mantra on this board was gameplay > everything else - and on that level they seem to have succeeded (not that everything else is to be ignored of course) One thing NBA2K's been about historically is taking a kitchen sink approach - the game usually has far more features and content than any other sports game. It's entirely possible that in a year when they were going to take a hit revenue-wise because of NBA Live, at some point a decision was made to look at additional revenue streams. While 2K obviously overreached with VC in it's first next gen attempt, I don't see why some want to take the approach of seemingly needing to beat them into the ground and how they haven't earned the opportunity to make it better or fix it (not saying you are). While they're getting called out as greedy by many, I'd argue if they were truly greedy they'd have monetized the Legend content also. At the very least the Legend content has made the most sense to monetize the past few years yet it's been offered as part of the game. It's possible VC helps subsidize that and whatever else. I'm not trying to justify anything as I think anything requiring an online connection is stupid, PERIOD. I thought it was arrogant for Microsoft to assume it'd be okay with most when the Xbox One was going to require daily online checkins. I'm just wondering if the level of reaction is merited given the fault. Or is this more people wanting to take a principled stance against the concept of microtransactions in games. On some level I guess it's some of both. As someone that doesn't own the game, I'm asking. Perhaps I'm looking at things the wrong way, as I'm factoring in 2K's history while some seem to be taking each release as one-offs - which would explain why a game like NBA Live is given a chance yearly to redeem itself. I don't see where 2K hasn't earned the right for the same, but again perhaps I'm looking at things the wrong way. EDIT: wanted to acknowledge that I've read some say the game just doesn't work, so I know that's a valid complaint also - not just the VC

A lot of the folks complaining about NBA 2K recently are people who've historically really enjoyed playing NBA 2K. So I believe the motivation of many is to do what they can to force 2K's hand into going back to what made us want to play their games in the first place over the years, while also innovating in the right areas (almost entirely in the realism department, not fantasy and RPG). It's about a wide range of things: functionality, online-requirements for what should be non-online dependent modes, virtual currency, and a relatively severe direction change in many regards.

Many would say 2K's direction shift has not been just a one year departure. In fact, as you well know, I skipped out on 2K14 altogether because I noticed it was a continuation of a trend that'd begun in 2K13 (regarding VC, fantasy shift, etc). I don't wish to punish 2K for the sake of being mean-spirited. Instead, I wish and am hopeful that any and every thing can be done to draw 2K's attention to realizing that a lot of us want nothing to do with always-online, all VC everything, and trading in realism for RPG elements.

My fear is voices will not be heard and the VC/RPG train that began leaving the station in 2K13 would only continue plowing down the tracks for 2K15. To a lot of us, it's not about brand loyalty, it's about pushing for the type of product we desire. Well, I guess to be clear, loyalty does exist, but it's not a limitless commodity. I bought 2K13 due to my brand loyalty, but once 2K13 began showcasing some dispiriting patterns, the loyalty that comes with blindly spending $63 on a product that's leaning away from my needs and wants seriously begins to waver.

[ricardo.13]

Quote: Originally Posted by ponderguy

I got a refund for 2k14 on the xbox one the other day. I bought it digitally, I called Microsoft customer support and related the server issues and game crashing during cinematics and they quickly approved a refund and I had my money back the next morning

Dude, are you still playing the digital copy after refund or Microsoft disabled the game?

Quote: Originally Posted by smallg7

Sony denied me at first when I did a live chat so I called them and they were real nice, had me do a couple of trouble shooting things (that they were required to do) after the tests the guy said he would turn it in for review. I got my approval and refund next day.

Dude, are you still playing the digital copy after refund or Sony disabled the game?

[nuckles2k2]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

Out of curiousity, would the idea of turning up the heat on them be more to undoing the concept of VC completely? As I've said before I don't own the NG game so I can't/won't speak to the frustrations people may/may not be experiencing. But in reading all the comments, about how 2K's "squandered" what good will they've built up for the past 6-7yrs, I have to wonder - haven't they earned the opportunity to make things right? Again, I can't speak to how much of a transgression the NG game may be. But from my perspective, we're talking about a single year release when they were the one company - ONE - that tried and by most accounts succeeded in giving gamers a true next gen sports game gameplay experience as a launch game. And they did this without ignoring the current gen game, as it was a significant upgrade in itself. They may have screwed up royally with their implementation of VC in the NG game, but at one point the mantra on this board was gameplay > everything else - and on that level they seem to have succeeded (not that everything else is to be ignored of course) One thing NBA2K's been about historically is taking a kitchen sink approach - the game usually has far more features and content than any other sports game. It's entirely possible that in a year when they were going to take a hit revenue-wise because of NBA Live, at some point a decision was made to look at additional revenue streams. While 2K obviously overreached with VC in it's first next gen attempt, I don't see why some want to take the approach of seemingly needing to beat them into the ground and how they haven't earned the opportunity to make it better or fix it (not saying you are). While they're getting called out as greedy by many, I'd argue if they were truly greedy they'd have monetized the Legend content also. At the very least the Legend content has made the most sense to monetize the past few years yet it's been offered as part of the game. It's possible VC helps subsidize that and whatever else. I'm not trying to justify anything as I think anything requiring an online connection is stupid, PERIOD. I thought it was arrogant for Microsoft to assume it'd be okay with most when the Xbox One was going to require daily online checkins. I'm just wondering if the level of reaction is merited given the fault. Or is this more people wanting to take a principled stance against the concept of microtransactions in games. On some level I guess it's some of both. As someone that doesn't own the game, I'm asking. Perhaps I'm looking at things the wrong way, as I'm factoring in 2K's history while some seem to be taking each release as one-offs - which would explain why a game like NBA Live is given a chance yearly to redeem itself. I don't see where 2K hasn't earned the right for the same, but again perhaps I'm looking at things the wrong way. EDIT: wanted to acknowledge that I've read some say the game just doesn't work, so I know that's a valid complaint also - not just the VC

My issue with the game is the online requirement from a company that has historically had spotty online stability.

If you're connected to their servers when you start a MyGM or MyCareer mode, then the files are marked as an online file, and are only accessible once they're verified by 2K's servers. If the servers are down, or not communicating with the consoles, then your file is inaccessible, period.

There have been patches to fix hang ups and freezes, and Ronnie and LD2K have relayed info about the dev team working to fix the servers (server-side attempts to fix the problem). That's fine and good, but the functionality of "communicate with the server, THEN play your offline mode" wouldn't even be a concern for many, if 2K's servers worked decently.

The VC issue is a tricky one.

They definitely try to hamstring you into having to purchase VC if you want to play the game the way you want to play it. In MyCareer, players who start the mode with a guy that has a play-style other than "athletic" are given players with athletic ratings that are sub-par.

If I create an All-Around PF, I shouldn't have a speed rating lower than Paul Millsap, or Jason Thompson. Neither guy is overly athletic, but creating an All-Around PF gives you a starting speed almost 10 points lower than theirs, but a cap much higher than where they are.

And creating an "athletic" player at any position means you start out, athletically, near the averages of a player outside of that play-style, but yet you're severely hampered in other areas.

Now...all of this would be fine if the ratio between earned VC and charged VC was a better one, none of that would be an issue (like back when the mode had skill points).

BUT, the VC issue isn't the one that I'm complaining about, because while it's super annoying, and an obvious money grab, that's not the most egregious thing that's going on. No one is forcing anyone to buy VC...the game is just set up where you have more freedoms in the game if you did. As opposed to buying peripherals, you're buying things like points to make your player run like he's in the NBA, or the ability to change your lineup in MyGM mode. I get the concept behind that second one...it's called MyGM not MyCoach or MyCommissioner, but it's still a bad look to charge money (virtual or real) for something like that. A tiered reward system would work better, and look less...money hungry? While they still charge VC for stuff like shirts, jerseys, jewelry, etc.

Mandating that our offline files validate with servers that have seemingly spent just as much time offline, as online, is ridiculous tho. Take Two and 2K's silence on the matter is annoying too.

So...I said the way we show them that we're annoyed is by returning the favor (if we can) and by not giving them our unwavering support after this debacle and then their silence on the debacle.

Even a disingenuous "our bad, we'll do better next time" will go further than the silence. Apparently it worked for Ubisoft and AC3. Just say something, and people aren't frothing at the mouth as much.

[nuckles2k2]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

Out of curiousity, would the idea of turning up the heat on them be more to undoing the concept of VC completely? As I've said before I don't own the NG game so I can't/won't speak to the frustrations people may/may not be experiencing...

To better answer your question, here:



I had some spare time, so I decided to turn on the game and play some MyCareer, and it's been trying to validate my MyPlayer with 2K Sports Servers for close to 10 mins now.

If I disconnect from the internet to play the game, I can't access that file.

If I reconnect to the internet to play then it'll be "Validating MyPlayer with 2K Sports Server.." again. This will go on and on and on until it just magically works.

The game is not broken, the dependency on their servers is what's broken. All we want is that promising gameplay.

It can't be acceptable for them to try this again in October.