NBA 2K25 Review: Stellar Gameplay Continues to Contend With Pesky Microtransactions

[Steve_OS]

Among sports video games that are released annually, the NBA 2K series has established a reputation...

Written By: Kevin Scott

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[Fake Empire]

Nice review. As an offline player the microtransactions don't bother me at all. 2K won't get an extra penny from me and I'm buying the game since the first iteration. The can throw hundreds of purchase VC screens and I will still press the B button. Come on 2K why there are only 2 of them now? If I want to play MyPlayer I will do it even if I'm 3-20 FG for 20 games straight. I just don't care. I'll still try to play my videogaming basketball. The other consumers can continue to pay for their videogaming basketball.
This so far the best NBA 2K offline. 2K can ofc read this and ruin it for me and others like me.

[simbayless]

I hate the pop ups show up when you try to push a button on an mode and get hit with a accidental buy
2k knows what they're doing🤦

[scottyp180]

Quote: Originally Posted by simbayless

I hate the pop ups show up when you try to push a button on an mode and get hit with a accidental buy 2k knows what they're doing🤦

As a strictly offline player, I think those pop up ads are absolutely awful. There should be a way to opt out of them entirely instead of having to see them every time we boot the game. I feel like they sometimes pop up just by returning to the main screen.

I saw Ronnie tweet something like, "no one is forcing you to buy VC." While true, they certainly push it on you as hard as they possibly can. For someone like me, an adult who has no interest in modes centered around VC, it's extremely easy to ignore the ads (as annoying as they may be) but if you're a kid in their teens or younger and your main modes are My Player/My Career centric and/or My Team it must feel like buying VC is damn near a requirement.

It's just gross for a company to do this for a game aimed at gamers of all ages and act like there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. They do it because no one's saying they can't. IMO, it's like tobacco/cigarette companies seeing nothing wrong with having ads every where (which is basically illegal now) or selling products that will appeal to kids (it's not our fault kids are getting and using vapes that taste like candy). At some point, there needs to be restrictions on these types of microtransacations and how they're advertised.

[basehead617]

With going on a decade of games having micro transactions, and pretty much every publisher going deeper and deeper into them, I think they're here to stay..

How much longer will reviews complain about it?

[BOSsTOwN]

I have no problem with microtransacrions for cosmetics. But when full priced games have microtransacrions that give you a leg up on others that don't pay, that's a problem that should be called out

[Cold Snap]

"And? A company's sole purpose for existing is to maximize profit and increase shareholder value. If you do not maximize profit and increase shareholder value, you are not a serious company. Are you not a serious company?"

I'm also a wrestling fan. The above sentiment is all over the place in internet wrestling discourse.

It's all over 2K too, aside from this forum.

"Found the brokie."

"Broke loser. Stay slow while we lap you."

"LOL what an oldhead. Pay up, old man."

So, so many teenagers who use their Mom's credit cards and have never had to seriously manage money or time in their entire lives...outvote us.

I didn't get 2K24. I seriously doubt I'll be getting the game next year, if Mr. Microtransactions himself, Strauss Zelnick, is still in charge.

By and large, you guys at OS are okay. But you must realize we are the fringe minority.

We are outvoted by idiots who defend these predatory practices by quoting how much money Take Two makes off of them.

[sirdez]

I can ignore most of it as a purely offline MyNBA player, but the pop-ups when you go to the home screen are clearly designed to make you click accidentally (as they pop up on a slight delay) and they are scummy.