VC: The Real Problem and Alternatives

[Sundown]

The problem with VC is simply this: It forces a developer to ask the question, "Do I want to make the game more fun, or do I want to make more money?"

I'm not opposed to paid DLC and micro transactions in principle, if they truly provided additional content and fun. I actually embrace them when they add little cosmetic touches and content to a game I already love. I would love to pay 2K even more money given the entertainment value I get out of their product each year.

However, to be honest, outside of MyTeam, I can't think of one thing VC has actually added in terms of value, customization, and fun in 2K the last few years.

It's one thing to offer VC as a way to provide new, unique customization options for players or new abilities, signatures, and game features.

It's another entirely to take basic items that used to be free and charge extremely high amounts for them while reducing the overall skill points one gets (when converted from VC) at the same time. And it's even worse to *further* increase these costs in next gen without providing any new special content. These are arm sleeves and basic accessories we're talking about. Not special dunk packages, celebrations, or signature crossovers. A shoe brings a bit more personality and I can understand somewhat higher prices, but currently some require 20+ (20!!) 5 minute quick games to earn enough VC for them. That's 10 hours of gameplay where your MyPlayer progress is stalled just for a pair of shoes.

It's hard to believe that there's a design document out there that argues charging high amounts of VC for basic accessories while giving a pittance for playing is "fun", and the motivation behind shoehorning VC into everything appears just a little too transparent. It appears higher ups at 2K looked at other games and pay to play models and wondered how to get in on that even though an NBA game doesn't fit into that scheme conceptually. The end result comes across like an awkward and cynical money grab.

Now I'm kind of okay with VC centric modes like MyTeam if you can accept it for what it is. I don't see the appeal if you can pretty much pay for the best teams but if 2K wants a mode where 10 bucks can destroy game balance, that's fine. Seems like the game mode would be much better with some limitations of what VC can do for you.

However, I'm not okay with the ease a few bucks can get you a 99 OVR MyPlayer. I see no difference between playing against glitched 99 rated guys that caused 2K to remove Crew all together only to be replaced with purchased 99 OVR guys on day one. It's essentially the same experience for the vast majority of players who paid 60 and expected a well balanced game. The only difference is that 2K will essentially "hack" your player for you for a bit of cash. Now I do understand that VC is nice for those who don't have the time to play an 82 game season to get their player to something respectable, but it seems there should be a balance between boosted progress and progressing without paying for VC.

Anyway, if 2K wants to play the micro transaction game, they need to bring the goods. And they need to implement VC in a way that actually promotes game balance rather than destroys it, or at least echoes real life factors. Hot signature cross overs, dunks, layup packages. A way to buy virtual swag for your virtual pad. VC repeater luxury tax for maintaining superstar teams over the cap in MyGM and MyTeam. Cosmetic/flavor upgrades for your arena in association. The ability to create stadium accurate playlists and access to a MUCH larger library of songs in collaboration with one of the music services (without getting rid of custom playlists).

As is, VC directly motivates 2K to design their game to impede player progress just enough to frustrate players into paying more to get the game they thought they were getting, and motivates them to resell the same basic items every year at increasing prices rather than create new content worthy of purchase. No one is excited about their VC purchase. Players begrudingly pay for VC or grind away knowing someone else will bypass that grind with a few bucks. There are few positive associations with VC and some see it as tainting every mode and driving the game away from true balance. Effort is spent on modes that VC can be shoehorned into (much of which I appreciate) but little is done on legacy game breaking issues underneath. In the end, VC doesn't feel immersive and seems like a motivation for the devs to make the game less rather than more fun.

That's not a good situation at all, and I hope things change so that we might actually welcome our purchases rather than feeling the game is being designed as less than it could be to squeeze out a few dollars more out of us.

[MarvellousOne]

Well written, VC for My Team it's fine...but VC for learning coaching skills in MyGM...is overboard...it really saturates the experience of MyGM and MyCareer. VC was a horrible idea to implement across the board like 2K has done. I shouldn't be forced to earn VC or buy VC to customize my player however I want to in MyCareer mode, we had the ability to customize for free for years why in the world did 2K decide to make us earn points or pay to customize now???? Makes no sense. Now for blacktop/the park/crews(CG)modes then fine I can understand using VC to buy specialty items that are not used in the NBA...this is slick way to start implementing micro transactions in NBA 2K is complete BS. This one thing I frown at 2K upon greatly...get rid of this for every mode and use VC for certain game modes....it's bad...very bad...I can't enjoy MyGM the way it should be enjoyed without VC playing a role in the things you can or can't do...and there not cheap. Why do we need micro transactions in a sports video game anyway????? Makes no sense to charge (in a sense) for something we used to be able to do for free in titles before NBA 2K13....just doesn't make sense.

[RangersCruz]

I like VC for MyCareer i don't personally want to start as a 61 overall especially when your rival is 74 already

In MyGM the VC thing should be thrown out you have to buy some to upgrade your levels just to hire/fire staff and if you don't the owner might just fire you because of it

[LorenzoDC]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sundown

As is, VC directly motivates 2K to design their game to impede player progress just enough to frustrate players into paying more to get the game they thought they were getting, and motivates them to resell the same basic items every year at increasing prices rather than create new content worthy of purchase. No one is excited about their VC purchase. Players begrudingly pay for VC or grind away knowing someone else will bypass that grind with a few bucks. There are few positive associations with VC and few see it as tainting every mode and driving the game away from true balance. Effort is spent on modes that VC can be shoehorned into (much of which I appreciate) but little is done on legacy game breaking issues underneath. In the end, VC doesn't feel immersive and seems like a motivation for the devs to make the game less rather than more fun.

And that's the big issue. VC/microtransactions, as instituted, actually are designed to reward the development team for irritating gamers by making the game itself less complete, less fluid, less robust. So the way it's currently done places an incentive on developers to make, not the best possible overall game experience out of the box, but one that is good enough to hook people in and then tease with toll booths to make the game complete.

VC to expand on the depth of an already complete, well executed product is fine. But setting up micro transactions to reward incomplete game design can get a short term cash bump for a season or two until the consumers get tired and annoyed. Investors will like the short term bump in quarterly cash flow and earnings reports but the marketplace will catch up.

People see enough of the haves getting more and the have nots getting screwed in real life: they don't need to see the same or be reminded of it in their forms of entertainment. It's not entertaining to realize that it might take you many hours of grinding gameplay to buy a virtual whatever or improve your game experience with player upgrades, when others with more cash to burn than you can get it immediately.

The market perception of a game can degrade when the core fan base manages to define the narrative of a game's quality. Take a look at Madden. The hard core gaming fan base has become so irritated over bad EA design and performance for so many year that now, finally, metactritic scores are coming out below the green level for the NG release. It's become established, uncontroversial market consensus that the Madden franchise is subpar. That's true even though this year's game, on CG or NG, is actually, probably, better than the game has been in a long time, though not remarkably so. I expect sales have rather disappointed as well, though we'll see as reports become public.

Consumers will catch up to a gouging microtransaction game design, year on year, and overall game sales will degrade. If that happens, it will take time to rebuild the brand and establish a new, positive narrative again.

[quehouston]

I'm just really shocked at the fact that 2k has increased the prices for some of these items, despite all of the backlash. The VC earned : Item/Attribute cost ratio is so far out of wack, it really makes me wonder whats going on behind the scenes at 2k. VC is hands down the the most selfish, money-hungry, thoughtlessly inconsiderate idea I've ever witnessed in a video game.

I'd love to see MyCareer attibutes to be earned through XP or skill points in game or scheduled practice sessions. I'd love to see a progression system that completely mirrors MLBTS. Its ridiculous that we have to "buy" our skills AND our accessories while drawing from the same pond. Skills shouldn't be bought, they should be earned. I have no problem with implementing VC for material things like accessories and shoes, but it shouldn't take 10 games to be able to afford a headband. Period.

In my opinion, there is absolutely no place for VC in MyGM. VC really does not fit well here. Playing it, it just feels awkward and forced upon us. I keep having my HC come to me asking to buy a weight room, and he gets pissed because I don't. Not because I don't want to, but because I literally don't have the VC to. Let us upgrade our facilities with the Profit that we earn. MyGM skills should be earned through goals and challenges. Paying for the ability to set your rotation is probably the biggest face palm moment in video game history, honestly.

[Damian Zero]

Yeah the problem is people are really playing 60 bucks to to play games modeled after F2P games these days. It's not just 2K either, this happening in every genre, its pay to win all over the place. Anybody hear about Forza Motorsport 5 offering a car for like $50, in real money? While guys who don't want to pay have to grind for it. Grinding is now acceptable to consumers for some reason. These companies have conditioned people to think it's ok, and as long as it's being bought, we're going to see plenty more of VC in the future.

Last thought: Guys are paying for cheat codes man, think about that.

[steelers99_58_36]

Can we go back to a time before micro-transactions existed they ruin everything and makes games not fun anymore.

[Sundown]

Quote: Originally Posted by quehouston

I'd love to see MyCareer attibutes to be earned through XP or skill points in game or scheduled practice sessions. I'd love to see a progression system that completely mirrors MLBTS. Its ridiculous that we have to "buy" our skills AND our accessories while drawing from the same pond. Skills shouldn't be bought, they should be earned. I have no problem with implementing VC for material things like accessories and shoes, but it shouldn't take 10 games to be able to afford a headband. Period.

To be fair, skills ARE earned. They're earned though accumulating VC. It's no different from skill points and XP except for three important distinctions:

1. You make much less in equivalent VC than you used to. This I'm kind of okay with, since player progress seemed a little fast in 2K11.

2. High priced basic accessories chip directly at your skill point/VC pool. I'm not okay with this. To get high priced items "quickly" (of which there are MANY), you would have to halt player progress for the equivalent of 10 gameplay hours for some basic items. That is ridiculous. No item should take more than a few games at most in a balanced game. But the rewards weren't meant to be balanced. They were meant to frustrate players into caving and buying VC to bypass the poor effort/rewards system.

3. VC is shared amongst all modes. This isn't very immersive-- you could earn all your "skill points" outside of the mode you want to progress in. It sounds convenient but it actually kills realism and authenticity. Also some modes are VC sinks and draw from your total pool, slowing down progress in other modes. It takes some discipline and management to use the amount of VC in the modes you actually earned them in. Basically as designed, I'm not happy when I have much more VC than I earned in a mode and can easily bypass the fun of progress, and I'm not happy when I don't have enough because other modes are VC sinks.

Basically I only dabble in MyTeam because it would screw with my progress in the two modes I actually care about.