NLSC Your source for basketball video games.
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on how bonus content is much better than live service content.
Live service content is an inescapable part of so many Triple-A games these days. While the idea didn’t exactly begin with mobile gaming – expansion packs and the like have been available for decades – modern Triple-A titles definitely take their cues from games with freemium economies. The concept succeeds because there is merit to it. Live service content can keep games fresh for as long as they’re supported, giving us something to look forward to. Of course, it can also be predatory, not to mention a crutch for games that are incomplete at launch.
To that end, in my opinion, bonus content that’s in the game from the very beginning is much better than live service content. I realise what an “old head” opinion that must sound like, but I stand by it. There’s a joy to bonus content that I just don’t believe live service content can replicate, because of its underlying concept and aims. It’s not that I haven’t ever enjoyed the live service content in recent basketball games, or for that matter, been underwhelmed by the bonus content found in old ones. However, as I’ve revisited more and more old games for Wayback Wednesday and explored their bonus content, the more soulless and dull that live service content has become in my eyes.
Before I dive into that though, I must acknowledge that modern NBA 2K games do contain a ton of what we’d once deem bonus content. Classic teams and historical rosters technically aren’t necessities in a sim NBA game set in the current year. It just feels like they are because they’ve been well-established as staples of the series. As much as I always push back against the greediness in NBA 2K these days, I’ll also agree that there is plenty of content that’s freely available. I mean, “thank you for not charging us for bonus content that’s been in the game for years” is a rather ridiculous sentiment when it’s not sarcastic, but yes, the base price does buy a lot of extra stuff!
It’s definitely overshadowed by live service content however, since that’s what drives engagement in the money-making modes of MyTEAM and MyCAREER. And, to be fair, MyTEAM in particular would be pretty boring if it never received new content throughout the year. MyCAREER also invites content drops, from seasonal updates to the open world and online arenas to clothing items for customisation (just don’t call it a Barbie Dress-Up Game!). It is the greed that bothers me the most, because while one can go No Money Spent, the need to budget currency, progress swiftly to remain competitive, and not get shunned for superficial reasons, pushes gamers to spend.
Even if we accept that a hard grind or paying for upgrades and cosmetics is fine and just the way of things in 2025, there’s something loathsome about the FOMO that it inspires. Instead of unlocking something cool, fun, and useful, it’s more about the bragging rights of sinking enough time/money into the game to obtain that content. Whether it’s MyTEAM cards that fall out of the rotation as they’re replaced by newer, OP cards, or cosmetic items and animations that go unused in MyCAREER because you can’t equip everything, so much live service content is just there to be collected, not to mention bemoaned if you miss out on it. It becomes a rather joyless exercise.
Again, this undoubtedly sounds like a cantankerous “things aren’t what they used to be” gripe, but it’s actually very similar to issues I’ve had with bonus content in certain games over the years. In WWE Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth, unlocking everything requires playing through the story mode multiple times. While the mode does include multiple paths and stories based on actual WWE angles from around that time, it’s still repetitive. By the time you’ve unlocked everything, chances are you’re now sick of the game and ready to play something else. It’s why well-designed rewards systems build up to unlockables that are just for bragging rights, or completely freshen up a game.
Of course, at least those unlockables in Shut Your Mouth were all there from the start, didn’t require or encourage additional purchases, and aren’t reliant on the game having online support in perpetuity. Granted, there was never any new content so the game never “evolved” in that sense, but at least what was there was permanent, and didn’t facilitate greedy mechanics. Beyond that though, there was genuine appeal to what was on offer: alternate gear and versions of wrestlers, the ability to use a particular wrestler in story mode, new arenas to stage matches in, and so on. It was content that appealed to gamers who were WWE fans; stuff that we actually wanted to play with.
That content didn’t necessarily have to be unlockable, though that certainly did add an appealing challenge to attempt, or simply something else to do. Either way, there was delight in discovering that bonus content, without the fear that it’d be gone if we didn’t rush to unlock it. It meant that we could enjoy the journey, and unlock something cool along the way. Even if the bonus content was available from the start, it was good to know that it was there if we wanted a change of pace. Because bonus content often wasn’t advertised, it was a pleasant surprise. While it’s good to see what kind of live service content is in the pipeline, there’s no mystery, which only encourages FOMO.
Whenever I dive into an old game that I haven’t played before and discover its bonus content, it’s exciting. I have mixed feelings about the Sony-exclusive NBA series by San Diego Studio, but some of the rare jerseys and other fun unlockables do provide an incentive to play them more often. NBA 2K6 for Xbox 360 has some enjoyable historical content immediately available in the form of the All-Decade teams, but visiting The Crib and seeing that there were four All-Time squads to unlock made me eager to use them. Indeed, whenever a new NBA Live was released back in the day, people in our community rushed to see which Legends had been added (or removed).
Sure, when it comes to unlockable bonus content and live service content, the concept is undoubtedly similar: look at this cool stuff, don’t you want it, now get to obtaining it! Furthermore, limited edition collectables are not an invention of video games. As I alluded to before however, one of the main differences with the bonus content in older games compared to live service content in more recent ones is that the bonus content wasn’t essential, yet it was included nevertheless. It represented the developers going above and beyond to add extra content or a cool feature just because it would be fun and appealing to us, not because it was required to be enjoyable, or indeed, profitable.
That doesn’t mean that it didn’t become a selling point. When Legends were added in NBA Live 2000, EA Sports absolutely promoted it! Mind you, it was something that we wanted. Conversely, while live service content can be desirable, it’s based more around making us think we need it, and need to get it before it disappears. Bonus content aims to give us more bang for our buck, while live service content tries to reach into our pockets to relieve us of our coin. It’s not that bonus content is always great, or that live service content is never worthwhile. It’s just that there’s far more goodwill in the former, whereas the latter is inevitably tied to predatory mechanics.
Once again though, even if we ignore the problematic aspects of live service content, there’s just more pure joy in old school bonus content, back then and today. I’m way more excited when NBA 2K is able to flesh out the Eras rosters by adding some of the players that were previously missing than I am whenever a new card pack debuts in MyTEAM. I’m far more impressed when a game adds a detail it didn’t absolutely need to, or maximises the historical content that it has licensed, than when 2K announces what’s on tap in the upcoming Season in MyTEAM and MyCAREER. Needless to say, I’d rather go back and 100% an old game’s unlockables than fall victim to FOMO.
As I mentioned, live service content can also be a crutch in a way that bonus content seldom was. I won’t deny the value of receiving fresh new content that adds more and more to a game post-release, but when a game or one of its modes is overly reliant on live service content, it can become stale very quickly. Compare that to a game that has so much replay value even years later, because right out of the box there was so much to discover, unlock, or play through in a different way. Even as those games begin to show their age, they still remain appealing thanks to content that never disappears. Meanwhile, live service content leaves old games gutted with unplayable modes.
Bottom line, live service content is inextricably linked to video games – basketball or otherwise – becoming increasingly disposable, while also maximising methods of generating recurrent revenue, often sacrificing enjoyment in the process. In contrast, bonus content was all about making games as fun as they possibly could be, often giving gamers a reason to come back to them years later. It’s not just nostalgia for the way discovering cool stuff in old favourites made me feel. That’s part of it, sure, but those joyful feelings are what make gaming so fun. Of course I want that to be a part of the experience; not just for me, but for anyone who plays basketball video games!
I’d suggest it’s telling that gamers can reminisce about unlocking Michael Jordan in NBA Live 2000 or the 16-bit version of NBA Live 96, or discovering a fantastic array of bonus teams in another old favourite, but there’s seldom any nostalgia associated with modes that run on live service content. Certainly, gamers might talk about their favourite version of The City or The Neighborhood, or dominating with a particular card in an iteration of MyTEAM, but because those modes and live service content are all about moving on, there’s less attachment. Who cares about that OP Shaq card in NBA 2K21, if NBA 2K26 introduces a card that’s even more broken and powerful?
Moreover, the FOMO that comes with live service content contributes to the toxicity in the online scene. When cosmetic items and other rewards depend on racking up wins and putting up numbers, it only encourages the selfish, Player One mindset that’s already such a problem in online team play. When working as a team or even getting the victory isn’t the primary goal, it leads to some ugly virtual basketball that just isn’t fun. It does nothing to foster a sense of cooperation and community spirit when the lure of unlocking this or achieving that makes you hesitant to play with or against someone, just because it might ruin your chance of attaining a virtual item or trophy.
Finally, I enjoy the creativity that traditional bonus content invited. Is it especially exciting that European and other international players are added to their own All-Star squads, or that there are teams of Draft Class alumni? Not necessarily, particularly in comparison to content such as Eras rosters, and agendas and quests in MyTEAM and MyCAREER. However, it represents an admirable effort to get the most out of what’s in the game, and can result in some cool designs. There’s creativity in live service content as well, but it’s darkened by the looming shadow of aims that have nothing to do with gamer enjoyment, but rather about huge corporations making more money.
That may be an inescapable reality of video games, as is the fact that they’ve always been products. As so many shills like to remind us, it’s a business. Personally though, while I understand the economics of the situation, companies pleasing shareholders and lining the pockets of executives with fat bonuses isn’t really my concern. I care more about the quality of the products that I’m purchasing, and my evaluation of them has nothing to do with how profitable they are. After all, popularity and profitability aren’t always a measure of quality and artistic merit. Also, the fact that the predatory mechanics are successful doesn’t mean they’re acceptable, or good for video games.
Obviously, live service content is here to stay, and fortunately, there is still a large amount of traditional bonus content as well. The cynic in me wonders how long that will last, though. We’ve seen the Dream Team go from being bonus content in NBA 2K13 to a pre-order bonus in NBA 2K17; one that can easily disappear thanks to the way it was unlocked. We’ve seen the games push their luck by charging for haircuts and getting greedier and pushier in their recurrent revenue mechanics. It may sound alarmist, but the idea that the suits might force the developers to remove content and make it paid DLC or a pre-order exclusive sadly isn’t unthinkable, or overly paranoid.
Referring back to WWE games, the WWE 2K series has made a lot of what used to be bonus and unlockable content part of premium editions, Season Passes, and DLC. It’s something that admittedly began while the game was being published by THQ, but it’s unsurprisingly gotten worse since coming under Take-Two’s umbrella. Releasing that content in a trickle not only delays the fun, but also prioritises profits over fairness and value to consumers. Again, I understand the business aspect of it, but I stand with my fellow gamers over billion dollar corporations when it comes to these matters. “It makes money” is a poor justification for practices that negatively affect a product!
That’s why in my view, while it does have its benefits, live service content will never be as joyful or exciting as traditional bonus content. It’ll never escape the underlying commercialism and greedy practices, whereas content that we didn’t expect to see but are delighted to find makes gaming even more satisfying. It adds to the nostalgia in classics that stand the test of time, instead of making games that we might otherwise revisit disappointingly disposable. As a keen retro gamer, I’m far more interested in delving into more old titles and discovering all of the ways that their developers went that extra mile than I am furiously grinding for temporary rewards in newer releases.
