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 the backlash that NBA 2K24 has received, and trying to put it all into perspective.
It’s fair to say that NBA 2K24 has received significant backlash. The PC version was at one point the worst-rated game on Steam, and although its rating has rebounded somewhat since then, the reviews still skew mostly negative. It doesn’t help that it’s a port of the PlayStation 4/Xbox One version, but a glance at Metacritic reveals a user score of 2.1 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as well. There are positive reviews for NBA 2K24 on Metacritic, but for the most part, once again the user scores are far more negative than the ones from professional critics.
The backlash goes beyond scathing scores for NBA 2K24, however. You’ll see far more negative comments about the game wherever it’s being discussed, be it social media, forums, or Reddit. Dissatisfaction with the game and disgust with recurrent revenue mechanics has been building for years, and as a result, gamers are more forthcoming with criticism and disdainful remarks than ever before. This has only increased since content creators who cover MyTEAM have exposed how the mode has reached new heights – or perhaps, lows – in terms of greed. Yes, there’s backlash against NBA 2K24, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, it likely won’t make a difference.
This isn’t me telling my fellow gamers to give up and stop speaking out; quite the opposite! Actions must follow words though, and that’s where the backlash comes up short. It’s been observed that video game boycotts are often ineffective, because the desire to play the cool new game ultimately overcomes the outrage; at least for a significant portion of the audience. Again, this isn’t me advising anyone against a personal boycott of NBA 2K24 or the series in general moving forward, but rather an observation that a majority of virtual hoop heads won’t join in. Every movement begins with the first step, but video game boycotts are generally doomed to fail.
Since I noted the user scores, let’s consider a couple of other numbers. While Steam reviews of NBA 2K24 are mostly unfavourable, there’s still anywhere between 10,000 and 30,000 people playing it at any given time. While that’s less than 50% of any of the estimates of the number of users who own the game on Steam – and down from NBA 2K23 – people are indeed playing NBA 2K24 PC. Finding exact figures for consoles is trickier, but at least one site suggests that it’s been one of the most-played games on PlayStation since its release. Given the crazy number of hours and games that we end up playing as a community, there’s not much of a boycott happening.
In other words, for all the frustration and outrage, NBA 2K24 is still selling copies, being played, and yes, generating recurrent revenue. You’ll also notice user reviews on Metacritic claiming that the game is perfect and “gets too much hate”, which is usually code for “people are daring to criticise the thing I like and have made too much of my identity”. And of course, there are some people who genuinely do enjoy the game, or are making the most of it while acknowledging its flaws, and that’s fair. Even the positive reviews do tend to at least pay lip service to the issues with pushy microtransactions, while noting that they’re still able to enjoy the game regardless.
We need to keep all of this in perspective when we talk about the backlash to NBA 2K24. When we see videos claiming that the game is “over” (and not in the positive, professional wrestling use of the word), how the community is abandoning it, how the immense greed is finally going to be the game’s undoing…well, let’s not get carried away here! The backlash does indeed feel stronger when it comes to NBA 2K24, but at the same time, we’ve heard and said all of this before. The numbers do indicate a strong dissatisfaction with NBA 2K24, but also considerable success despite that. More and more people are disgruntled, but it’s not as though the bubble has burst.
Now, with that being said, there absolutely has been a backlash, and it’s heartening to see. While some people are still shilling for the game, many others are being critical. Even if they’re enjoying NBA 2K24 (or doing their best to), there’s acknowledgement that there are issues, and support for people speaking up. It feels as though there’s less denial of the obvious when it comes to greedy practices, and the game being designed to be less fun if you don’t pump more money into it. The “it’s optional” crowd are still there and bleating their BS, but there are more people recognising that while this may be technically true, it’s becoming increasingly impractical as far as enjoying the game.
Frankly, it’s become impossible to deny the greed. For many MyTEAM gamers, the recent pack opening videos from prominent content creators have truly let the cat out of the bag. When spending thousands of dollars to rip open hundreds of packs doesn’t yield at least one pull of the top card, it speaks volumes about the odds. The fact that these cards can only be pulled in packs – meaning either spending money or grinding countless hours to earn the VC the long way – and have such low odds, is honestly despicable. The removal of the Auction House and introduction of the Player Market has given 2K complete control of card sales, turning it into another big money-maker.
I’ll raise my hand here and admit that I was optimistic about the Player Market when we first heard about it. Dee was more sceptical when we discussed it on the podcast, and he was absolutely right. In theory, it could be a way for gamers to directly pick up a card they desire; perhaps for more than they would at auction or via a lucky pull, but still at a fair price. Instead, it’s become yet another way of encouraging FOMO and buying VC (and now also MT). There are also rewards for purchasing entire sets, so, you know, gotta collect them all! NBA 2K24 may not be a flop in terms of sales or revenue, but it does appear to be a tipping point as far as perception of the series.
Part of me wants to cynically ask “what took you so long”, when these are issues that we and others who were unafraid of losing any chance of access have been bringing up for years. That’s not productive though, and it invites a defeatist attitude of “well, it’s been going on for years, it’s over, we lost”. As frustrating at it might be that it took some people far too many years to come around on these problems, now that we’re on the same page and there’s a backlash, we should be standing with each other instead of bragging about who was right and for how long. Microtransactions are here to stay, but significant backlash can have an impact…especially if it affects the bottom line.
We’ve seen that before. The obvious example here is when NBA 2K18 MyCAREER charged us for haircuts. Sure, you had people trying to shill for it, claim that it was a realistic touch (“don’t you pay for haircuts?”), all the while ignoring that some breaks from reality are logical and necessary (and that NBA players aren’t being charged a single game’s salary for a buzz cut). 2K pushed their luck, the community spoke out, the prices were nerfed, and then set to zero in future games. Publishers will weather some backlash and bad press, but will eventually back down. Cynically, we could say that these small gestures allow them to mollify us while they plan something worse.
There’s merit to that cynicism, though. Agent 00 did the research, proving that VC payouts have fluctuated over the years, with gamer outcry over the grind and greed prompting temporary increases back to a fairer level. Like all Triple-A publishers these days, Take-Two will continually see what they can get away with until they hit a point where the backlash is too strong, back off to appease consumers, and then begin the cycle anew. To that point, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with NBA 2K25. Perhaps the Auction House will return to MyTEAM. Gamers will feel vindicated and grateful, the backlash will lessen, and the next idea to raise profits will be introduced.
Of course, they’re not going to win everyone over. No, I don’t expect everyone who has boldly proclaimed that they’re done with NBA 2K and will never buy it again to be true to their word. The annual sales figures say otherwise, or at least, demonstrate that there’s always enough new people picking up the game – or returning after time away from the series – to offset any boycotters. However, NBA 2K has lost face and a ton of goodwill, thanks to disappointing releases, tone-deaf social media posts, and greed. Basketball gamers don’t speak of the games or the brand as fondly, even if they still buy them every year. As successful as it is, NBA 2K’s image has been tarnished.
It’s no longer the darling of basketball gamers, succeeding where NBA Live failed. They aren’t the underdog going up against the “evil empire” of EA Sports; they are EA now, a juggernaut that’s muscled out the competition and treated their customers with a mixture of greed and contempt. It’s the biggest heel turn since Hulk Hogan leg-dropped Randy Savage at Bash at the Beach 1996! The turn to the dark side has us screaming like Obi-Wan Kenobi. “It was said that you would save basketball gaming, not destroy it! Bring joy to the virtual hardwood, not ruin it with microtransactions!” We’re not haters with unreasonable expectations; this backlash has been well-earned.
For many outspoken gamers, the post-release change to the Terms of Service was what proved to be the final straw. Changing the ToS months into a game’s life cycle is always going to be a controversial move, but adding clauses to prevent gamers from taking part in class action lawsuits – barring an inconvenient opt-out process – and making it clear that we don’t own digital currency and items that we purchase with real money, was a mask-off moment; or at least, it made it abundantly clear just how low Take-Two would sink. To that end, many people pledged that they wouldn’t agree to the new Terms of Service, and they’ve since followed through on that promise.
Unfortunately, taking such a stand has had its drawbacks. While not every mode has an online multiplayer component, even the game’s offline modes use online services. For example, MyLEAGUE and MyNBA can be played solo, but they still earn VC. Their custom image functionality also requires a 2K account, since those images are uploaded via the official website and retrieved from the servers; even on PC, there’s no local file support. As such, gamers who have opted not to agree to the new ToS now find themselves locked out of what are traditionally offline, single player modes. I understand why, but that doesn’t make it any less of a scummy, anti-consumer move.
No, the backlash to NBA 2K24 is not going to doom the series. Visual Concepts and Take-Two can just throw us a bone with some desirable changes in NBA 2K25, and the outrage will cool off. If nothing else, people want a brand new NBA game every year and 2K is the only game in town, so it’ll continue to sell based on habit and hope. And yes, the shills and apologists will always be there, because some people are just weird like that. The backlash to NBA 2K24 has been real, though. We’re not seeing the same satisfaction, or as much affection for the brand. NBA 2K will continue to sell copies and make bank, but there’s trust and goodwill that they’ll never get back.
They deserve that. They grew accustomed to being the darlings of basketball gaming, lapping up praise and poking fun at NBA Live as it struggled. That was bad enough, being highly unprofessional. As I’ve said, it actually soured me on NBA 2K14 for many years! More to the point, that lack of grace foreshadowed how they’d handle criticism of their game. 2K can dish it out, but they certainly can’t take it. Just look at how the developers sneer at gamers with criticisms and say that we don’t understand, while also failing to explain anything. Consider Ronnie 2K’s antagonistic posts, or the complete lack of a designated community manager who’s suitably affable and helpful.
The low user scores, the negative critique and downright snarky comments, the lack of trust…2K has earned that backlash, and NBA 2K24 is just everything coming to a head. It’s certainly not going to kill the series, and honestly, we shouldn’t want it to. We should want them to be better, though it’s going to take a viable alternative in the space to truly effect change. As long as NBA 2K is the only basketball game on the market, Take-Two can do as it pleases. Still, gamers should absolutely boycott the series if they feel strongly enough about their criticisms and concerns. It won’t hurt 2K’s bottom line, but it will be personally satisfying to not give them your money.
And so, while videos claiming that NBA 2K is done are being a bit melodramatic, I’m glad to see them. I’m glad to see people with a following speaking out. While it could be argued that pack opening videos glorify the activity, they do also demonstrate just how low the odds are and how predatory the system is, so I’m glad they perform that service. I’m glad that valid concerns and criticisms are no longer being shouted down as often as before, that there’s some solidarity among hoops gamers. I’m glad there’s a justified backlash to NBA 2K24, because the “it’s optional” and “just play something else” crowd have been spouting their apologist rhetoric unchallenged for far too long.
Will it change anything? Outside of slightly backtracking on a few of the greediest ideas, I’m not too optimistic. As always though, it’s worth pushing back. The numbers say that the game is still doing well even with the negative reviews, and that means a long road and possibly less than ideal results. We must keep things in perspective, but honest feedback and a refusal to accept a bad situation are good first steps, and again, that’s how movements begin. In the short term, it certainly inspires a feeling of unity. If you’re disgruntled, you’re not alone! As for anyone at 2K that may be displeased with the backlash to NBA 2K24, I can only say: try looking at it from our perspective.
