Introduction
NBA 2K20 is a video game which simulates basketball. It is developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K sports. The theme used in the game is from the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA 2K20 is the successor to NBA 2K19 which was an instant hit among users.
With a huge fan base and popularity, this game has barely seen any competition in the market. But this game has been the center of criticism, as the developer centered NBA 2K20 on Micro transactions, slot machines, loot box and much more.
Some even called it a casino! In this post, we will take a look at the criticism for NBA 2K20 and whether it was justified or not.
NBA 2K20 Looks like Something You Might See in a Casino
NBA 2K20 is supposed to be a basketball simulation game but after we saw the trailer it looks more like an online casino game. It should be primarily about playing basketball, but instead you will see jackpots, slot machines, etc. This is one of the main reasons why NBA 2K20 was under criticism by experts and players alike.
And YES, the criticism to some extent is totally justified. The most important argument is the transition from making a basketball game into a casino. Many old as well as new players were in shock and were saddened by the current development of NBA 2K20 whereas players, like Russell Westbrook, don’t care at all about their rating in the game.
Going more into detail – they even added ball drops: These are mini games inside the game where you watch a ball randomly fall through a series of pegs and hope it hits one of the color-coded platforms on the way down.
They even added the slot machines just like a casino has. Here you can pull to match three gems and if they match you can win. Fans did not like it at all and they started roasting 2K games for making the game into a live casino by adding a literal slot machine into it.
However, NBA 2K20 claimed that there is no gambling included in the game. Despite winning the trust of Belgian and Dutch officials in the past, 2K seems to have turned into a gambling game maker.
They even started a jackpot prize system in NBA 2K20. You can win jackpot prizes, in game currency and card packs by racking up wins in a ‘Reimagined Triple Threat Mode’.
They made the whole game revolve around those jackpot winnings, the card pack that you will win through jackpots will eventually be used to get rarer and powerful players. You can even evolve the players with card packs.
Obviously, even though they do not offer real cash gambling inside the game, they nevertheless developed the game in a way that you cannot play without gambling for it.
Adding gambling elements like jackpot and slot machines in this type of game is not something new; you can find some gambling elements in its previous versions as well. But in NBA2K20, the 2K games took it to the next level, a level at which a lot of players are annoyed by it.
NBA 2K20- Full of Micro transactions
The reason why the criticism was justified are the micro transactions in the game. It is not like a game you buy and continue playing without paying anything ever again. Instead, in NBA 2K20 you will have to pay with VC (virtual currency) for every single thing.
Do you want to put on a new sports shoe? Then pay for it. Even in order to increase your player stats in My Career, you can spend Virtual Currency to buy it easily. You can win in game virtual currency from the casino like games, in game salary, sponsorship agreements and you can buy it with real money.
What is described by mane to be a good thing about the game in this version is that they do not bug you every time to buy virtual currency in every screen.
They even give more virtual currency out when you win it via the casino games. They give out more virtual currency in the ‘My Career’ mode through salary and sponsorship agreements.
Conclusion
Yes, the criticism for NBA 2K20 largely justified. As you already know, gamers are very sensitive towards their games because it is a part of their life, they will notice even the most insignificant changes right away.
2K games changing the game into some sort of live casino deeply affected the gamers heavily which led them to roasting 2K games on different platforms for this. Even after their promises to the government officials, the publisher turned the original basketball game into a gambling setting and smartly integrated the gameplay with it.
So, overall, business-wise the casino setting might not have been the best decision by 2K Games – after all, people, whose purpose is to gamble anyway, can easily find a new casino at CasinoViking with unlimited games and great opportunities to make real money on their favorite slot titles.
