With the start of the 2018-19 National Basketball Association season upon us, both fans and gamers alike rejoice, as it’s time for basketball, whether it be virtual or in real life. Gamers have actually had their hands on the year’s basketball game of choice, NBA 2K19, for about a month now, as it released on September 7, 2018. The NBA 2K series has long been known for simulation basketball that mirrors real life, with reviews constantly praising the 20 editions of the games since 1999. From the newest release onward, however, talk about the game has unfortunately been mired with talk of “pay to win”, as microtransactions are a driving force in the economy, from cosmetics to affecting player performance. Despite the gameplay being the closest simulation to basketball yet, NBA 2K19 is a game where the economy is stronger than the universe in which it operates.
If it’s not already apparent, 2K19 is a basketball simulator, with the goal being to provide the most realistic and immersive video game basketball experience possible. For the most part, this isn’t an exaggeration. For a basketball video game, 2K19 is a lot of fun, and taking control of players such as Stephen Curry or LeBron James feels good, and it’s easy to feel unstoppable once you get hot, much like watching these players on ESPN. There’s various game modes, such as Play Now, which allows you to control NBA players, both past and present, in various locales. Want to see how the 1995-96 Bulls, who won 72 games with Michael Jordan, would fare against the 2016-17 Warriors, who won 73 games led by Curry? What about resurrecting Wilt Chamberlain and putting him on the blacktop against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, both in their 1970-71 forms? Both these ideas and more are easily accessible, should the player want it. There’s also MyGM and MyLeague, which allow you different roles in running a franchise. MyGM is narrative based, and puts you in the role of a general manager of a new expansion team, where the goal is to build your team and eventually compete for championships. If you love basketball but live in a city without an NBA team, this is the mode for you. MyLeague allows you to essentially be a demigod over the Association, taking control of anywhere of one to all thirty teams for 80 years. There’s sliders, which modify things like cap space for budgeting and injury frequency, and options for forcing trades, so this mode is truly up to the player and how they like to play 2K. I personally like to pick a team that is mediocre to bad in real life, deal away the bad contracts, get draft picks, and become a super team within two to four seasons. There’s also MyTeam, a trading card game adapted to the video game era. You can open packs for players, jerseys, arenas, and more. If you ever wanted to play a game with LeBron and Jordan in an Orlando Magic jersey in the United Center, this is possible here! There’s also head-to-head competition in this mode, with 2K, the company, trying to promote an E-Sports league within this mode. If the game was just these modes, this would be the greatest basketball game ever. However, the most immersive mode is also the most taxing.
The last major game mode in NBA 2K19 is MyCareer, where you get the ability to create a player, oftentimes one that resembles the gamer themselves, and enter the NBA, much like the rookies highly touted out of Duke or Kansas every year. There’s even a face scan option, so that your player can actually look like you, although how close the two actually look is highly variable. The story this year is that you left college too early, went undrafted, and had to fight your way back into the league, with stops in China and the minor leagues of the NBA, known as the G-League. Obviously, with this story in mind, your player isn’t the best at first. You upgrade your MyPlayer with a currency that 2K has created, known as Virtual Currency (VC), which is earned by playing the game. VC can also be bought, and it is here that the game begins to fall apart. You begin the game as a 60 overall, out of 99. In order to become a 85, for instance, you need a whopping 246,300 VC. You earn, on average, one to two thousand VC per game. Meanwhile, 200,000 VC can be yours for the “low” price of $50. Think you only use VC for upgrading your player? It’s also used to purchase cosmetics for your player, such as sneakers, sleeves, shorts, and more. For instance, when you reach a 92 overall, you unlock a megaphone to use in the Neighborhood, a world hub for other people also enjoying MyCareer. That costs 250,000 VC! Want to buy a temporary boost to your shooting attributes? That’ll also cost VC. Even packs in the aforementioned MyTeam mode will cost you. One could play the game long enough to earn enough VC to become a 99, which would get you 2K20 for free (while supplies last), but who has time or energy for that? Thus, many players spend more than the $60 entry fee on VC, for a game that will be obsolete in a year. There’s a mobile app companion, called MyNBA2K19, which lets you make VC on your phone, but this nets you a measly 500 VC a day. Think VC or your player’s overall carries over from year to year? You couldn’t be more wrong. Spending $100 on the 20th anniversary edition of the game(which I admittedly did) got you 2K19 four days early, and 100k VC as a bonus, but is this the model we want video games to follow? For what it’s worth, 100k got me to about a 75 overall, and as of this writing, I’m a 83 overall, since school got in the way of gaming time. In a game like basketball, it shouldn’t be pay to win, because physical (in this case, controller) skills should reign supreme. It’s a shame too, because outside of this money-hungry aspect of the game, NBA 2K19 should be enjoyed by basketball enthusiasts and gamers alike.
Sources:
https://www.usgamer.net/articles/09-10-2018-nba-2k19-tips-and-tricks-guide/virtual-currency-guide -VC prices for 2K19
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA2k/comments/9l36qd/myplayer_overall_rating_is_based_on_vc_spent_not/ - How much VC it takes to reach certain overalls
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