Microtransactions are a touchy subject in today’s gaming environment, but a developer working on NBA 2K19 feels that this is just a reality that people have to get used to. He feels it’s inevitable that microtransactions appear in most modern video games released today.
Trusted Reviews had a chance to speak with Rob Jones recently who is the current senior producer for NBA 2K19. When the website asked him about the game’s use of microtransactions, Jones defended their use and mentions this is the reality of gaming today.
He said: “VC is an unfortunate reality of modern gaming. Every game, at some point, in some way has currency and they’re trying to get additional revenue from each player that plays the game. You know, the question has to be when does it feel like it’s a straight money grab versus when does it feel like it’s value added, right? We know nowadays that most people don’t have the patience to work their way to the top. They just wanna be there right away. So, you know, we look at it as, oh it’s an opportunity for us to allow you to skip the grind, but then if the grind is too long, like some people felt last year, they’re gonna sit there and they’re gonna go ‘well, you knew the grind was too long to begin with.”
It’s an interesting take, although it’s not going to please everyone. It just seems as if the more recent NBA video games makes grinding to earn VC longer and more boring to attain. For example, in NBA 2K15 I managed to increase my stats and earn VC a lot quicker than I did in the games that came out after 2014.
2K Sports is unlikely going to remove microtransactions because they earn a lot of money for the company. Hopefully earning VC is better in NBA 2K19 compared to NBA 2K18. 2K18’s use of VC was annoying as it took too long for you to earn it without paying.
