NBA 2K20's MyTeam trailer
NBA 2K20 is the 21st entry in 2K Games' annual basketball franchise, NBA 2K. The last two entries in the franchise, NBA 2K18 and NBA 2K19, were both criticized for their underhanded monetization tactics by basing progression around microtransactions. On August 30, 2019, 2K Games published the trailer for the game's MyTeam mode, which is basically the 2K equivalent of EA Sports' Ultimate Team modes.
Why It's Not Your Team
- The elephant in the room is the mode itself, which revolves around opening card packs, aka the game's version of loot boxes.
- The trailer is basically advertising virtual casino themed mini-games, like a pachinko, slot machine, roulette wheels, ball drops, etc. in a very shameless way.
- Though card packs and microtransactions are nothing new to the franchise, here it is far less subtle and more on-the-nose.
- There are two guys featured in the video (one of which is a basketball-centric YouTuber known as CashNasty), promoting the act of opening card packs. What's really deceptive though, is that 2K increased the odds of obtaining desired rewards for these two guys specifically to promote the fantasy of winning big. Not to mention that, upon looking closer at the game controllers, they appear to be turned off, implying that they're not actually playing the game in the first place which makes the trailer even more deceptive. Also the way these guys act is cringe-worthy as hell.
- The timing of this trailer is incredibly tone-deaf in the sense that earlier in the month, consumer advocates discussed with gambling committees the realization that influencers are being paid behind the scenes to promote modes like the one in this trailer. Not to mention that we are currently in an era where loot boxes and microtransactions are under heavy scrutiny from government bodies around the world.
- The way in which MyTeam mode will be set up pretty much expects players to make NBA 2K20 over their full-time job in order to participate in these mini-games. This still ties back into the microtransactions the game will inevitably have when it launches.
- The trailer also makes it clear that the game itself will carry a PEGI rating of 3+/ESRB rating of E. In other words, 2K Games is selling glorified gambling mechanics to children, which is illegal and according to the Department of Justice a form of child exploitation.
- Even in the face of 2K fanboys becoming outright hostile in their support of the gambling or claiming it's not, 2K's own self confessed hired and paid for shills like CashNasty came forward and admitted that yes, the game is gambling.
- Ronnie2K himself, the spokesman of the product, was openly hostile and aggressive towards critique of the trailer and later the game itself for how unplayable it was (and still is).
- He even threatened to physically beat up a person just because he negatively criticized the game for the aforementioned reason by saying that he "would beat your (his) ass"! This is not only hostile towards negative criticism, but it's also taking it WAY too far!
- The worst part, however, is that Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive (2K's parent company), is also a chairman of either the ESRB, PEGI, or even worse, the ESA! It is possible that he either bribed or convinced the rating boards to let the depiction of simulated gambling (and real gambling) slide with an E/3+ rating.
- Simulated gambling should be treated with a T/12+ rating, and real gambling with an AO/18+ rating, and yet here we are: a basketball-themed casino is considered "kid-friendly" by the rating board.
- Even more insulting is that both Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow and Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal were released on the Virtual Console and slapped with a 12+ rating for a slot machine mini-game that isn't fueled by real cash, is completely inconsequential to the overall narrative (unless you really want that Dratini), and is a small optional part of the games, yet a game depicting real gambling only gets a 3+ rating, showing just how irresponsible and apathetic they are towards the issue of gambling in video games.
- Around the same time as this, in a prime example of hypocrisy, Take-Two went and admitted that their games are gambling with the introduction of an interactive casino in GTA Online, where gamers can pay real money for fake credits then gamble in game. They made no bones about the gambling mechanics in an adult game and were up front and honest about it, yet here, Take-Two and 2K tried to hide and excuse the gambling.
- Overall, when you notice the name NBA, it represents a BASKETBALL game, not gambling!
The Only Redeeming Quality
- The trailer's music (Hooked by Matthew Waugh) isn't that bad to listen to.
Reactions
Reactions from gamers were universally negative, with the ire being directed at the greater focus on the card packs themselves while the gameplay was being sidelined, and the portrayal of gambling mini-games to earn some of these card packs. Yongyea made three videos on the subject, the first analyzing the trailer itself, the second pointing out the ESRB's double standards when the Gen I Pokémon games were ported to the Virtual Console, and the third was on PEGI's weak attempt to justify the 3+ rating.
Angry Joe and Other Joe both decried the trailer for promoting the fantasy of winning rewards and slammed 2K for defying the current climate of loot box scrutiny. Joe also called for anyone who watched his video to boycott NBA 2K20 because of the trailer, something he has never done before until now.
The reactions were so overwhelmingly negative that 2K Games' official YouTube channels temporarily unlisted/took the trailer down. The only ones remaining are found on the game's YouTube channel, as well as a GameTrailers reupload. Critics even went as far as suggesting the trailer be remade using kids instead of the shills used, to demonstrate the point of underage gambling, with serious consideration to actually do so.
Even with many gamers getting in direct contact with PEGI and the ESRB asking them to re-evaluate NBA 2K20's rating two weeks after launch, both ratings boards provided poor responses to the concerns, with the latter going a step further by sending canned responses to everyone who contacted them that didn't address the concerns raised, continuing to focus on the trailer of the game's MyTeam mode despite the full game already being out for two weeks.