NBA 2K is regarded as one of the best sports video game franchises on the market and has personally been one of my favorite games ever since I was in middle school. As an avid basketball fan, the smooth gameplay, photorealistic graphics, and accurate representations of the players have made the game one of my favorites.

However, 2K has made some unforgivable business practices in this year’s edition of the game, NBA 2k18.

The main issue in this year’s game is microtransactions. This is a problem that affects the gaming industry as a whole but the developers have gone too far with 2k18.

Microtransactions were first introduced to the 2K series in 2k13 with “Virtual Currency”, or VC. It was implemented as a way for the developers to make more money off the two most popular game modes, MyTeam and MyCareer. VC was used to buy card packs in MyTeam and upgrade the characters that players made in MyCareer. Players gained VC simply by playing the game. VC would be given after each completed game and the amount would vary depending on performance and game difficulty.

Essentially, it functioned the same as previous in-game currencies the game offered, except now there was one big difference. Gamers that didn’t want to grind for VC could now just buy it with money in real life.

VC progressively became a bigger issue within the 2K fanbase with each yearly release. In 2K14, MyPark was introduced to the franchise. This mode allowed players to play pick-up basketball with their virtual characters online. Gamers could play with and against each other in 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 pick-up games. The attributes for the players’ characters became more important because 2K had a competitive game mode that pitted these characters against each other.

Players were more willing to spend money on VC to upgrade their players quickly so they didn’t have to slowly grind their characters to the level where they would be able to compete online. 2K had a wide variety of clothes and shoes to cosmetically change their character appearance. These items also cost VC and expression of character became a big factor when MyPark was established as the most popular game mode.

2K has implemented several business practices over the years to try and entice players to buy VC. NBA 2k18 is the biggest offender in the series. They have increased the grind to max out attributes by lessening the amount of VC given after games and raising the prices of the attribute unlocks. It will cost approximately $50 worth of VC to fully upgrade a character in 2k18. That equates to about 200,000 VC. Those who choose not to buy VC are going to have to commit a lot of time to playing the game.

A regular MyPark game will take anywhere between five and ten minutes to play. At best, players will earn roughly around 250 VC per game. At this rate, it will take 3,200 MyPark games, or over a minimum of 200 hours to fully upgrade a character without spending money. Keep in mind, this is only one character. Those who wish to make multiple characters with different play styles and positions will have to cough up even more money and time.

MyTeam has it even worse. MyTeam is a game mode where players build fantasy teams by getting packs of virtual cards and compete against other teams online. Packs are updated as the season progresses.

Right now, MyTeam boxes will vary from roughly 55,000 VC to 200,000 VC. The worst thing about this mode is there is no guarantee that gamers will receive valuable players when they open these boxes. It’s a gambling mode with VC. More often than not, gamers end up unsatisfied with their pack openings.

Fan reaction has not been positive so far. 2K was forced to reduce the prices for the haircuts available to MyCareer characters. The option to preview a haircut to see how it would look was not available either.

Pairs of shoes in the game will vary in price from 1,000 VC to 9,000 VC. Buying every pair costs more than 600,000 VC. These are all virtual items that will completely be forgotten by the majority of fans with next year’s release and fans are not happy with how expensive every item in the game is.

As a student, I just don’t have time to enjoy this game without spending any extra money than the $60 the game already costs. 2K has gone too far with microtransactions within the game and there are other options for me to play where I can have fun by simply playing the game. I understand that microtransactions exist in the gaming industry and the cost of making games is getting higher and higher each year.

When microtransactions become essential to the experience of a game, or when it becomes “pay-to-win”, that’s when it becomes a problem for me. It hurts as a basketball fan and a gamer because the gameplay, the presentation, and the graphics for this game really are phenomenal.

However, I can’t give 2K any more of my money with a clear conscience. That is why I will not be buying NBA 2k18 this year.