The In-Universe Value of VC

[Andrew]

I wrote a lengthy piece about the controversy surrounding the aggressive implementation of VC and requests to change review scores in this week's Monday Tip-Off (cheap plug, I know). In doing so, I did some quick calculations regarding the value of VC in-universe in NBA 2K18's MyCAREER and The Neighborhood. I'm sure this comparison has been made elsewhere, but we haven't really crunched the numbers here, so I thought I'd get the ball rolling.

As a rookie in MyCAREER, your salary is a modest $1.18 million. It's not much, but it's certainly reasonable given the back story of being a former blue chip prospect who left the game behind but managed to get a tryout following a street ball tournament, and latched on to a team. You're not going to get the big bucks right away, so fair enough. Over the course of 82 games, your salary works out to be around $14,390 per game (1,180,000 divided by 82).

This is significant as you receive a portion of your salary each game in MyCAREER, but of course, it's in VC rather than actual dollars. Not counting the VC you earn for stats (which has been reduced from NBA 2K17), your teammate grade, and any endorsements you may have, you're paid 500 VC per game. Therefore, 500 VC in NBA 2K18 is the in-universe equivalent of $14,390. Divide that figure by 500 to get the value of 1 VC, and it's $28.78 (let's round it up to $29).

Having worked out the value of your game-to-game salary - and for that matter, the value of a single VC coin - we can start calculating the in-universe value of various items. This is where it all gets rather maddening. The cheapest regular shirts from Swag's are all 600 VC. In other words, the in-universe equivalent of around $17,400, more than you earn in a single game. That is one expensive shirt! Haircuts are now 100 VC across the board, but that's still $2,900 a style, and remember, you can't preview it first. Considering one of the styles used to cost 1,500 VC, that's a $43,000 haircut. Premium shirts in Swag's cost as much as 3000 VC, or $87,000. Shoes at Foot Locker have similar price tags.

Apparel in the NBA store is similarly expensive, but accessories take the cake. A headband will set you back 1000 VC, or $29,000. I mean, you'd think the team would comp you some accessories anyway, but $29,000 for a headband? When you crunch the numbers, it's simply ridiculous. Especially when you need to budget your VC in order to upgrade players as well. Currently, to max out my ratings, I'd need to spend another 27,362 VC, or the equivalent of in-universe $793,498. And yes, that's after dropping some real money to try and upgrade a little faster for 2K Pro-Am, which turned out to be a bust.

Also, just in case you want to skip going to the gym to get the turbo boost, especially since online games drain it? You can pick up a Gatorade fuel bar for a cool 500 VC; one week's salary of $14,390. Same goes for a protein bar or a bottle of Gatorade. A 10-pack on all those items offers a discount - 10 for the price of 7 - but that's still 3,500 VC, or $101,500.

This is something that needs to be outlined because there are a lot of people who are labelling the criticisms of VC and microtransactions as nothing more than whining by cry-babies. A popular jeer I've seen is "Don't you want the games to be realistic? Do you not pay for haircuts in real life? Can you preview them before you get them?" To which we can respond sure, I'd say most of us do pay for haircuts, but we don't spend three grand on them. Nor do we spend $87,000 on a plain t-shirt or a single pair of shoes. I know some shoes are expensive, but we're talking a few hundred bucks, not just short of a hundred thousand. As far as previewing hairstyles is concerned, there has to be some acceptable breaks from reality in a video game. Besides, the in-universe value of VC clearly isn't realistic when it comes to clothing and consumables, so a certain amount of realism is already out the window.

When it comes down to it, that's one expensive Neighborhood. One might expect an NBA player to live an extravagant lifestyle, but they still have access to affordable items, and they're certainly not going to pay more than us for the same clothes and whatnot. If anything, they're going to get more stuff for free. In short, we're getting screwed on VC earning and prices in NBA 2K18.

[ThePointForward]

That's one interesting point of view. When I said "accessories are only 300 VC flat this year (except for headband)" I did not think about how much 300 VC is translated to USD. Then you realize that we had 5000 VC sleeve before...

I've had one thought: with accessories you pay for lifetime supply. It sounds stupid, but let's roll with it.
So for example the headband - you calculated the price to be $29K. OK. Let's take a look at NBA Store - headband costs $8 (again, it's stupid, but let's roll with this price).
Let's say the player gives the headband away (for a fan, saw LeBron do that, again let's roll with it) after each game.
Also let's say the player gets to play equivalent of 14 full seasons.

So that would be 8*14*82... And the result is $9184. So we are missing $20K. Damn. Not even close.


Generally I think they are trying how far can they push. Making haircuts 100 VC "only" is a nice gesture... or is it? It's a full blown damage control while trying to see how far they can push.

[Andrew]

It's damage control, and to be fair, I appreciate it to some extent. It demonstrates some goodwill, and it makes the situation with hairstyles slightly more manageable, especially if you do re-scan your face and need to repurchase hair and facial hair (which you shouldn't have to; they should remain in your inventory).

On the other hand, they quickly patched out a method of farming VC using MyLEAGUE, yet haven't touched any other prices, re-added the difficulty multiplier, or increased reward amounts to compensate. There's work to be done in demonstrating that they understand why gamers are rightfully upset about how far they've pushed things this year.

That is an interesting point about accessories, looking at them as being an unlimited supply. It's a little better in that context, though the value is still overpriced, as you noted.

[Jackal]

It's downright shameful what they've done with the VC. I can't imagine anyone who wants to put out a good, fun, technically sound basketball sim would be on board with this bullshit. Yet, here we have it.

I am probably not going to upgrade from 2K18, the only thing left to ruin is MyLeague and given that's all I play, I'll just stick to this version. I played MyGM on and off last year, but after reading the BS story they put in MyGM, I'll give that one a pass.

What a time we live in, the community went from EA is the shit to damn EA, get your shit together/2K really is awesome to damn 2K, get your shit together/I hope Live really bounces back in a big way.

I refuse to buy VC. I never have, I never will. I paid 60 euro's for the game and would've paid more had it been needed with the explanation that it costs a lot to make a game. This though? It's just greedy and bad publicity all around. From a marketing stand point I can't imagine what they were thinking. Just isn't a sustainable business model in the long run.

Which does bring up the question...what if there isn't a long run plan anymore? What if they've maxed what they can do and it's come down to cosmetics and sort of a cash-grab thing from year to year now?

[Arcane]

These real world prices are an amazing way to display the outrageous cost of items. Even despite being fictional NBA players we can't live the Kanye life of spending USD$800 a day on haircuts.

Let's just say that these prices are technically justified for arguments sake surely when we receive a shoe/apparel brand contract we should be able to get discounts immediately on those as part of our contract I mean companies do look after their star/big signing employees with perks.

[ThePointForward]

Few things:

EA actually rebounded in terms of behavior. I've seen players of several genres saying "EA is actually doing this and this right".

Microtransactions came from mobile games and the problem is primarily that it's profitable - otherwise companies like 2K wouldn't do it. So the huge amount of cash flowing in from microtransactions is the core of the issue and sadly that one is on the community.

I've set my goal to reach 99 OVR legit. No VC purchase.

As far as 2K19 is concerned, the best defense against bad directions from 2K is to not pre-order and not purchase until we know exactly what we're getting. Though I suspect that the community will be at fault on this one again.

[Andrew]

What a time we live in, the community went from EA is the shit to damn EA, get your shit together/2K really is awesome to damn 2K, get your shit together/I hope Live really bounces back in a big way.

I think it's proof of a couple of things. One, that competition is very important in sports gaming. Two, that no one is invincible, or untouchable. For many years, NBA Live was getting favourable reviews and was reasonably well-received by gamers. They faltered however, and NBA 2K stormed past them, becoming the preferred game. They also edged them as the best-selling game as of the 2009 season, with NBA 2K9 pulling ahead of NBA Live 09 in sales. Since then, 2K has been clearly on top and gone from strength to strength, but with VC, they got cocky and it's causing them to lose face now.

These real world prices are an amazing way to display the outrageous cost of items. Even despite being fictional NBA players we can't live the Kanye life of spending USD$800 a day on haircuts.

Let's just say that these prices are technically justified for arguments sake surely when we receive a shoe/apparel brand contract we should be able to get discounts immediately on those as part of our contract I mean companies do look after their star/big signing employees with perks.

Absolutely. Athletes tend to get a lot of free stuff, especially once they've earned themselves endorsement contracts. Even before that, teams provide them with a lot of stuff. I remember Bill Walton relating an anecdote about Kevin Garnett during the 1997 All-Star game, where as a rookie the year before, a bewildered young KG asked the team "You mean I don't have to buy my own shoes?", and was told "Kevin, you can have as many pairs of shoes as you like". Contrast that to NBA 2K, where we now have to wander over to Foot Locker ourselves and drop huge amounts of VC to get shoes. Sure, you get a few for free when the shoe companies are trying to woo you, but once you sign, that's it.

Few things:

EA actually rebounded in terms of behavior. I've seen players of several genres saying "EA is actually doing this and this right".

Microtransactions came from mobile games and the problem is primarily that it's profitable - otherwise companies like 2K wouldn't do it. So the huge amount of cash flowing in from microtransactions is the core of the issue and sadly that one is on the community.

I've set my goal to reach 99 OVR legit. No VC purchase.

As far as 2K19 is concerned, the best defense against bad directions from 2K is to not pre-order and not purchase until we know exactly what we're getting. Though I suspect that the community will be at fault on this one again.

All great points.

EA has made mistakes in the past, and rightfully earned the ire of gamers. It does seem like they're trying to correct course, however. Of course, as I said in Monday Tip-Off, no matter what EA's shortcomings may be - past or present - they're irrelevant to the criticism of other companies, including a direct competitor like 2K. The faults of one game don't justify problems in another, whether it's quality of gameplay, technical issues, or concepts that lack goodwill. People can say "Well, what about NBA Live?" in response to criticism of 2K, but frankly, it doesn't matter. It doesn't make problems in NBA 2K any better, or any less of an issue.

You're right about the community bearing some of the responsibility here. People have shown they're willing to pay (and in that regard, I'm part of the problem here, too), as well as pre-order, so it's not going to change. Going back to what I said in the Tip-Off once again though, it's tough to actually boycott the game or for a majority of the fanbase to take some kind of stand, because there is a lot of good stuff in NBA 2K. Appealing content is offered up as a pre-order bonus, and people ultimately want their basketball gaming fix. There's a lot of people who are saying "never again" for NBA 2K, and I could see a decent amount of people at least taking a year or two off, but it's hard to follow through on that promise if you want to play basketball video games, and you otherwise like what NBA 2K has been doing.

[JWL3]

Great points Andrew. This is why I have never ever spent money on clothes or useless aesthetic accessories until well into Feb when I had bucketloads of VC. If it does not improve my player, I have no use for it.

[JWL3]

EA needs to earn my trust back. They've become notorious as the "Worst Company in America. "

I was a faithful NBA Liver until that sob Peter Moore drove it into the ground. That sob cancelled PC versions of almost all EA Sports games. I swore up and down that they would not see a cent of mine again.

[Andrew]

Great points Andrew. This is why I have never ever spent money on clothes or useless aesthetic accessories until well into Feb when I had bucketloads of VC. If it does not improve my player, I have no use for it.

A wise course of action. I'll admit to picking up a shirt and pair of shorts here and there just so that my player is a bit less generic in The Playground or in cutscenes, but I'm fine with a Homer Simpson-type wardrobe.

[[Q]]

That's an interesting thought to convert it out into USD. In gran turismo, they have "credits"but all cars cost what they would in the real world. How much are you paying for Ultimate team packs?

[Andrew]

Currently, a League Pack in MyTEAM is 5,625 VC (or 3,500 MT), while the current Throwback Pack is 6,500 VC (4,500 MT).

[JWL3]

Great points Andrew. This is why I have never ever spent money on clothes or useless aesthetic accessories until well into Feb when I had bucketloads of VC. If it does not improve my player, I have no use for it.

A wise course of action. I'll admit to picking up a shirt and pair of shorts here and there just so that my player is a bit less generic in The Playground or in cutscenes, but I'm fine with a Homer Simpson-type wardrobe.

It's all the more embarrassing to the hoodlum-looking, fully-accessorized, body-length tatted scary players getting wiped off the court by a noob-looking guy in pink shorts and a pink generic t-shirt. (which happens to be my signature look for the last 5 2k's) Haha! Part of my strategy is being under-estimated - usually good for a few pts in MyPark.

[Andrew]

Ah, I imagine that would be rather satisfying.

[StyxTx]

You're right about the community bearing some of the responsibility here. People have shown they're willing to pay (and in that regard, I'm part of the problem here, too), as well as pre-order, so it's not going to change. Going back to what I said in the Tip-Off once again though, it's tough to actually boycott the game or for a majority of the fanbase to take some kind of stand, because there is a lot of good stuff in NBA 2K. Appealing content is offered up as a pre-order bonus, and people ultimately want their basketball gaming fix. There's a lot of people who are saying "never again" for NBA 2K, and I could see a decent amount of people at least taking a year or two off, but it's hard to follow through on that promise if you want to play basketball video games, and you otherwise like what NBA 2K has been doing.

The idea of buying something before knowing what you're paying for has always been something I haven't been willing to do my entire life, nor do I understand the logic. Especially since nothing about the product has been published....NOTHING. Really, why should the company be blamed by the buyer for putting out trash after they blindly paid for it before it was released or any information was known about the product?

I did pre-order 2k for a couple of years but never anything else. Thanks to 2k's little games I no longer pre-order it. I don't even buy it after release anymore.

I am lucky in that the pre-order bonuses didn't interest me in the least since I never played any part of the game that those things could be used in. All I wanted to do was play a basketball game, so the temptation to pre-order for that junk never existed.

I got into 2k the last year it was just a basketball game and all the other junk wasn't there. Once it went next gen it went down hill.

Now they are pressing their luck with the extreme money grab. I got fed up with that in last year's version. All I can say is I'm glad people have so much money to throw away to keep paying for VC. I'd rather pay $150 for the game up front without micro-transactions than pay $60 and end off spending 2,3, 4 times more than that for VC or in-game purchases.

[Andrew]

Pre-ordering is definitely something of a scam when there aren't limited quantities. I guess if you're content to get the game every year (or you're going to get it because you run a site that covers basketball gaming, as the case may be), it does offer a certain level of convenience. Throwing in some incentives like some in-game currency, extra content, or making the game available earlier, also encourages gamers to at least consider it, if those pre-order bonuses are at all appealing to them. That's become a shady practice too, taking stuff that should be in the game by default and making it a pre-order exclusive, especially for games that offer different pre-order bonuses for different retailers.

Incidentally, I also looked again and it'd actually be 47,062 VC to max out my player with my current caps. That's $1,364,798 in-universe.

[Yuurei]

Frankly I would not be even bothered by this all VC situation as long as microtransactions were only for getting new clothes, shoes, etc. Right now I'm feeling it more like pay to win situation. First time for all this years playing 2k I tried ProAM and I'm wondering if matchmaking is broken or this is deliberate to match my 68 rated player with guys that have 80+ rating. Like the game is trying to tell me - "Buy more VS so you can play like them". Funny thing is that by the look of how this guys play is obvious that they bought their rates (and I suck in baskteball games).
This year edition, like you guys stated before, is such an obvious cashgrab that it hurts, which is sad becouse rest is pretty decent.

[Andrew]

Because I got straight into 2K Pro-Am last year, I did buy some VC on Day 1 (in addition to the paltry amount of pre-order bonus VC) for some immediate upgrades, but with the reasonably generous amount of VC you could earn each game in MyCAREER, I never had to do it again.

That's an excellent point about matchmaking, and something I didn't touch upon in my Monday Tip-Off article (though we did talk about it on the Podcast). Better matchmaking and ranking based on the ratings of the players would be excellent, avoiding pressure to pay to win and creating a better experience overall.

[A_Armella]

There are so many ways 2k could find a balance with the whole VC thing. One way is to really separate basic clothing customization from rare or ultra high end clothing. I know some Celebs and athletes pay ridiculous prices for clothing. I'm fine with that, make some content cost the VC equivalent of a few hundred or in some cases a few thousand dollars. Normal gear, generic or consumer level gear (Nike or Jordan shorts etc) need to be more in line with reality (even if it's slightly inflated). Similar concept with hair styles. I know people that pay around $100 for a haircut so I'm sure some celebs pay in the thousands. Make a few a bit more expensive but give us a nice variety of basic cuts on the cheap. I'm even fine with haircuts eventually growing out to a generic overgrown style after like a month.

As far as VC for upgrades, fine make it really expensive tas you progress. I'm sure hiring Tim Grover to get you to an elite level is extravagantly expensive. I can understand and relate to people not having the energy to grind to get better. So I'm fine with having the option to pay your way to respectability, maybe to an 80 OVR initial cap.

The concepts of initial caps and upgraded caps can be made to work well. What doesn't work well is coming into the NBA with not one halfway respectable skill. No one makes the NBA without having at least one serviceable skill.

I'd love to see them start you off as a One trick pony so to speak. Give me one weapon that I can use effectively and make me grind (or pay) to gain additional ones.

I think the pushback has been pretty loud this year. Hopefully 2k is listening.

[Yuurei]

I know that this never happen but it would be awesome to devolop MyPlayer based purely on playing games (similiar to badges) and have VCs only for swag and boosts.

[Andrew]

That's more or less how NBA Live 18 does it. Unfortunately, VC is surely too big of a moneymaker for Visual Concepts to do that.

[JWL3]

And yes, that's after dropping some real money to try and upgrade a little faster for 2K Pro-Am, which turned out to be a bust.

What happened in Pro-Am? Does the mode stink this year? Or was the upgrade boost not enough to catch up to the 91 rated dudes?

Mypark is packed with 88+ players. The few times I showed up, I got splashed purely by ratings. This one 82 rated guy I encountered rained 3's on me. It all seemed normal until the last mocking shot when he jacked up a 3/4 court 3 that went swish. Are we certain cheating is impossible on the consoles? I saw a youtube glitch video that showed how to get to 99 everything. I imagine if someone was 99 everything, it would show up in their player card and 2K would ban them???

[JWL3]

The other thing that really needs to be addressed is the year by year migration of your myplayer to the new game. We shouldn't be forced to spend a quarter of the year grinding just so we can play for the remaining 3/4, only to have to rinse and repeat every September. I totally get that 2K wants to cash in on VC but even before this micro-transaction nonsense, they never allowed (LOYAL) 2K players to transfer their characters over.

Every year, I create the same type or archetype and am terrified of doing it incorrectly - because so much goes into this one damned character that it'd be a massive burden to create another. I truly want to experience the game as a slasher, dunker, shot creator, Post up center, defender. But all that is impossible because each damned player takes 180k VC to level up, not to mention the countless hours grinding badges. Last year, I played with 1 character for the entire year and STILL was not able to get all 5 HOF badges. (anklebreaker was brutally hard)

[Andrew]

The last couple of sessions have been better, but one of the main problems is the matchmaking. You get a game quicker than last year, but the downside is that it matches you up with superior teams full of players who have already been grinding hard and/or paid to upgrade. Last year and 2K16 were both better at matchmaking.

[Yuurei]

It's not even a problem with matching with players with higher ratings. So many times I played with similiar rating but for some reason I was matched with PF or Centers which dominated me simply with height difference. And it's shame becouse you play good game and ending with D grade simply becouse other player can shoot or dunk over you with no problem.