TheSixthAxis Review Controversy

(I deleted my original post as I've read up on the situation a little more. It's still not good, in my opinion.)

So, TheSixthAxis posted their review of NBA 2K18. While they did speak positively about the game, the reviewer awarded a score of 3/10, due to the aggressive implementation of microtransactions, and its whole effect on the experience. It's a harsh grade, but I can understand the reasoning behind it.

However, 2K reached out to them to discuss the low score, which led to them temporarily removing it:

Update 4PM BST 21/09: In discussion with 2K Games, we’ve temporarily removed the score pending a statement with regard to our criticisms, at which point it will be reinstated. Additionally, a draft conclusion was posted that incorrectly characterised our score as a protest vote, and has been reworded to reflect that our criticisms are rooted in the effect that VC and microtransactions have on the gameplay.

The story was picked up and presented as 2K pressuring them to change the score, though TSA have insisted that this isn't the case. They ultimately restored the 3/10 score.

Update 2 1PM BST 22/09: Our 3/10 score has now been restored to this review, with all but the wording that suggested this was a protest vote also kept intact.

They also published a full statement here. The crux of it is as follows:

So in retrospect, did I make a mistake in altering our published review? Possibly. Were there good reasons to change the review? Definitely. Most importantly, was this from undue publisher pressure? No.

The conclusion that was originally posted read, “If you’re a series fan you may enjoy what you see, and the score below doesn’t indicate the quality of the core basketball game, but rather protests how utterly invasive the microtransactions have now become.” To categorise our review and its score as a protest vote against 2K was wrong on a number of levels, and it was something I believed I had removed when editing. Evidently I didn’t or didn’t realise that my edits had not been submitted properly while travelling. Either way, it was largely for this reason that 2K’s PR team got in touch after the review was published.

Yes, they asked us to reconsider the score or shift to a “review in progress”, but I can’t state strongly enough that there was no “pressure” or threat of blacklisting made or even implied. If this were the case, the demand would have been for the review to be removed entirely, which we would not have done.* However, the word “protest” was still misplaced and needed to be removed, and it was while doing this that the olive branch of a statement surrounding planned changes and adjustments to NBA 2K18 was made. So I made the call to change the score to pending at the same time, get on my flight and hope for something remarkable when I landed.

Honestly, that still feels a bit shady on 2K's part, and a bit wishy-washy on the part of the editor, too. I have to agree with a couple of people responding in the comments on their statement and the review itself. They still caved to a demand 2K had no right to make, and although the editor ultimately stood by the reviewer, who rightfully called out the VC gouging and scored the game in the way they saw fit because of the way it impacted the experience, the fact the score was pulled at all doesn't feel right.

Incidents like this suggest that 2K would rather silence criticism and preserve their Metacritic score than listen to feedback and take care of consumers who have been extremely loyal. Maybe TSA were put in a tough spot; maybe not. It sounds like implied pressure at worst, an inappropriate request at best. Maybe they're choosing to be diplomatic and downplay 2K's request to reconsider the score, but the fact the request was made and the score removed/changed to pending does feel a bit shady.

2K have pushed things too far with VC implementation this year, and personally, I think they're getting too much of a pass from a lot of reviewers. Incidents like this make them look even worse, and although they've cut the price of haircuts at the barber, the underlying problems with VC gouging and extreme grinding are still very much an issue. I'm sure a 3/10 score stings when they're getting 9s from most publications, but it's troubling that instead of taking a moment to think "Hey, maybe not everyone's happy about what we're doing with VC", their reaction is to instead try to get a publication to reconsider a score, based on a word taken out of context.

I agree 100% with you.

This is a sad attempt by 2K to muffle the critics amidst the boasting they do year round about the games they produce. Criticism is something that companies should embrace, as it can be a way to identify issues and improve a product. This is sad.

I would like to point out, VC is not the only issue with this game. The art direction is abysmal in my opinion, the game lacks life. I'm not seeing anybody touch on this...

Either way... this is dissapointing.

Wow... I've never seen a 2K Sports game get that low of a review score from anyone. I'm actually kind of happy about that be honest, so much shit from this game that doesn't get picked up from the casual player (aka the typical IGN reviewer).

They get too much praise from the media which allows them to slack in some areas and bring in these stupid micro-transactions. The fact they went to them directly to ask to change the review is ridiculous, says it all really. Too bad it wasn't a bigger reviewer.

I think 2K use to have/buy complaisant reviews, at least in France (Basketball websites, videogames websites), sponsorised articles, invitations to Paris 2K show etc....

They can't be agree with the score (i'm not agree too because i'm not at all impacted by VC) but shame on them for asking to change the score !!!

I don't know this guy (4.2M of followers ) but i share totally his thoughts about VC system :

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Gaming Age came up with another 30 http://www.gaming-age.com/2017/09/nba-2k18-review-ps4-xbox-one/

https://kotaku.com/nba-2k18-is-riddled- ... 1818554307

It's LIT!

I'm glad I don't play that MyCareer BS.

The disheartening thing about this is that glancing at comments and forum posts elsewhere, there seem to be a lot of apologists. It usually comes down to a myopic point of view; take your pick between "Well, NBA Live isn't a viable alternative" (which is starting to become debatable, but is also a moot point, since problems in NBA Live do not excuse problems in NBA 2K, and vice versa), "You don't have to buy VC" (technically true, but it's highly encouraged by design, especially if you want to be competitive online), or "This only affects MyCAREER/2K Pro-Am/The Playground and I don't play that" (in other words, "not my problem, therefore not a real problem").

A lot of goodwill has gone out the window this year, and trying to get reviewers to amend their admittedly harsh score, or asterisk it as an "in-progress review", is just plain shady.

I agree 100% with you.

This is a sad attempt by 2K to muffle the critics amidst the boasting they do year round about the games they produce. Criticism is something that companies should embrace, as it can be a way to identify issues and improve a product. This is sad.

I would like to point out, VC is not the only issue with this game. The art direction is abysmal in my opinion, the game lacks life. I'm not seeing anybody touch on this...

Either way... this is dissapointing.

Absolutely. There are also a lot of legacy issues that aren't being mentioned by the positive reviews that 2K Sports are beaming about and touting on their social media accounts. Those reviews are doing a disservice to gamers, and while 2K may love the positive press, they're also not doing them any favours in the long run by failing to point out long standing problems.

Wow... I've never seen a 2K Sports game get that low of a review score from anyone. I'm actually kind of happy about that be honest, so much shit from this game that doesn't get picked up from the casual player (aka the typical IGN reviewer).

They get too much praise from the media which allows them to slack in some areas and bring in these stupid micro-transactions. The fact they went to them directly to ask to change the review is ridiculous, says it all really. Too bad it wasn't a bigger reviewer.

It definitely is surprising, as is the D+ review that Coyroy posted. While there are elements to the game that are deserving of praise, it is refreshing to see a few reviewers call out the BS and deduct marks accordingly.

They can't be agree with the score (i'm not agree too because i'm not at all impacted by VC) but shame on them for asking to change the score !!!

Yeah, while I do understand the reasoning behind the 3/10 or the D+ grade in the review Coyroy posted, they are definitely harsh. I don't like numerical scores for video games for a variety of reasons, but if I did have to give NBA 2K18 a score out of 10 or a letter grade, even accounting for the legacy issues and VC gripes, I don't think I'd go that low. I think both reviews did justify their scores based on their disgust with the VC gouging, but I would probably rate it a little higher myself, owing to the parts that I do like.

I don't know this guy (4.2M of followers ) but i share totally his thoughts about VC system :

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Yeah, I'd say Boogie is pretty on-point there. The other point worth mentioning is that unlike some of the games he notes, NBA 2K is an annual release, so this is something gamers are being forced more and more to at least consider with every passing year, each and every year. It's one thing to put a bit of money into a game that has a longer life cycle, but for annual releases, it's getting to be too much.

Gaming Age came up with another 30 http://www.gaming-age.com/2017/09/nba-2k18-review-ps4-xbox-one/

As I said above, D+ does come across as a harsh rating, but I think the review does justify the score as an honest take. It's refreshing to see someone call out The Neighborhood and VC gouging for what they are. I understand why people like The Neighborhood and I'm certainly not going to belittle them for that opinion, but it does have conceptual flaws and is a potentially alienating premise for a portion of the userbase, so I'm glad to see a contrasting viewpoint being shared.

https://kotaku.com/nba-2k18-is-riddled-with-microtransactions-1818554307

Nice to see the issue getting mentioned in mainstream gaming press, though glancing at the comments, you can see a couple of apologists making excuses. As I said, fair enough if the issue doesn't affect them, but that doesn't mean other people are whiners without a point or legitimate complaint.

It's LIT!

I'm glad I don't play that MyCareer BS.

You definitely dodge a bullet if you're not into those modes. I have gotten into career modes in recent years and had a lot of fun last year. 2K Pro-Am has been fun to play as well. Sadly, the VC gouging and other issues with those modes have turned me off them in NBA 2K18. Seems like a good year to go back to MyLEAGUE.

I'm surprised you guys are this far behind the 8-Ball on that one. The Kotaku stuff I posted isn't the only criticism. I posted on OS:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/09/20/nba-2k18-review

Those are all steps forward, but NBA 2K18 has also taken a significant step back by bringing microtransactions to a place that feels uncomfortable. They were around last year, but now you’re forced to use virtual currency to buy everything from a tattoo to a T-shirt, as well as increasing your character’s stats. You can earn this currency by playing – very slowly – but if you buy the $150 version of NBA 2K18 you can get a big boost with the currency that comes with it. You’ll see plenty of those artificially high-rated players around, and it feels like we’re being steered toward spending money to avoid an insane amount of hours spent grinding for points.

This haves and have-nots problem is magnified because, again, individual players on the court play much more closely to their strengths and weaknesses than before. So when you start out, your 60-rated player is pretty much bad across the board. The people who paid money and have better skills are still not great at everything, but no one is going to want to play with your 60 because you’re now even more of a liability. It just feels really perplexing to make a competitive online mode so focused on character stats, because that means getting up to speed means either paying out money or grinding for hours to make yourself viable. Most competitive first-person shooters hide cosmetics or at worst maps behind a paywall rather than more powerful guns because that would throw off the balance, and this is no different. It’s a dangerous slide into pay-to-win territory.

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/...-ps4/#/slide/1

The entire premise of MyCareer is built around trying to raise your DJ-turned-baller into a superstar with an in-game rating of 99. That’s a tempting proposition at first, as the player winds up progressing at a steady pace early on as they can buy several skills after every game, but after the first couple dozen games they find out that there’s a wall. What makes it even more ridiculous is that the currency used to upgrade your skills is also used to buy in-game items such as shoes, special animations so that your player has some flair on-court, and even haircuts cost as much as a skill point. There’s a constant trade-off, and it feels straight up predatory with how the game will tell the player that they could forego actually playing the game if they just spent some extra money in order to progress.

http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2...-xbox-one.html

Your player starts at a 60 overall. I had this game in my hands as early as anyone, actually before the five day pre-release period. I sunk several hours in that first morning and got myself up to a 64. I figured I would be ahead of the game a bit and strolled over to the local courts to where there were already quite a few 80 and 90-something players. Now mind you, there are multiple versions of this game you can buy that have things like additional packs of cards and bonus VC, but it was clear that people were dropping big bucks on this. While this is no doubt good for the bottom line at 2K, I can't help but wonder if this is bad for the health of the game in the long run. Pay to win is generally accepted in a free-to-play game, but generally with titles you are already paying a AAA price on, these kinds of microtransactions are limited to cosmetic items for the sake of game balance. No matter how good your timing is on releasing a jump shot or how crafty you are when playing defence, the fact of the matter is this: a player who is an 85 overall is going to destroy a player who is 65 overall just about every single time. They are faster, they are stronger, they have more shots available to them and they have a wider margin of error under the hood when determining if a shot is going to go in or whose hands a rebound is going to stick to.

You can do that as well, mind you. Buying a new pair of shoes or increasing your character's vertical come from the same pool of VC. It's been that way for a long time. However, as I found myself running past the NBA store and rounding the corner past a Foot Locker shop on may way back from the multiplayer basketball courts, I could not help but wonder if perhaps 2K Sports has gone a bit too far down the road to sponsorship and microtransactions. I would strongly recommend that for the sake of gameplay balance in future iterations, that the development team give some serious thought to the idea that stat improvement should only be earned and only cosmetics be purchased (perhaps with a second form of currency). Of course if they continue to make money off of the current model given the popularity of these modes, it is unlikely 2K will opt to go my suggested route, but one can hope.

http://www.egmnow.com/articles/reviews/nba-2k18-review

A flashy cash-grab.

In a lot of ways, NBA 2K18 is more show than substance. While MyCareer has seen a big aesthetic improvement in terms of the new Neighborhood shared world and more involved cut-scenes, the core gameplay is still the same. Add to that the fact that, at every opportunity, it feels like developer Visceral Games is telling you that you have to spend money to make money, and you begin to feel like you’re spending more time on the bench than on the court.

It doesn’t help that the other basketball game is better than it’s been in a while and, in some ways, more fun to play. To be fair, NBA Live 18 stole a lot from NBA 2K18, right down to its basic controls, to regain its reputation as a respectable basketball sim. And while NBA Live 18 has its own philosophy towards microtransactions, it never lost sight of its commitment to making its core gameplay fun. The same can’t be said about NBA 2K18.

But let’s be real here: NBA 2K has been as much about its presentation and its bells and whistles as it’s been about actually playing basketball. This truth about the series has never been more obvious than in NBA 2K18, where MyCareer has gotten a major face lift in the form of a shared world called the Neighborhood.

The Neighborhood is, for all intents and purposes, a living menu system where you and other players (as your created MyCareer characters) can walk around, shop for new duds, play pick-up games, exercise, or get a haircut. MyCourt is still there, but now you can walk to the courts from your apartment or your team’s practice facility, because everyone loves walking, right?

The thing about the Neighborhood is that, around every corner, there’s some shop that’s trying to get you to spend money. This is most obvious when you look at the drab, almost prison-like uniform of a brown t-shirt and gray sweatpants that every player starts with at the beginning. Pretty soon, you see level 85 players (who had to have spent real-life money to get there already) walking around in flashy outfits, and your player feels like a loser in comparison. It’s just like high school all over again, except instead of Tommy Hillfiger (or whatever the kids are wearing these days), it’s virtual Air Jordan and virtual Under Armour. If I hadn’t been magically gifted 150,000 virtual credits because the copy of NBA 2K18 that the publisher sent me to review was the Legendary Edition, I would have been stuck with an overall rating in the 60s (which is a long way on the “Road to 99”) for a while.

None of this would be a problem if NBA 2K18 compartmentalized its currency a bit. Maybe after playing a game, you can get some tokens to spend on upgrading your character’s skills and some more on upgrading your character’s wardrobe. But there’s only one form of currency in NBA 2K18—gold coins cleverly named “Virtual Currency”—and you use it for literally everything, whether that’s your MyCareer character’s attributes, wardrobe, or haircut, or your MyTeam cards. Alternatively, that means that almost every mode you play will net you a handful of gold coins that you can then spend in any other mode, but you really only make a little money at a time, at least starting out, which lends itself to a feeling of running in place early on in your NBA 2K18 experience. Deciding whether to spend your hard-earned coins on one more attribute point in your 3-point category or on a potentially wasteful MyTeam deck of cards is like Sophie’s choice but, you know, a little less dramatic.

Unfortunately, it seems that every year NBA 2K moves further and further away from developing the true meat-and-potatoes of sports games and are investing more in figuring out new ways to get players to spend more money on developing their avatars. And even after developing those avatars, unless you have a Pro-Am team, your individual PvP efforts will be funneled into waiting in line to player matches of 3v3 with strangers. At the very least, the online server stability is stronger here at launch than in years past, but now that NBA 2K18 has competition that lets you simply queue for 5v5 matches the old-fashioned way, its propensity to make you wander around until you can find an almost full court and then wait for the current game to end before you can step onto the blacktop seems like a complete miscalculation. In a way, however, this experience is actually a perfect metaphor for NBA 2K18 in a nutshell: it would rather make you walk through hoops than simply you play its perennially solid basketball game.

The Bad All of its obvious attempts at pumping additional money out of players turns what could be an engaging MyCareer mode into a grinding slog.

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OS:

https://forums.operationsports.com/foru ... st-41.html

https://forums.operationsports.com/foru ... ns-13.html

It's not like it's really gone unnoticed. I know this forum is probably a bit more: Ah we don't give a fuck about 2k because they always fuck up and never give us what we really want in terms of modding capabilities or sound technical execution so we might as well just focus on trying to get the game to play how we want. But this time they really seem to get some backclash, finally. The user scores on Metacritic are probably the lowest I have ever seen... 2.3 and the likes. On Steam it's way worse than last year. I mean last year I'd say you have two bad reviews and one good. This year you have to scroll through 20-30 bad reviews to get to a positive one. And some smaller reviewers seem to have grown some balls. This wasn't the only "bad" reviews for NBA 2k18:

http://www.gaming-age.com/2017/09/nba-2 ... -xbox-one/

The thing about the IGN review is that even though it notes the VC gouging, it still awards a score of 8.4, and concludes "There’s far more good than bad, though, and NBA 2K18 deserves credit for taking chances." EGM is a bit tougher with the score of 6.5, but there are a lot of publications giving it 9s and whatnot. The user scores obviously indicate a backlash, but the apologists are there, and the professional reviews are still keeping the Metacritic scores high. Incidentally, Coyroy did post a link to that D+ review by Gaming Age above.

Tbh the right way would probably be to pressure youtubers to take a stand. Those are the guys invited to events and what not. When guys like Agent 00 and others actually have videos up with titles like "How to best spend your 200.000 VC" then it's a joke. They have hundreds of thousands of views and do not mention the issue once. They should be the first ones to call that out since they exlusively play in the Park and make 10 or 15 builds spending probably easily 1 - 2 Mio VC (so around 400 Dollars) to upgrade these players to at least 86. Obviously they aren't bothered because they either get VC for free or they have enough dough laying around to pay those prices but that is the problem. Not only do you have apologists but you have the Youtubers that actually provide the most youtube content for the game not mentioning the issues for fear of never being invited back or maybe even getting a copyright strike or whatever and that is shady as fuck.

Agent 00 does have a new video out with criticisms that I thought were pretty on-point. Generally speaking though, I'd agree that it's a big part of the problem. It's a great form of advertisement and hype for 2K, and great for YouTubers who need to be creating content, but it's a potentially tenuous arrangement. As such, concerns about speaking out in case the gravy train dries up are probably not misplaced. In that respect, I can actually sympathise with them, because it's a tough spot to be in, especially if they are making a living from their channel as so many of them are. I also understand wanting to approach issues with some measure of diplomacy, and commentary that is both well-reasoned and articulate. I do think that there needs to be calm but firm voices amidst the shouting.

That said, it would be nice if they were able to band together and speak up on behalf of the basketball gaming community about it.

Could you link to the video with criticism? Because I can't see anything in terms of video titles that suggest any criticism anywhere.

Arcane sent it to me a little while ago.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk6tHcJ8MkU

No offense Andrew but he doesn't adress the VC issue at all. Not a single word besides people losing their players. Nothing.

True. I generally agreed with the criticisms he was making regarding the grinding, layup meter, and server issues though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjD2im2TjaY --> finally someone summing up all my feelings about the game.

Great in-depth review there, and an entertaining delivery.