NBA 2K24 has delivered yet another MyTEAM controversy, as a promised Kobe Bryant card has been replaced as the top Collector Level reward.
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The latest MyTEAM controversy brings to mind a scene from a seventh season episode of The Simpsons – the rather lengthily titled “Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in ‘The Curse of the Flying Hellfish'” – that like many iconic moments from the show, has found second life as a reaction meme. In the scene, Mr. Burns disdainfully questions whether Abe “Grampa” Simpson can go more than five seconds without humiliating himself. Right on cue, Abe’s braces snap, and his suit trousers fall down for a classic comical print boxer shorts gag. He can only ask “How long was that?” as Monty turns to leave, his point proven.
It’s become the go-to reaction GIF or video when a person or company seemingly can’t stop making a fool out of themselves. The “dig up, stupid” scene is another popular Simpsons meme for these situations, particularly when someone makes a remark that only exacerbates a PR blunder. As a company that has all too frequently demonstrated a failure to communicate, Take-Two has turned this into an art form. While their greedy approach sadly hasn’t burst the bubble on their recurrent revenue practices as yet, it has eroded goodwill and resulted in some degree of backlash. With the latest MyTEAM controversy, they’ve dropped their pants, Abe Simpson-style.
If you aren’t aware of the latest MyTEAM controversy, the Kobe Bryant card that was originally promised as a reward for reaching the top Collector Level in NBA 2K24 has been replaced by a new prize. As noted by Washington Post writer Herb Scribner and also by content creator HTB who brought the receipts, during the preview season for NBA 2K24, the MyTEAM developer insight touted this Kobe card as a reward to look forward to come April, during Season 6. However, the reward for reaching the top Collector Level will now instead be an Option Pack offering a choice between two of the previously released 100 Overall cards, with the notable exception of Yao Ming.
Now, on the surface, that isn’t a bad prize. Those 100 Overall cards are extremely rare and powerful, not to mention expensive to pull. It’s not as though reaching the top Collector Level is granting a couple of Badge and Shoe packs, and a Ruby version of a benchwarmer. However, that’s not the point. The controversy here is that MyTEAM gamers who had been anticipating a special version of Kobe Bryant – this year’s cover player and the featured attraction of an historical challenge mode – will not receive the prize that was promised as a selling point. Usually, 2K waits until the following year to reveal the lies in their developer blogs, but this was a shameless bait-and-switch.
A broken developer blog promise is bad enough, but because this is MyTEAM, the controversy involves an extra layer of scummy deceitfulness. Not only have gamers been grinding hard for a reward that’s been ripped away from them for seemingly no reason other than 2K feels like it, but more than a few people do pump an absurd amount of money into the mode to build their virtual card collections. Climbing the Collector Levels faster is one of the motivations for doing that, since it will unlock rarer and more desirable reward cards. It’s bad enough that the game encourages all this extra spending, but now gamers won’t get a guaranteed reward that was promised.
And, as people have also pointed out on Twitter/X, there’s no doubt that some gamers have been grinding and spending money because a Kobe card was on offer. It’d be a gross decision no matter who it was, but tugging at the heartstrings of basketball fans while reaching into their wallets makes it even more despicable. Mind you, happily, shamelessly profiting off the likeness of someone who died tragically is very on brand for the suits! To that end, I’ve seen suggestions that the Kobe card that was earmarked as the top Collector Level reward will now instead appear exclusively in packs. That’d make 2K even more money, so I’m inclined to agree that such a lousy stunt is feasible.
This is of course where the apologists begin to chirp up. “Well, this is what they do. If you trust 2K not to screw us over, you’re a fool. You keep buying the game, so really, it’s your fault.” To that, I say…well, you do have a point, unfortunately. 2K’s greed is not surprising at this juncture. Spending money on MyTEAM isn’t a wise investment, even when there isn’t a controversy surrounding the mode. One of the reasons that the backlash to NBA 2K24 is unlikely to effect the change we want to see is because so many people keep buying the game every year anyway. Expecting better of 2K – or any video game publisher these days – is to set oneself up for a bitter disappointment.
At the same time, I can’t agree with the victim blaming nature of those replies. We shouldn’t become so desensitised to the company finding a way to stoop to new lows that we just shrug and say “that’s 2K for you”, while essentially shifting responsibility to consumers for being burned. And sure, “fool me once” and all that, but that doesn’t absolve 2K of blame here. Furthermore, this is different to the usual controversy that comes with MyTEAM. At this point, we know the mode is built on a freemium model that makes gamers choose between tedious grinding and spending real money to have fun. Dangling rewards in previews and then snatching them away is on another level.
That’s the part that apologists are, as expected, glossing over. It’s a new low, a new controversy with MyTEAM, on top of the expected greed. “2K will be 2K” is not an excuse when the company finds a new way to mistreat consumers. On a similar note, I’ll also push back on the defense that the new reward is better. You could argue that it is, but it’s not the reward that the game was promoted and ostensibly sold on. Quality isn’t the issue; it’s taking away an attainable reward that people rightfully expected, as the previews and promotion had promised it. It’s a rotten, dishonest move, especially if the card does end up in packs with low odds in order to further drive up revenue.
Since comparisons to a casino are quite apt when it comes to MyTEAM, consider this analogy. Anyone with any sense knows that the odds are not in your favour when you gamble in a casino. You’re ultimately paying to play, with a small chance of breaking even, and an even smaller chance of coming out ahead. “Don’t bet more than you can afford to lose” is a wise philosophy if you’re inclined to gamble. However, imagine you’re at the roulette table, numbers chosen and everyone’s bets placed. As the wheel is spinning, the croupier announces that instead of the wagered money, the winner will instead now receive a gift certificate to eat free for life at the casino’s restaurant.
That may be a desirable prize in your eyes, but it’s not what you and everyone else at the table staked your money on. To borrow another apt analogy that I’ve seen posted on Twitter/X, it’s like buying a ticket to a show, but when you get there, an entirely different act is performing. Obviously it’s even more disappointing if the new act is one that you find completely undesirable, but even if it’s a worthy substitution, it’s not what you paid money for. Maybe getting two 100 Overall cards is a better reward on paper than just one rare card, but perhaps you wanted to play with a cool version of Kobe Bryant in MyTEAM. It’s not about quality, but about expectations and deceit.
To that point, once again, 2K was extremely quiet about the situation, until it was obvious that they needed to address it. Much like the Pink Diamonds controversy with NBA 2K19 MyTEAM, the delay in making a public statement suggests that they were simply hoping that gamers would overlook the change and forget about the promise. While it’s a shameful approach, sadly it’s not necessarily a bad plan. As I said in my video on the lies of developer blogs, many gamers don’t revisit what was said during the preview season, either to compare the promises to the final product, or note any of the similarities to the previous year’s claims when the next preview season tips off.
Of course, to that point, content creators/influencers must make those comparisons, spotlighting troubling issues to hold 2K accountable, and standing by their fellow gamers. Unfortunately, that’s not how you keep your access and other perks that help grow an audience. I know it’s easy for me to tell someone else to throw all of that away, especially if they’ve made content creation their full time gig. However, there comes a time where you have to decide what you (and by extension, your brand) stands for. Are you a community leader, or a corporate puppet? Are you a creative mind producing content worthy of an income, or are you just cheap advertising?
Oh, and on a related note, to all those people who gleefully delighted in NBA Live’s downfall, insisting that it was irrelevant and that we don’t need another game…well, this is what a monopoly looks like! Don’t say that we didn’t try to warn you, though it’s not as though Madden wasn’t there as a cautionary tale. No one was disputing NBA Live’s struggles, but the importance of an alternative to turn to and keep the greed of the brand leader somewhat in check was obvious. If you didn’t realise that, or refused to see it, then you should feel foolish. But hey, at least you got to feel superior by bashing NBA Live with snarky articles, videos, and social media posts. Congrats!
So, where do we go from here? Once again, Take-Two has been Teflon whenever it comes to controversy, with MyTEAM or otherwise. The new Terms of Service have given the company an added level of protection against legal action. It’s almost as if they knew stunts like this were coming! If you feel strongly about the situation, then the apologists do have a point amidst their victim blaming. By all means speak out, don’t play NBA 2K24, don’t spend any more money on it, and don’t buy NBA 2K25 later this year. For my part, I’m certainly not surprised, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not disgusted. It can’t be said enough, but shame on Take-Two, and all of their shills.
The post Oh Look, Another MyTEAM Controversy! appeared first on NLSC.
