There’s no doubt the eSports genre has come a long way in the past decade. From international events to an endless catalogue of sports titles, the genre has never been in a better spot. However, all this progress has come at the expense of some serious drawbacks, including predatory monetisation controversies.
And we don’t have to look further than NBA 2K13 to see where it all went wrong. The NBA 2K series has long been plagued by negative reviews and lawsuits surrounding the game’s ‘pay-to-win’ progression system.
Whether that’s true or not, the community seems to accept it as fact. Unfortunately, today we see a growing trend of the same mindset amongst many triple-A games, and that’s what we’ll be exploring further today. So stick around to see how this one game changed the way games progressed.
How NBA 2K13 Revolutionzed Monetisation In Sports Titles
We all know about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion horse armour saga, which started the trend of microtransactions in video games. However, 2K took it a step further, particularly in its 2012 NBA iteration. How? They created a universal in-game currency system known as Virtual Currency (VC).
This currency was used for every in-game purchase, including cosmetics, progression packs, premium packs, etc. On top of this, the only realistic way to get it was through microtransactions, a.k.a pay-to-play (P2P). While there were ways to earn it through game progression, players complained that they required grinding the game on end.
With VC coming into play and no viable free-to-play (F2P) methods to earn it, a stark disparity began to grow between those willing to pay and those who did not. And while the disparity wasn’t that apparent early on, the franchise built on that concept in future titles. Players, both P2P and F2P alike, argued that having to spend money after buying the full game seemed unfair.
Not only did this feature lead to an ever-growing disproportion between F2P and P2P players, but it also opened doors to other methods companies would use to generate revenue in-game: loot boxes, tiered content, and premium packs, to name a few.
The Loot Box Dilemma
Having to spend money after buying the full game was bad as it is, but it was optional (or at least felt like it). Loot boxes shifted the dynamic from spending money on cosmetics to spending money on progression. You could now pay a few bucks and unlock the strongest character in the game, easily beating out your opponents. And if the game wasn’t PvP, you’d simply become a highly sought-after commodity.
The trend of loot boxes kept growing, with different games adapting them in their own ways. Some called them chests, others orbs, and for sports titles, it was premium packs. More expensive packs would either have a higher chance of pulling your desired card or a premium selection of cards altogether. Simply speaking, the more you spend, the better your roster.
The issue wasn’t isolated to having to pay for the cards; it was also the chance of acquiring a certain card. Even expensive packs would only grant you a chance of getting the good cards. Otherwise, you could end up with fodder similar to lower packs. This didn’t sit right with the community since it became a game of luck. Players would receive top-tier cards from low-level packs, while the opposite would occur with high-level packs. This led to serious legal issues.
Luck Turning Into Desperation: Video Games Into Casinos
The biggest problems with these packs were the constant fear of missing out on the next best thing. As we mentioned, premium packs became a great way to progress your account and be able to define the next meta. However, the issue soon changed from paying vs non-paying to how much players were willing to pay.
Due to drop rates being a thing, and game companies not revealing exact figures for drop rates, players would buy pack after pack, hoping to pull the featured item. This would often lead players into a gambling mentality. Consistently spending money in hopes of a large payout. With an ever-growing need to curb this addiction, several countries took steps to stop it.
Legal Scrutiny Triggered By Loot Box Drop Rates
Players finally took notice of the detrimental effects, both psychological and monetary, that loot boxes had on the community. This led to some major reforms taken by several countries, but mainly China, the Netherlands, Belgium, and South Korea.
There are numerous laws surrounding transparency in video games, but they all revolve around these major principles:
- Game companies must publicly share the chances of receiving a particular reward from every loot box, e.g., Epic cards have a 1% chance, Rare cards have a 5% chance from the Deluxe Premium Pack.
- Purchase limits must be applied either daily or weekly to curb binge spending or gambling addictions. This was necessary to stop players from overspending.
- Age restrictions are in place where you must verify you’re above a certain age in order to make purchases. Necessary to stop children from using their parents’ cards.
- ‘Pity’ systems were put into place where, if you didn’t receive the advertised card, your chance to pull it would increase for the next pull until you got it. After that, it would reset.
Several countries took part in making these laws a reality, safeguarding their citizens from a sort of gambling addiction. Because that is what loot boxes and premium packs have turned into.
State Of Sports Titles Today
Regardless of all the regulations and reforms made around exclusive content in video games, they still play a major role in many popular sports titles. Each new star player is released with a flurry of packs, some seasonal, some limited-edition.
With players having eased into the idea of spending money to get ahead, keeping their competitive edge, the premium packs mechanic is booming and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
