NBA2K20’s lootboxes have been controversial for ties to gambling. | Source: YouTube
A quick look at the NBA 2K20 listing over on Valve’s Steam digital storefront and you’ll see that 2K’s latest basketball sim come thinly-veiled gambling extravaganza has some rather unlikely tags.
Source: NBA 2K20/Steam/Valve
NBA 2K20’s Horror, Dating Sim, Mature Tags
Stream now describes NBA 2K20, of all things, as a horror title, even a dating sim, and rather fittingly for the openly unabashed casino-inspired features set to populate the game, a mature tag. These are all rather out of place for a game that has landed an E PEGI rating and a European equivalent ESRB rating of 3, i.e., appropriate for everyone.
The tags are unsurprisingly user-defined and the logical conclusion to the significant backlash weathered by 2K for over-the-top monetization and for shipping a reskinned version of last year’s NBA 2K19 with very few new features. Although the game launched yesterday, players continue to stamp it with a ”Mostly Negative” rated reviews on Steam.
A Gambling Sim Parading As A Basketball Game
Most of the outcry centers on a trailer released last week highlighting NBA 2K20’s ostensibly revamped MyTeam mode that felt more like a lurid ad for a casino than an add-on mode in a sports title. It was hard to see the basketball for the overt gambling references with the inclusion of slot machines, roulette wheels, and visuals that would feel more at home on the Vegas strip that in a game targeted at kids and basketball fans.
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The tags are clearly the work of trolls intent of injecting some humor into the situation, but we can’t help thinking that NBA 2K20 now has the Steam tags it deserves.
As one Reddit user succinctly points out, the short description on NBA 2K20’s Steam page describes the game perfectly;
2K continues to redefine what’s possible in sports gaming.
It sure does.
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