NBA 2K18 Microtransactions Are Just The Beginning, 2K Says

NBA 2K18 ’s intrusive microtransactions caused a huge stir for gamers, and apparently they’re just the beginning. During the Take-Two Q2 earnings call Tuesday afternoon, CEO Strauss Zelnick emphasized the importance of what he calls “recurrent consumer spending opportunities.”

The raw numbers paint a pretty depressing picture for those who were hoping 2K18’s microtransactions might hurt the 2K brand and sales. In fact, the game has already sold upwards of six million copies to retail. That’s a 20 percent growth over last year’s post-launch stats. To match those numbers, daily active concurrents are also up 30 percent. While these accolades are only accurate as of Sept. 30, one thing is clear: NBA 2K18’s current business model is definitely keeping gamers involved.

“We believe that NBA 2K18 will become our most successful sports title ever both in terms of units sold and recurrent consumer spending,” Zelnick told investors during the call. In other words, the publisher intends to be making lots of money from folks who can’t bear the grind on the quest to 99.

Clearly, the idea of recurrent consumer spending is a major part of 2K’s strategy going forward. When juggernauts like GTA Online are thrown into the mix, money from microtransactions, post-launch DLC and other virtual goodies jumped 66 percent year over year. As much as hardcore gamers may hate spending extra cash to get the most out of $60 games, the masses appear to be pretty OK with it across titles like GTA, NBA, WWE 2K and XCOM 2.

In NBA 2K18’s case, the negative reactions were loud, but apparently insignificant on the whole. While some of the game’s most egregious hooks with shoe deals and haircuts have been partially walked back in recent months, the VC-incentivized gameplay loop remains. Rewards for finishing games in MyCareer are essentially pennies compared to what’s required to make a good baller. Especially if you want cosmetics as well as skill, there isn’t a ton of wiggle room to get there without spending real money. It’s frustrating, and won’t be going away anytime soon.

“We aim to have recurrent consumer spending opportunities for every title that we put out at this company,” Zelnick said. “It may not always be an online model, it probably won't always be a virtual currency model, but there will be some ability to engage in an ongoing basis with our titles after release across the board…

"One of the things we've learned is if we create a robust opportunity, and a robust world, in which people can play delightfully in a bigger and bigger way, that they will keep coming back. They will engage. And there is an opportunity to monetize that engagement. There's a lot of room for growth. This is just the beginning.”

NBA 2K18 is available now on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Switch and PC.

Are you surprised NBA 2K18’s microtransaction strategy seems like it’s here to stay? Will this model eventually collapse? Tell us in the comments section.