NBA 2K24 Faces Heavy Criticism on Steam - NBA 2K24 Disastrous Steam Release Slammed As Carbon Copy of NBA 2K23
The PC gaming community has never been one to shy away from expressing its views, and NBA 2K24's recent plunge into infamy stands as a testament. Currently, NBA 2K24 has found itself ranked as the second least-favored game on Steam only being beat by Overwatch 2, as outlined by Steam 250, a website that lists the top 250 games and the bottom 100 on the platform.
Overwatch 2 faced a rough reception on Steam, and the reasons behind it are intricate. The game had primarily resided on Blizzard's own platform, Battle.net, where users couldn't provide direct feedback. But with its debut on Steam in August, players seized the opportunity to voice their discontent with Blizzard, especially about their microtransaction system.
Yet, the game's popularity can't be ignored. It ranks among Steam's top 50 games, boasting nearly 30,000 simultaneous players. While some lament the game's evolution, their passion for playing remains undiminished, unlike NBA 2K24...
The NBA 2K24 Steam listing paints a far more grim picture, with a staggering "overwhelmingly negative" tag. A meager 10% of the 3,000+ reviews shower any kind of praise on the title.
One of the primary grievances shared by the PC gaming community revolves around 2K Sports' decision to base the PC version of NBA 2K24 on its PS4 and Xbox One counterparts. In doing so, they bypassed the enhanced versions available for the newer PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. As a result, not only does the PC rendition suffer in terms of graphics, but it's also missing key game modes like MyNBA and The W. Even the MyCareer mode is left truncated in its world-building scope.
This situation with is reminiscent of the FIFA 13 deceivment for the Wii and the classic bait-and-switch tactic. That was a highly anticipated soccer game, only for customers to discover it's just a re-release of the previous year's title with new jerseys on players' backs. Fans invest time, emotion, and money into supporting and enjoying these spectacles, and in both cases, they expect a new and enhanced experience.
Just as soccer fans would feel cheated if they paid full ticket price for a rerun game, so too do gamers feel deceived when they purchase what they believe is a new iteration of a beloved franchise, only to receive repackaged content. The expectation of constant innovation and improvement is embedded in the ethos of both the sports and gaming industries. When these expectations are not met, it can lead to significant consumer backlash and a loss of trust in the brand or institution.
Let's dive into some of those Steam reviews...
A player named King of RIPs expressed his dismay by sharing:
“It's evident that there wasn't much dedication put into this. I own both the Xbox Series X/S and PC versions, and the disparity in features is baffling. They could've certainly made the PC version next-gen.”
Another user, 伊观琴秀, didn't hold back, stating:
“This is merely a rerun of its predecessor with no discernible enhancements. And they expect players to pay full price for a mere roster update? It's simply terrible. The fact that only the current-gen is available for PC is baffling.”
An evidently upset AgentDiesel remarked:
“This is a waste! Better to purchase NBA 2K23 and customize the 24 roster to save yourself some money. There's almost zero innovation, save for the mamba moments. Even animations for the newcomers seem like recycled material from previous editions. This is possibly the worst release I've ever witnessed. I've never reviewed a game before, and it had to be this bad for me to do so.”
In the ever-evolving gaming industry, it's clear that developers cannot rest on their laurels. Only time will tell how 2K Sports responds to the criticism, but the message from the community is clear: they expect more.
~Smash
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