Monday Tip-Off: Can 2K Fix The Toxicity Of Its Online Scene?
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with my thoughts on whether or not 2K can fix the toxicity of its online scene.
When you produce content or any form of entertainment, I firmly believe that you get the audience that you cultivate. This isn’t to say that periphery demographics aren’t a thing, or that popular works don’t end up attracting toxic people for the same reasons they appeal to more pleasant fans. However, some works establish or openly welcome problematic attitudes within their core audience. This includes elitist gatekeeping, and open disdain and hostility towards differing preferences, as well as other genres and interests. They may champion pseudo-intellectualism, and in extreme cases, bigotry.
I’ve spoken at length on many occasions about the toxicity in NBA 2K’s online scene. One might argue that I’m being melodramatic or overly sensitive, but if so, I’m not alone in my views. Just about everywhere that you’ll find discussion of NBA 2K and its online modes, you’ll see complaints about the toxicity, including assertions that it’s the worst in gaming. Now, that may or may not be hyperbole, as many of the issues with toxicity in NBA 2K’s online scene aren’t exclusive to the series. Nevertheless, the scene in other games has been described more favourably. This leads me to ask just how much of the problem is under 2K’s control, and what they can do at this point.
Since I’ve already discussed the problems with online play in NBA 2K on several occasions, I won’t go into all of them again at length. It’s worth outlining some of the major issues, though. These include gamers preferring to stand around rather than actually participating in any games, a selfish style of play (icing out players, hogging the ball), sabotaging games through trolling and griefing (aka “selling”), avoiding modes meant for squads to rack up easy wins against unorganised teams and less experienced opponents, placing emphasis and status on avatar appearance, and in the worst case scenario, being abusive via the platform’s instant messaging systems.
That isn’t an exhaustive list of the ways in which NBA 2K gamers engage in toxicity, but I’d say it covers the most common complaints. With that being said, what is 2K responsible for as far as cultivating that atmosphere, and what – if anything – can be done about it moving forward? Well, let’s go back to a key point that I acknowledged above. While some of the specifics differ according to genre, many of the issues that I outlined aren’t exclusive to NBA 2K. People taking advantage of the anonymity of the internet to be rude and awful is nothing new, and some people are just bad sports. To be blunt, it isn’t possible to guarantee that online play will always be a good time.
Of course, you can take steps to minimise the impact of those people, and maximise the likelihood of most gamers enjoying and getting the most out of the online scene. In that respect, there are ways that 2K has unquestionably dropped the ball, leading to toxicity. Let’s start with cosmetic items. They’re heavily promoted on social media, and their price tags make them status symbols. That’s something 2K can control. The lack of matchmaking that would allow the scene to be more welcoming to newcomers and less annoying for competitive gamers also falls at their feet. The lack of any real punishment for trolling, or poor sportsmanship, means that there’s little deterrent.
Selfish play online is also a symptom of a bigger problem: the grindy nature of MyCAREER and its connected modes. You need to put up stats in order to get VC and XP to upgrade attributes and earn Badges respectively. Ideally this is done “offline” in the NBA side of MyCAREER – I say “offline” because a connection is still required – but not everyone wants to play against the CPU, especially if they’re only interested in the competitive arena. Selfishness is rewarded with faster progress, so gamers aren’t encouraged to put the team ahead of personal goals. This is ironic of course, since the whole point of online team play is to function as…well, a team!
In short, while the more toxic members of the 2K community cannot and should not be completely excused for their behaviour, there are many aspects of NBA 2K’s design that encourage (or at least, fail to penalise) toxicity. There’s nothing that promotes fair competition, sportsmanship, or friendliness. Sure, there’s teammate grading, but it’s shockingly poor in NBA 2K23 compared to previous years. Even then, it was always weighted towards punishing rather than rewarding. Indeed, that’s a common theme with NBA 2K. The punishment for losing or failing a task is often disproportionate to the reward for winning and playing well. It’s a harsh approach.
With that in mind, there are obvious steps that 2K could take to address toxicity in its online scene. It could implement proper matchmaking throughout its online modes. There’s a semblance of it, as well as modes that aren’t open to squads, but The Rec – the place to find a Pro-Am style game if you don’t have a squad, and potentially form one – is an utter mess. 5v5 team Pro-Am remains restrictive, and it drives squads to The Rec, watering down both modes. Deep options, including whether or not to play against squads with AI players, would help. New and low-ranked squads should not be frequently matched up with elite teams. XP and VC earnings should be adequate.
Unfortunately, the community isn’t friendly enough to handle a “vote to kick” feature, but a forfeit option for organised squads (or when all of your teammates quit in The Rec) would be handy. If the starting attributes were fairer – lessening the grind and thus the need to play selfishly just to have a viable player – it’d reduce frustration, and allow us to focus on upgrading skills that are helpful in the short term. Designating key skills for a build that are cheaper to upgrade would also help MyPLAYERs to be useful sooner. In turn, new players wouldn’t be a liability, and they’d be less likely to be shunned. Cheaper cosmetics, and less focus on them, could also reduce snobbery.
To that end, there are clear ways that 2K could greatly reduce – not feasibly eliminate, but definitely curb – toxicity in its online scene. Here’s the rub: they won’t do those things. They have the ability to do so, and I’m sure many of the developers wouldn’t be opposed to it. Once again, the issue is with the suits; the executives at Take-Two who see dollar signs in every aspect of the game that can possibly be monetised. And since this is the point where someone usually chimes in to say “it’s a business”, I’ll state once again that the pursuit of profits doesn’t excuse a shoddy product. There’s no denying the negative impact of recurrent revenue mechanics on the experience.
Artificial boosts, both the permanent ones from Badges and temporary ones from consumables, are also an issue. Whatever balance the game strives for is ultimately undermined by the meta. In fact, 2K even promotes influencers who instruct gamers on how to break the game, even before it comes out. Despite preaching skill gaps and balance, and launching their own eSports league in conjunction with the NBA, 2K seems disinterested in providing a robust and enjoyable competitive scene to its fanbase. For all the talk of removing cheese, for as much as the series touts its own popularity, NBA 2K continues to cater to the influencers and the elitist crowd.
It’s been observed by long-time gamers (and a handful of honest pundits) that NBA 2K seems openly disdainful of its fanbase; an attitude that unquestionably contributes to toxicity. It’s why its online scene lags shockingly behind other games that it’s trying to compete with, at times forgetting that it’s a basketball title. I’ve mentioned Rocket League so many times when discussing how NBA 2K’s online modes could improve, and while it isn’t perfect and not immune to poor behaviour and sportsmanship, it nevertheless succeeds where 2K fails. From gameplay mechanics to matchmaking options to server performance, online Rocket League leaves NBA 2K in the dust.
Again, NBA 2K’s success makes change unlikely, as does the community’s comfort with the current solutions; or perhaps more accurately, their resignation to them. This brings to mind concepts such as bounded rationality and satisficing. The gist is that we have a tendency to seek decisions and solutions that are good enough, rather than ones that are optimal. NBA 2K’s online scene works, in as much as it’s possible to get into games. There’s automatic matchmaking – inconsistent as it is – as well as the self-governing manual matchmaking that sets up games. There are a variety of online modes to participate in, offering stat tracking and opportunities to level up a player.
None of that is optimal, but it is functional. Technically speaking, it works. It could be better, but 2K could argue that there’s nothing it necessarily needs to fix. It wouldn’t be a particularly honest argument – especially when the current design benefits the company with the way it pushes the game’s recurrent revenue mechanics – but at the same time, it’s not inaccurate to say that the system is viable. Unfortunately, as long as it remains adequate but far less than optimal, NBA 2K’s online scene won’t ever truly fulfil its potential. It’s also highly susceptible to toxicity because it relies on an honour system, while failing to reward gamers who are willing to play honourably.
Curbing toxicity is something the community must contribute to, but we need the tools and structure to do so. There needs to be deeper matchmaking, with casual and competitive settings. Gamers need to face opponents of a similar skill and experience level, in order to maintain a competitive scene. MyCAREER can’t be a harsh grind, with starting ratings that make it impossible to partake in online play without being severely underpowered and a liability. There needs to be incentive to function as a team, and play sportingly. There are clearly people who want the online scene to be better, but the honour system isn’t enough to combat the toxic contingent of gamers.
2K also needs to set a better example in the way they communicate with us, and promote the game. Take the meme last Halloween that punched down at low-rated gamers wearing the default outfit. Yes, it’s just a joke, but it perpetuates toxicity. Besides, as anyone who’s ventured online can attest, many of the habits that the meme made fun of are quite common among high-rated, “drippy” avatars. In other words, the elitists are as problematic as the newbies, if not more so in their own way! When 2K’s advertising and social media content is encouraging finger pointing and sneering, it cultivates an audience that is unfriendly, judgemental, and even downright hostile.
Sure, there will always be toxic people in a gaming community. The issue with NBA 2K’s online scene is that we don’t have the tools to avoid them, or minimise the impact they have on our experience. There’s also no system to avoid well-meaning newbies spoiling the competitive scene by jumping in before they’re ready, because the quests and lure of online play alike are pushing them to do so while their starting ratings are still insufficient. Yes, we can and should be better, but the game’s options and design need to help out here. Without that assistance, it’s far too easy for toxic individuals to influence atmosphere, culture, and the overall style of play in the online modes.
As far as the friendliness of the community, there are a couple of features that might help. Referring back to Rocket League again, some quick chat options to compliment teammates and opponents might make things friendlier. The ability to acknowledge the passer who made a keen assist – a staple of real basketball – would promote team spirit and goodwill. If The Rec provided a better way of meeting up with your fellow gamers and potentially forming squads and online friendships, it would be a far more useful mode. Feedback and reporting systems are sadly too easy to abuse, but having a mutual “match me with that teammate again” selection could be extremely helpful.
Can 2K fix the toxicity of its online scene? They absolutely can, but I’m not confident that they will. It will take time and effort to devise optimal solutions, and they won’t make Take-Two any money. Indeed, they’re more likely to cause the company to take a hit in revenue, and that’s not a pitch the suits want to hear. As long as the current solution works well enough, there’s no incentive to overhaul it, and too many shills in the community will defend it besides. At the same time, there are clearly people who want to see the online scene in NBA 2K be rid of its toxicity. We’re limited as to what we can achieve as a community, however. The rest is up to 2K themselves to address.
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