NBA 2K series has been known to offer unskippable ads and after a backlash last year, they were removed only to return again this year.
These ads are usually shown during the 2K TV segments or before the pre-game loading screens. They are unskippable ads and range from advertising products like Oculus to even politics as per a user who was expressing his frustration about it on Twitter.
Last year, a viral thread on reddit brought attention to these ads. They were being offered in the 2K TV segments. It appears the developers haven’t learned their lesson and brought it again this year.
So I’m playing #NBA2K21 and a political ad comes on in game. Not only has politics entered the #nba its in video games. It’s supposed to be a release from reality, and I don’t give a Fawk what side you believe. You’re paid to entertain me. Do your job and that’s it. #Trump2020
— Jey Keck (@okcseahawk) October 17, 2020
I’m playing @NBA2K and I got a fucken ad on @NBA2K_2KTV 😂
I bought the full version of the game don’t ever do some slimey shit like that again😂— i.v. 𓇚 (@isaiahhoe19) October 17, 2020
Seeing ads in triple AAA, full price games ($60+) is fucking disgusting. Fuck you @NBA2K
— Joseph Russell (@Jokami7) October 17, 2020
Earlier this year, UFC 4 started to show ads during replay segments in the game which prompted such a huge backlash that it forced the developer, EA Sports, to apologize about it and they removed them from the game. One of the members from the Community team at EA had shared the following statement.
I’m part of the Community team here at EA and I wanted to post here and give you all an update on this situation. Earlier this week, the team turned on ad placements in EA SPORTS UFC 4 that appeared during the “Replay” moments in gameplay. This type of advertising inventory is not new to the UFC franchise, though we have typically reserved displaying ads to specific main menu tiles or Octagon logo placement. It is abundantly clear from your feedback that integrating ads into the Replay and overlay experience is not welcome. The advertisements have been disabled by the team and we apologize for any disruption to gameplay that players may have experienced. We realize that this should have been communicated with players ahead of time and that’s on us. We want to make sure our players have the best possible experience playing EA SPORTS UFC 4, so ad integration in the Replay and overlay experience will not be reappearing in the future. Thank you for your continued feedback on EA SPORTS UFC 4.
2K Sports hasn’t commented on the status of these ads for NBA 2K21 so we have to wait and see what they are going to do with them. In the meanwhile, they are still seen in the 2K TV segments and the only possible way to avoid them is to turn off 2K TV in the options.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="751 https://gameinfinitus.com/?p=751">1 Comment
All this game is, is a shameless cash grab. It is 99.5% identical to 2k20. And every aspect is made to wring real money from you for fake vc. The daily spin wheel almost never pays VC. The daily bonus is broken and never pays you vc even when you accomplish the goals. They have had 6 patches and guess what, they refuse to fix this problem because it is meant to frustrate you into spending real money.
Last year, there was so much backlash about 2k19 that they finally made it easier to get vc. This year, they ramped the frustration back up to 10. We’re only going to put up with this for so much longer – time to skip 2k22.