Fans have been disappointed with NBA 2K20, enough to make the hashtag 'fix2k20' one of the most trending on Twitter.
Some fans were already upset about the game's rampant microtransactions since before its release, and bugs and other issues have caused a social media storm.
Besides complaints of microtransactions, players have been complaining about glitches, shoddy AI, server issues, long loading screens, and a failure to receive pre-order bonuses. A Kotaku article pointed out the taskbar on the PC version of the game still shows the icon for NBA 2k19. While the game has received generally positive reviews from critics, it currently has a 2/10 user review rating on Steam. The user review on Metacritic is even lower, resting at 0.5/10.
Notably, NBA 2k19 faced similar complaints. That game has around a 30% approval rating on Steam, with most reviews mentioning microtransactions and poor online servers. Even the NBA 2k18 page looks similar, although NBA 2k17 simply has "mixed reviews" instead of "mostly negative."
NBA 2k is a franchise with no real competition due to an exclusivity deal Take-Two Interactive has with the NBA. As a result, it's an even bigger letdown to basketball fans when the yearly release disappoints. The simple answer for the laziness in game design is sports game's like NBA 2k have a built-in, loyal audience who don't have an alternative when it comes to realistic basketball games. Still, one has to wonder if the literal casino games and barely functional online servers will have some players reaching their limit.
What's more troubling is that this isn't an isolated trend. Fans mocked Madden 20 after someone found a recycled Madden 19 banner, and Madden's Gauntlet mode this year is riddled with bugs, including bugs that will end the game.
It's unclear if the controversy will have an impact on sales, but at the very least it is turning into a PR nightmare. The issues are so broad and varied that they probably won't be fixed by a single patch, though hopefully 2K will start by fixing at least the game-breaking issues. 2K has already begun responding to fans on Twitter and encouraging them to open support tickets.
Source: Kotaku