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[Draugoth]

NEW: Take Two pushes back against class action lawsuit that says it is stealing from players when they lose virtual currency (VC) after an NBA 2K game's servers are shut down.Says there's no ownership at stake. Says virtual currencies are fictions created by game publishers"

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

Funny Take Two doesn't get half the shit EA gets.

 

[NomenNescio]

BRB using imagination while paying with real money.

 

[calistan]

Take Two would be banning people like crazy if they ever cheated or used exploits to get that fictional virtual currency that nobody owns.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

If someone charged me money, took the money away without an equal transaction in return, then told me I was buying imagination, I'd kick them down a flight of stairs.

 

[NomenNescio]

 

[TommyCronin6969]

Then why do people get banned for participating in this make-believe via virtual 5 finger discount

 

[poppabk]

Take Two would be banning people like crazy if they ever cheated or used exploits to get that fictional virtual currency that nobody owns.

Yeah I feel like someone hasn't thought this through.

 

[DryvBy]

In 25 years when the zoomers adopt kids, those kids going to look at dlc and digital games as a giant "yeah no duh that was a dumb idea" like we do with boomers who hid behind a water fountain from an atomic bomb.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

The mere existence of this shitty business model is bad enough.

 

[ReBurn]

If someone charged me money, took the money away without an equal transaction in return, then told me I was buying imagination, I'd kick them down a flight of stairs.

But if you're paying real money for virtual currency aren't you really just buying imagination?

 

[Braag]

There's a reason why when you're buying mtx you have to first buy fake currency before buying what you want.

 

[CamHostage]

Well, all currency is "fiction". It's paper and precious resources as well as ledger notations of transactions that we as a society agree have value in order to broker trade with one another.

Winning this lawsuit would pierce the veil of all world economies and open the door to economic anarchy.

So... good luck?

 

[diffusionx]

Sorry this is just insane and they can't be allowed to get away with it.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

Take Two would be banning people like crazy if they ever cheated or used exploits to get that fictional virtual currency that nobody owns.

Take Two would sue you for stealing that fiction.

 

[NomenNescio]

But if you're paying real money for virtual currency aren't you really just buying imagination?

Virtual currency is a mean for the player to purchase content within the game. It's not an end by itself.

When I purchase an eShop giftcard, I'm buying virtual currency with real money, but in order to then acquire a digital product. The trick here is, even though they irrevocably take my money forever, and they even label the transaction as a "purchase", I'm not technically buying anything, since there's no transfer of ownership according to the TOS. I'm essentially paying for a movie ticket (in this case, a game ticket) that gives me access to the content indefinetely, but doesn't give me any sort of guarantee as a consumer.

It's quite insane if you think about it. How are they able to get away with this stuff and not get eaten by consumer protection regulators? I will never understand.

 

[NomenNescio]

Well, all currency is "fiction". It's paper and precious resources as well as ledger notations of transactions that we as a society agree have value in order to broker trade with one another.

Winning this lawsuit would pierce the veil of all world economies and open the door to economic anarchy.

So... good luck?

Do we live in a simulation?

 

[CamHostage]

Virtual currency is a mean for the player to purchase content within the game. It's not an end by itself.

When I purchase an eShop giftcard, I'm buying virtual currency with real money, but in order to then acquire a digital product. The trick here is, even though they irrevocably take my money forever, and they even label the transaction as a "purchase", I'm not technically buying anything, since there's no transfer of ownership according to the TOS. I'm essentially paying for a movie ticket (in this case, a game ticket) that gives me access to the content indefinetely, but doesn't give me any sort of guarantee as a consumer.

Well, there's the root question of what you're paying for and how long you're expecting it to have the same value. Like you said, when you purchase a movie ticket, you're renting a seat in a theater for 2 hours to view a motion picture, and when you leave, you have nothing to show for it except memories and a piece of paper. (And in modern theaters, often they don't even give you the paper if they can scan you digitally.) So, what is the transaction, what is the lasting value of that exchange, is there "resale" value in transferring that virtual product, and how long can you expect to use the thing you paid for before it's no longer available to you?

That would be a much more valid concept for the lawyer to propose than, "Relax, it's all fake." Oh, ok... just curious though, are you being paid in cash, or are your lawyer fees paid via a digital transaction between banks for virtual fiat money created by the government?

 

[Robb]

Yeah right, I hope they lose this. There needs to be way more regulations in place for this stuff.

 

[StereoVsn]

Funny Take Two doesn't get half the shit EA gets.

Yep, I personally think they are actually scammy AF even more so than EA.

NBA 2K tying SP story mode progression to MTX is just f-d up. I used to play the games for a while mainly for SP mode, but just couldn't take that BS anymore.

 

[Last Hearth]

This would be like a casino suddenly declaring all the chips on the floor are not exchangeable for dollars any more and confiscate them, and tell you the chips are fictional money so you didn't lose anything.

 

[NoLootBoxDev]

 

[TheInfamousKira]

But if you're paying real money for virtual currency aren't you really just buying imagination?

I mean, in a very "haha, dumb consumers get what's coming to them," kind of way, absolutely. Something about trash and treasures and hot wives or something.

 

[wvnative]

Yep, I personally think they are actually scammy AF even more so than EA.

NBA 2K tying SP story mode progression to MTX is just f-d up. I used to play the games for a while mainly for SP mode, but just couldn't take that BS anymore.

 

[Three]

As much as I would like for them to lose this they have a chance of winning because it's the same for other digital "fictional" items in a game. There was a famous case of this happening with F1 Delta Time where items worth $100,000 became worthless due to the game shutting down.

 

[StereoVsn]

Elaborate on what? Have you played their SP story mode? It's tied to their player character account used both in MP and SP. you get shit stats basically making it necessary to purchase MTX to progress

 

[Spukc]

Me buying their games full priced or spending money on mtx is also fiction

 

[kyussman]

"VC is not the plaintiff's property" is pretty funny.....this means you are just donating your money to Take Two,they are a very rich company and I would advise people against doing this,lol.

 

[Mokus]

Says there's no ownership at stake. Says virtual currencies are fictions created by game publishers

Then why we have to pay for it with real money? Let us pay too with fictitious money.

 

[wvnative]

Elaborate on what? Have you played their SP story mode? It's tied to their player character account used both in MP and SP. you get shit stats basically making it necessary to purchase MTX to progress

I don't play any sports game so yeah was curious how they are pulling that shit. Always wanting to learn about how twisted they are. Constantly hearing how bad they are but never really got clarity on all the details. So they trash your stats in single player?

Damn

 

[WitchHunter]

In my understanding 2K does not offer VC for money. You can earn it in game and certain individuals sell it to others for fiat money, right? Then what's the class action for?

 

[tusharngf]

2k is the worst company ever. EA is much better than this garbage company. They haven't fixed the controller issue on the android version of GTA san andreas.The issue was reported last year. They dont give a fuck about anything.

 

[deeptech]

This is curious, like I remember few years back, in-game purchases of many kinds were argued to be gambling by some, and now this thing seems to me so blatantly ironic, reeking of the kind of practice one can find in gambling, where you buy points and if you waste them, that's it, better luck next time friend.

 

[deeptech]

Then why we have to pay for it with real money? Let us pay too with fictitious money.

Funny considering "real" money is a fiction too, except we all agree like it has some intrinsic value, and hide the fact it can't even wipe your butt properly.


Sorry for double posting...

 

[DGrayson]

Sorry this is just insane and they can't be allowed to get away with it.

so you are saying

 

[SportsFan581]

It's an interesting question. Especially since this is a recurring game and they could obviously keep the credits in the players account when shutting down the servers (they'd be available to the player in the next iteration).

At the same time, I think in the context of games, their argument isn't necessarily flawed. Just because so many games are one and done affairs and games aren't guaranteed to you for ever, the precedent goes the other way with a strong history of games getting disconnected after X amount of years. Paper money and coins have real-world value when you get them, the in game currency doesn't to most people. I wouldn't advice games as a place to put your money for safe keeping.