Earlier this week, NBA 2K19 developer 2K asked players to "contact local government" about the Belgian loot box ban. Now, a senior producer at the company has told Trusted Reviews (via PCGamesN) that its games' Virtual Currency "is an unfortunate reality of modern gaming."
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding loot boxes and premium videogame consumables, 2K senior producer Rob Jones tells Trusted Reviews that "every game, at some point, in some way has currency and they’re trying to get additional revenue from each player that plays the game."
Jones then says the difference between "straight money grabs" and the instances which add value to their games is important. The changes NBA 2K19 has made over its forerunners aim to reward players for spending Virtual Currency more often, says Jones, and will better identify what's worth spending Virtual Currency on in the first place.
Jones stresses that purchased items, or grinding to purchase items, is "a choice, not a force". He adds: "We know nowadays that most people don’t have the patience to work their way to the top. They just wanna be there right away. So, you know, we look at it as, oh it’s an opportunity for us to allow you to skip the grind, but then if the grind is too long, like some people felt last year, they’re gonna sit there and they’re gonna go ‘well, you knew the grind was too long to begin with."
Read Trusted Reviews' chat with Jones in full this way. Read our extensive loot box coverage over here.