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NBA 2K14 (next-gen) patched in Always Online requirement

When NBA 2K14 was originally released it could be played offline, however, since the latest patch there now seems to be a requirement that you are ALWAYS connected to the internet to play on both Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game.

It won't even load the game up, furthermore if you're playing the game and your internet connection drops and/or PSN/XBL stops working, the game closes down.

The online requirement seems to be linked in with 2K's 'Virtual Currency' which is pretty much tied into all aspects of the game and verified through their own servers. So, I guess to ensure people don't cheat they require this "24/7" connection whenever you want to play the game.

However, the issue I have is that it doesn't state this on the box. All it mentions in regards to online is that a PSN Subscription will be required for online play.

So for all the amazing improvements in graphical quality 2K have achieved on PS4 and Xbox One, it looks like they've taken a massive step backwards in customer relations in my opinion.
I suppose I can return the game to Amazon and cite that the game was miss-sold in regards to advertised features/requirements on the box. However, I'm not sure that'll change anything with 2K's stance.

---

EDIT:

It seems the game goes into a huge Authentication loop with the 2K Servers which can take several minutes. This shows the LeBron flash screen while it's happening. The game will start up OFFLINE after it has processed it's Auth Loop and timed out.

Game modes will be limited, but you CAN play offline.
 

Xater

Member
Yep, it's terrible and the way they handle the whole VC thing also sucks. turns the whole game into a grind.
 

ryanmac

Banned
I've been enjoying the game and luckily haven't faced a lot of the bugs other people complained about.

With that said, some outlets might need to think about altering their review score if some of this is true.
 
Wait WTF, is this why the game is refusing to load and just sits there with me staring at lebrons tattoos forever? Allow me to say that this bullshit they have done in life will echo for an eternity of absolute fucking loathing for this franchise. This is mindblowingly disgusting, the entire game has been reduced to the equivalent of a facebook grind for coins F2P shithole but this is the icing on the cake. 2K is as bad if not worse than EA sports at this point, the entire game is designed to fleece you for dollars. This is a game that expects you to dole out extra cash everytime you play it and that's why it doesn't even load up if it can't get a connection since you'd be unable to open your wallet for daddy 2K to step in and sticky finger the shit out of it.
 

Vitor711

Member
Wow, patch that in AFTER reviews have been around for weeks? So many people aren't going to know. That's hella shady. Consumer backlash is going to be immense once people start trying to play it with offline boxes. The average joe consumer NBA fan is not going to research this beforehand. Admittedly, he's probably already bought it as it's been out for a while now but still, this can cause so many issues.
 

U2NUMB

Member
Hate to say it but the great visuals only went so far with me. The lack of modes and other things I loved in the series made me sell my copy soon after buying it. I am now back on last gen playing the game.

Hope they sort things out for next year but too many missteps for me to stick around.
 
I suspect this is how they will get games in the future. Says you can play offline, patches in online requirement at a later date.
 

Danneee

Member
Whoa, this would have been my first sports game since FIFA01.
I'll just wait for the patch that removes this crap.
 

Totobeni

An blind dancing ho
This is horrible. smh

The online requirement seems to be linked in with 2K's 'Virtual Currency' which is pretty much tied into all aspects of the game and verified through their own servers

is VC still not in the PC version?
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
They did this kind of bullshit for the NBA 2k13 last year too. At list on Wii U. And they had so shitty servers allocated for Wii U that you couldn't play more than two consecutive games until you were disconnected and you were sent back to the main menu. The only solution for that was to dezactivate the wireless connection on the console before going into the game. And even so, you had to start a new game that didn't use the virtual currency but some other points system. They fixed the servers sometime in the spring or summer I think.
 

Derrick01

Banned
Yeah I want to like this game but there's so much bullshit outside of the games themselves that I'm not sure I can. I despise this kind of DRM and F2P grind design and this game's heavily infected with both.

If you really dont want to be voted worst company again, this is not the way to go about it

Is this the new capcom/konami thing?
 

OSHAN

Member
I just moved into a new home. I called a couple weeks ago to transition my internet service, and the area I'm in is "currently unserviceable." I'll be without internet until the 1st week of January "the earliest."

Always online is a bunch of fucking bullshit.
 

Namikaze

Member
Ridiculous. I really can't believe they did this..just..wow. I was going to pick up a copy soon, but not anymore.
 
Is there any workaround for this? I may have long spells of time without the capacity to connect to the internet, and this was going to be my go-to online game. Can you just disable Wifi in the system and force the game to play offline?
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
This is especially awful since no one knew about it ahead of time and it wasn't there at launch. There's no way to knowingly avoid this BS if you bought the game. Horrible practice. I'm against always online requirements for non-MMO games anyway but at least the requirement is usually communicated in advance.
 

Pajamas

Member
This is why I'm giving up on consoles. I might buy a Wii U in the future, but I will never own a PS4 or Xbox One.
 
This whole game is bullshit. It's the one title I regret.

The entire game is based around selling you VC. It's a huge grind without.
The menu system was designed to infuriate you.
The MyCareer cutscenes are a joke and make no sense. Win game and score a ton = GM mad at your performance. Nothing you do changes the way it is presented and YOU CAN'T SKIP THE FUCKING CUTSCENES

Fuck this game and fuck 2K. I'm going to sell it, this is some shady shit and it's basically a F2P game with the fucking VC shilling.

This is the official "damn, I got burned on this game" for me when it comes to launch. I should have fucking Gamefly'd it. Luckily it was part of Amazon's B2G1F so I don't feel too burned. Probably get what I paid for it.
 

Kade

Member
Figured they had something like this in place already because the loading times are 10x longer if you're not connected to the Internet. There must be some verification or handshaking going on behind the scenes that gives up once it fails a few times. Looks like this just will make sure that once it fails, it won't load or it will give you an error message. I'll probably trade this in now.
 
And sports games hardly get coverage so I'm sure they will get away with this, I couldn't believe it when I got kicked out of a story mode game because I got disconnected from PSN. Sent the game back and won't be buying in the future for sure.
 

kiyomi

Member
My question is, can you NOT patch the game and play it?

Oh my god. Is this even legal if it doesn't warn you beforehand?

I don't see why not. Games are often patched with different features than the ones displayed on your retail box; an online-only requirement seems like it'd fall under the guise of a "feature", honestly, and I'm sure 2K would love to spin it as a positive thing. So yes, I'm sure it's legal.

Also, when patching, you probably agree to any terms and conditions..
 
My question is, can you NOT patch the game and play it?



I don't see why not. Games are often patched with different features than the ones displayed on your retail box; an online-only requirement seems like it'd fall under the guise of a "feature", honestly, and I'm sure 2K would love to spin it as a positive thing. So yes, I'm sure it's legal.

Also, when patching, you probably agree to any terms and conditions..

Not really. Patch downloads and installs without asking for a confirmation or agreement on PS4.
 

kiyomi

Member
Not really. Patch downloads and installs without asking for a confirmation or agreement on PS4.

Even if it's not explicit, I'm sure downloading any patches or additional features basically amounts to an agreement with any T&C.

Sucks either way. :/
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
thats some BS. it needs to clearly be printed on the box. how many people bought their game without a constant on internet connection? i'd be furious.
 

Chamber

love on your sleeve
Pre-order cance...dammit!

I think this one is going in the trade-in pile next to Battlefield 4.
 
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