If you’ve played any of the NBA 2K games, chances are you’re no stranger to how the microtransactions serve as swift scuffing on the fresh J’s of your enjoyment of the game. While many wish microtransactions would peace out — much like the Golden State Warriors’ Jordan Poole did after suffering the full force of Draymond Green’s superman punch — they’re still in full force in NBA 2K23, a game that doesn’t have a grasp on how much durags actually cost in real life.
The latest edition’s durag crime against humanity was first spotted by Redditor JimiForReal, who posted images on r/NBA2k comparing NBA 2K23’s price for a virtual durag against that of an Amazon listing for a real one. Before you peek, let’s have some fun. How much virtual currency do you think NBA 2K23 is asking you to fork over for a durag? I’ll give you a hint, it rhymes with “15,000 VC.” Oh darn, I just gave away the answer. Womp womp.
Kotaku reached out to 2K for comment.
If you were to look up how much a durag would cost at Sally Beauty, you’d discover that they start at around $US2.79 ($4), depending on whether or not you want your luscious locs to be “wave enforced”; if you do, that’ll cost $US6.59 ($9). Unless that durag is secretly a luxurious Akatsuki cloud durag, which costs $US8.99 ($12) on Amazon, NBA 2K23 players are paying too much.
If you bought the next-gen NBA 2K23 Legendary Edition for $US99 ($137), you probably won’t be arse-out at the game asking you 15,000 for a pretend durag, since your version of the game came with 100,000 VC points. However, if you bought any other version, you’ll either have to grind for VC or pay for it using IRL currency which, according to Dot Esports, costs:
- 5,000 VC – $US1.99 ($3)
- 15,000 VC – $US4.99 ($7)
- 35,000 VC – $US9.99 ($14)
- 75,000 VC – $US19.99 ($28)
- 200,000 VC – $US49.99 ($69)
- 450,000 VC – $US99 ($137).99
Read More: NBA 2K23: The Kotaku Review
While you could argue that the rather high price of a durag in NBA 2K23 isn’t too outlandish considering that most NBA players are millionaires, durags aren’t the only things players are lambasting the game for price-gouging. Redditor GoatJamez uploaded a screenshot showing that Finders Keepers, the game’s thrift-store option for lack of a better term, is also running folks’ wallets for 7,500 VC in exchange a basic shirt that says “You Heard It Here First”.
“7,500 for that is outrageous. 2K is laughing in our faces at this point,” one Redditor replied.
NBA 2K23 released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. As our senior writer, Luke Plunkett, notes in his annual NBA 2K reviews, anything that could be seen as enjoyable about the game, specifically its MyCareer Mode, still boils down to the games sucking because of 2K’s microtransactions, thus turning his playthroughs into “sufferthroughs.”
“If 2k were free to play for their online mode and all the shit you had to pay vc for was strictly cosmetic (a model similar to Fortnite for example) then I’d be completely fine with it,” wrote another redditor in r/NBA2k23. “But not only do they make the player progression IMPOSSIBLY slow without buying VC, they’re charging $US70 ($97)+ ($97)+ for this game every year.”
For many players, the only solution to this issue is taking it on the chin and grinding through the game in order to unlock a damn durag, a garment whose sole raison d’etre is to preserve the composure of folks’ hair while they’re sleeping or otherwise not trying to be too gussied up while they’re going about their business. It’s hard not to sympathise with the players, who have to deal with 2K’s in-game greed on top of the game’s famously slow progression rates and its up-front asking price of $US70 ($97)+ ($97). Goodness gracious.
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