It seems like every year, the major sports games (and hell, many of the major releases in general) have several different editions with bonus content included on the higher-priced versions.
This year’s version of NBA 2K23 is no exception. There are five (five!) editions of the game – the Standard Edition, WNBA Edition, Michael Jordan Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, and the Championship Edition. The Standard Edition is the cheapest at $59.99 on the PS4 and XBox One (tack on another $10 for the next-gen versions), and the Championship Edition is the most expensive at a ridiculous $149.99.
And while all the versions included bonus in-game stuff, the Championship Edition includes a perk that could be of interest to non-gamers – a one-year subscription to NBA League Pass.
The wild part about this is that last year, the regular League Pass subscription cost $199.99. Though pricing for the 2022-23 season has yet to be announced, it’s hard to imagine the service costing substantially less. By buying the Championship Edition, you’re essentially getting a discount on League Pass while also getting a video game and all the other bonuses just for the hell of it.
To the cynic in me, it seems like this is a great way to pump up both the sales numbers for NBA 2K23 and NBA League Pass, but let’s be honest here – the other leagues are doing the same damn thing in different ways. T-Mobile subscribers get free MLB.TV subscriptions. Some DirecTV subscribers got free NFL Sunday Ticket. NHL.TV was looped into ESPN+ last fall, and the MLS out of market package was included in ESPN+ for several years prior to the league’s new TV deal with Apple. Other streaming services have been getting in on the act for years, cutting deals with companies to give their service to customers for free or at discounted rates.
Anyway, this is just the latest instance of this kind of promotion. At least with this one, it seems like there’s a lot of crossover between the two audiences and those getting the free stuff will actually use it.
