We do not have confirmation how many of these changes will be accessible for the current-gen variant of the Standard Edition, which will be playable on next-gen consoles via backward compatibility. Less than two weeks out from launch, this really is a bit of a mystery that lovers are having to solve. In the least this is an inelegant scenario compared to how other significant sports developers are tackling these issues, such as EA offering Double Entitlement for Madden 21 and 2K MT at no excess cost.

For gamers that simply can not wait for the few months NBA 2K21 will probably be out on current-gen consoles until its next-gen introduction, the current-gen Standard Edition will probably be well worth it. If you think about the $60 at a time investment, and compare it to something such as the price of a film theater excursion (inadvisable during quarantine, mind you), then you are likely able to average the value out to around $5 per entertainment hour. For players who will play 12 or more hours of NBA 2K21 before next-gen release, something we expect many players to perform in their very first sitting, this will be a worthy buy.

The question for these types of players is whether the Mamba Forever Edition is subsequently worth the additional cost to avoid needing to buy the two versions of the normal Edition, something which would cost $130 instead of the $100 for your Mamba Forever Edition. In the end of the afternoon, players who appreciate the excess couple months NBA 2K21 will probably be just playable on current-gen consoles and also hope to play with NBA 2K21 longer than this time period will find the Mamba Forever Edition the best value in the long run.

This is particularly true for players who spend more time in their MyTEAM compared to MyPLAYER and MyLEAGUE, as MyTEAM is the only mode that will carry more than progress from current to next-gen. This doesn't take into consideration the extra in-game bonuses which come in the Mamba Forever Edition. For picking up either version of the normal Edition is going to NBA 2K Coins be the best option. Although the next-gen version will probably be preferable because of the improved exclusive capabilities.