It was created for the sole purpose of farming microtransactions. It's just like NBA 2k's the city. For example, instead of using a menu to get into an online game, you have to walk around at a preset speed. It takes a while to get from place to place but don't worry, 2k has a solution for that... Want move faster, pay x amount for a skateboard. Still not fast enough? Pay even more for a go kart. Want to earn extra coins? Go find the state farm rep and do a bunch of activities for state farm so that you can earn coins. Think I'm joking?
Think again....
Nothing about this is conducive to quick and fun gameplay. It's about creating a giant problem, marketing it as a feature, then selling you the solution.