It's the trendy thing right now to claim that Achievements are worthless and stupid, but according to Microsoft, such sneering hardcore gamers are in the minority. According to Stephen Toulouse, Achievements are a proven game seller.
"It's been statistically shown that games that have Achievements and implement them well sell better," Toulouse told Major Nelson in a recent podcast. Naturally, Toulouse did not provide any of this statistical information, but he said it so it must be true.
Sarcasm aside, I can believe this. While Achievements hold no significant value, I must admit that I find the unlocking of them rather fun, moreso than I do Trophies on the PS3. If a third party game is available for both the 360 and PS3, I'm going to go with the 360 version just because the Achievements add that tiny bit extra. I know there are plenty of others with the same mentality.
Do Achievements influence your own purchasing decisions, or do they hold no sway over your mind whatsoever? You can admit you're disgusting a Cheevo Whore, we're all friends here.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
9:00 AM on 05.19.2009
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PS3 - Is it a fighting game? I want better controls.
360 - Is it an online multiplayer game? I want more online gamers/a larger community so the game will last longer.
Or I go with the "do my friends have it on this particular console?" question. Achievements are the last thing on my mind, but I'm sure there are a lot of whores out there who do buy 360 games over PS3 because of this.
Oh, and funnily enough, when my first 360 was crapping out, I asked "will my console red ring soon? Might as well go with the PS3 version". It did crap out, so I held off on 360 games for a bit.
As a side effect, they do encourage me to keep playing. I love the hidden ones, because it encourages exploration and puzzle solving, but the counter ones (Kill x amount with y weapon) are just addictive.
I am a little disappointed when I get an older PS3 game that doesn't have them, then I realise I'm being silly, and I'll enjoy the game as much as I would with them.
They can make a good game a little better, but they're not missed either.
Jesus."
Is Jesus > Bronze Trophy?
i remember a time when achieving stuff in games unlocked rewards and bonuses that made the game more fun. seems to me that a lot of that stuff has been totally replaced by meaningless points.
True! Although I quasi agree with psycho terror that old games just had achievements implicitly, and not explicitly, I do exactly what you do in a ton of games. If I'm really into a game, I'll try to get all of the obscure achievements when I'm done with my main playthrough.
It doesn't detract from the game at all because they're optional; it just adds to it. It was fun getting all of the Little Big Planet trophies.
No, that's a quote. Read John 4:55.
In fact, here's a screenshot of the games I'm going/am playing for gamerscore at the moment:
But most important to me is achievements with DLC. So much of my gaming revolves around the achievements that if a DLC doesn't include achievements, I probably won't shell out the space dollars for it. My decision of buying Cops N Robbers for Burnout Paradise relied purely on it having achievements.
I get games based on what the game is and whether it's good or not.
The only thing I ever like about achievements is when they have funny names.
Also, because I can NOT stand my PS3 updates. Dear lord.
The only way I think they would be cool is if you actually did something remarkable like beating the game without dying once, or in a certain time period.
a few games I have played seem to give these awards for things I consider banal.
You shot your gun? Achievement! You opened a green door as opposed to the typical blue door? Achievement! Your character stood in place for 5 minutes? Achievement!
They seem mostly silly to me and have zero influence on my decision to purchase a game.
Achievements, when done correctly, can GREATLY enhance a game. I probably wouldn't have sunk so much time in Lost Odyssey and spent all the time finding all those damn seeds if there hadn't been achievements attached. On the other side of the coin, in Enchanted Arms I did literally no side quests, because there were no achievements tied to them. Am I just stupid? Perhaps, but they do provide motivation to get more out of a game.
Plus some are just good challenges. Often I don't re-play games on any "hard" mode, but achievements have caused me to think differently.
And, like most people, if a game is multiplatform (in my case, between 360 or PC), I tend to pick up the 360 version simply for the achievements.
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard would not have been half as fun for me if I didn't have the "Kill 50 enemies with x weapon" achievement glaring me in the face and forcing me to use all the weapons instead of just sticking with my comfort zone of Hazard Pistol + Squirt Gun. Plus, there's always the comedy achievements which are a lot of fun.
I don't buy my games for achievements, but I don't bemoan their existence by a long shot. Properly implemented they can be really fun.
And sometimes I would swap a 360 game for a PS3 one just to collect the trophies, but have never been compelled to go the other way: swap PS3 for 360 version to collect the achievements. And the reason for that is what I said above: Achievements have less meaning than Trophies do.
And trophies are also better because of the fact that there are, besides Platinum one, three others, which actually show how good you are ;) Gamerscore doesn't show how many 100GP or 5GP achievements you've got. Trophies do.
Of course, neither of them have any tangible worth other than personal satisfaction from getting them. But in my opinion, PS3 Trophies make more sense.
Most other achievements are boring. I especially hate the ones that are awarded for SIMPLY PLAYING THE DAMN GAME - oh you got to chapter 2, like we wanted you to, GOLD STAR! HIGH FIVE! YOU GET A LITTLE STAMP IN YOUR BOOK SINCE YOUR SUCH A SPECIAL CHILD. It makes no sense giving out achievements for finishing the game or getting from one point to another, or beating a boss in a standard way.
Achievements should be about achieving something - like getting all the secret items, or going through the whole game using just one weapon. Sure, it's mindless, but it means something at least.
Almost every game as a mix of good and bad achievements. Good achievements are funny or inventive, and are difficult to get. Bad achievements are just little numbers that go up every time you manage to play the game semi-competently.
"YOU ARE NOT YOUR GAMER SCORE"
Very well done sir. Well done indeed.
I quite like my Trophies, I've never tried to get one, but I do enjoy having a nice big collection, it's a bonus that would never have any bearing on my purchasing.
I find that I spend longer on a game if I'm enjoying unlocking the achievements, such as my CoD4 1000/1000 or Halo 3's however-the-fuck many there are now.
And Crackdown has the best achievements ever. Just thought I'd chuck that out there.
comments about you are not your gamer score ia not 100% true because people who beat me at certain games normally have a better score or have all the achievments...basically they played alot of that game so they are good at it!! I am talking real games though...not stuff like Avatar or what ever its called....
Personally, I'm not that worried about them. Sure, it's fun when you see the little message pop up, but I don't really alter the way I play games in an attempt to get more of them.
PS: I download the Fallout 3 DLC partially because of the achievements.
I agree though, achievements should unlock more ingame (ahhh Goldeneye!), you kindof stop caring about bragging rights on consoles after age 12...
The reason behind that was explained in Jim's previous achievement article.
I think the biggest thing that makes me want achievements more is that I've owned my 360 longer, having many more friends on XBL than PSN, the better implementation of your online "identity" as well as the amount of time that I've been getting achievements makes me care about them more. I do like the PS3 Trophies system, though.
@ psycho terror 2-
Someone says something similar to that every time this subject comes up, and I always say the same thing in response: far before there even WERE home consoles, gaming was all about getting a high score in the arcades. It's hard to argue against achievements by pretending that the idea of a "worthless point total" is a new thing when it's actually an extension of one of the biggest traditions in video games, which goes back 30 years. You didn't get a fucking t-shirt or an in-game bonus for getting a high score on Pac-Man, either, but people still tried to improve their score. Why? Because it's fun, and it allows you to compete with your friends.
Lets hope, if MS do their rumour Zune handheld, that achievements can be earned in conjunction with our 360 accounts.