What is it about Achievements?

Jason Trent says Rewards systems are powerful things, and can help guide players in their purchases. Depending on which system you've invested the most amount of time on (the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3), you might find yourself drawn to one or the other on multi-platform games. I, for one, find that I purchase all of my multi-platform titles for the Xbox 360. Because I've spent a lot of time earning Achievements, I'd prefer to continue to increase my gamer score on that particular rewards system. Others feel connected to the trophy system, in which case they're going to be bound to purchase their multi-platform titles for the PlayStation 3. Without a doubt, this is something consumers consider when purchasing a game. What is it about these little beauties that make us tick? Why do so many of us spend so much time earning them, and what is it about them that makes us seek them out?

First and foremost, they make us feel good. They satisfy a compulsion to be rewarded for our actions. Most of us mull through life looking to get a pat on the head when we do well at something. It might be school, it might be work, it might be a relationship, but whatever it is, we need to feel like there's a reason for doing what we do; a reason that can often be found in the praise we receive. Getting an "Achievement Unlocked" message upon reaching the end of a level is just the carrot on a stick I need to keep me going sometimes.

Beyond the obvious point that achievements and trophies make us feel swell, they also represent your gaming resume; a scrapbook of sorts. Much like looking at photos of your last vacation, viewing a list of achievements or trophies you've earned can serve to remind you of some great times. They're a way to say, "I've been there. I've seen some stuff. I've done great things." Because we have something to show ourselves and others, they're validation that the time we've spent gaming wasn't a waste. Much the opposite in fact. Achievements and trophies allow us to bolster our sense of self-worth.

Besides being a system of rewards, achievements and trophies also supplement leader boards by providing a new way to compete with friends. I remember the first time I got into a friendly competition with someone (a co-worker) through achievements. I noticed that he was playing a lot of Call of Duty: World at War on Veteran difficulty. He'd already beaten a few levels, so I had to intervene. I caught up with him, then came to work the next day to gloat. From there, we'd each rush home after work each day to try to outdo the other, and for a change, work became fun. We'd share strategies, experiences, and frustrations (grenade spamming anyone?); things that really took my experience with the game to the next level. Eventually he got stuck on Vendetta (the fourth level), and I on Blowtorch & Corkscrew (the 12th level), but even if I wasn't able to finish the game, I still won the competition.

Achievements and trophies may seem simple on the surface, but there's more to them than meets the eye. I leave you with these questions: What are some of your favorite achievements or trophies and why? Do you prefer the acheivements system or trophies system and why?

Trophies Reflect Skill More than Achievements

MrWeymes Says: It was inevitable that gamers would compare Playstation 3 trophies to the Xbox 360's achievements. While it's true that both reward systems add a considerable amount of replayability to games, it's still unclear which is superior. The main thing that Xbox 360 fans can boast is that achievements are mandatory for every game available on the Xbox 360 and it has been that way since the launch of the system. It is a shame that the trophy system Sony implemented in many of its games were not available at launch and was not mandatory throughout most of 2008. Hopefully, trophy support becomes mandatory in 2009, so that gamers aren't torn between buying games based on whether or not they support trophies. Regardless of which was around longer, trophies and achievements are very similar, and are in direct competition for gamers attention. Here are the reasons why trophies should motivate more gamers to collect them all rather than collecting achievement points.

Almost everyone that owns an Xbox 360 wants to have a high gamer score to boast about. While it's obvious from a high gamer score that a person has a love for playing video games, it usually doesn't mean that this person is a particularly skilled gamer. Most gamers that have a high gamer score have simply played a lot of games. That person usually doesn't have a 1,000 out of 1,000 on any of their games. Perhaps this person only has an Xbox 360, or perhaps this person only buys multiplatform games for the Xbox 360. Whichever the case, it's clear that a gamer score doesn't say too much about a gamers skill. However, the trophy system for the Playstation 3 says a lot about the way a person plays a game, and their skill level. The trophy system can embarrass gamers accustomed to playing a ton of games on the Xbox 360 and only completing them once or halfway through. If you were to play every Playstation 3 game that supports trophies like this, you would probably gather a nice collection of the lowest trophy you can earn, which is a bronze trophy. 100 bronze trophies with no silver, gold, or platinum trophies to accompany them makes a gamer look a lot more amateurish than a gamer with a gamer score of 10,000 on the Xbox 360 with most of their games only having 300 out of 1000 points awarded. The reason for this is that when you pull up someone's personal information on the Playstation Network, you are not only shown the level of that person, and the number of trophies they possess, but the kind of trophies they've earned as well. This person may have more trophies than you, but because the majority of his are bronze, and the majority of yours are bronze and silver, you may be a higher level than him. It's obvious that the trophy system rewards skill with prestige more than the Xbox 360's achievement system. Yes, you can look over a persons games on Xbox Live to see how many points they've accumulated in each individual game, but it's not mandatory when looking at someone's profile. You are simply shown the gamer score itself. If it's high, you're impressed, if it's low, you're dismissive. Meanwhile, this person with the 3,000 gamer score may have 1,000 out of 1,000 on all of his three games, and is probably the guy out-killing you 5 to 1 in a match of Call of Duty 4 for example.

The achievement system of the Xbox 360 may be a better business decision, because it can make a gamer with average skill feel like a gaming god because of his tremendous gamer score, thus persuading him to buy more games to increase his score. However, gamers that want to flaunt their true skill in the faces of others cannot deny the draw of the trophy system on the Playstation 3. You can guffaw at a gamer’s 45 bronze trophies, while he ogles your much sought after platinum trophies. In conclusion, the trophy system is a much more effective way of showing off your gaming skill than the achievement system. Any person with a good amount of money can pad their gamer score, but it takes a lot of hard work and skill to earn those platinum trophies. This article is not meant to be insulting to Xbox 360 gamers, because there are many that complete their games fully to earn all 1,000 points. However, this accomplishment is often overlooked if their overall score is low. The trophy system motivates gamers to fully complete their games to earn more trophies, because most gamers do not want to look like a well-paid amateur with his or her not-so-impressive collection of bronze trophies.