Do Xbox 360 achievements really matter?
With it being confirmed that the PlayStation 3 is not going to have a system of achievements, does it really matter? I most certainly believe so. Why is that you might ask? Well, here’s the skinny.
If you look around the web on any number of gaming websites, you’ll read ton’s of people saying “achievements do not matter”. I say hogwash. Sure, if your sole gaming experience is everything prior to Xbox 360, no will most likely be your response to this question. I to, once had the same reservations toward the notion of getting points for accomplishments in games, but not any longer.
I found myself in a local Gamestop much to my dismay recently with the intent to only pre-order Gears of War. Knowing the fact that I try to avoid Gamestop and pre-ordering with a passion, I had a look around anyway. During my time there I looked around for a PS2 game I might have wanted to play at one time or another, but never got around to. After nearly 15 minutes of looking through what they had to offer I found myself thinking, “but, what about the points”. I never thought I would find myself thinking twice about buying a game whether or not it had point’s attached to it or not.
The reason for the longing for points is pretty simple once you think about it. How many times have you said to yourself. ” Color, I don’t need color on my television”. Or how about ” This electricity thing is overrated. I can live without it”. Of course you haven’t. Those examples don’t directly have anything to do with achievements, but they can be correlated to in the same fashion very easily. Once anyone begins to take advantage of anything without thought of it not being there, not having it will show you how much it matters when it’s not available. Even with something as trivial as the gamer-score concept is it gives you a sense of accomplishment when thing’s are all said and done.
Sure, if you finish a game on any platform you’ll get some sort of sense of accomplishment, but how do I or any of your friends know that. The ingenious concept of the gamer-card is what makes the achievements system work so well. Having the ability to see what my friends or anybody else’s achievements are remotely are what give’s this notion the leg up on not having them on any other platform. Who doesn’t want to have a higher score than that of there friends? That’s what made gaming what it was from the very start in the arcade and now at home. I for one will go for the Xbox 360 version of a game just for this reason versus a potentially prettier version on any other platform.
Posted on October 24, 2006, in achievements, Microsoft, Playstation 3, Sony, Video Games, Wii, Xbox 360, XBox 360 GamerCard. Bookmark the permalink. 29 Comments.
The Will Effect 
I think they only matter to certain types of people to be honest. Take me: I’m 35, live with my missus, have a life, job and World of Warcraft addiction. I call myself a gamer, by any lengths and I have been for over two decades. I have a multitude of consoles and countless games.
However, I don’t know much about my unlocked achievements, and don’t have any real idea what benefit (if any) they give me. For me, the fun and achievement from gaming comes from playing the game and progressing within the game meaning I find getting to level 2 more important than an achievement that is unlock at level two (quoting SCDA there, as it’s fresh in my mind).
Similarly, if I did take any real notice of my gamerscore I’d just see how utterly dismal it is compared to a very large number of others. But that’s ok, I game for pleasure, not for competition. The problem comes in that some people will judge me solely on that score. Which is wrong.
What I am saying is that it’s not just me – there are a lot of people out there who simply enjoy the game content for the game content, as opposed to it being a potential ego-measuring device.
I should probably have added that, yes, I do proudly display my gamercard on my site. Why? Because I am happy to be known as a) a gamer and b) an XB360 owner. Nothing more, nothing less.
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very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
very interesting. i’m adding in RSS Reader
hey thanks for the post.
im new to the xbox 360 + live thing.
can you use acheivments just like points to purchase stuff on the marketplace?
thnx
Liam: Sadly, achievement points are only good for bragging rights for when you compare yourself with your friends or other people you meet on Live.
I have a great idea for xbox 360 achievements. Take achievement points and turn them into online cash to buy things from the marketplace. Screw Microsoft points… use the achievement points. It would give people reason to play old games and to buy new ones, so they can get more spending money.
I think this is the best idea also!!
what do gamescores mean,, im 12, i have alot but dont know what there for or what they do! does anyone know what there for or do,, if so plz l;eave a reply
cheers hursto
Gamerscore is the total amount of achievement points you have total out of every game you’ve played under any one gamertag. As far as what gamerscore does; It doesn’t really do anything. It’s there as a measuring stick between you, your friends, or anyone else you’d like to compare with. It’s essentially a giant meta game across all of Xbox/Games for Windows Live.
As a side note, achievements tend to get you to play titles you wouldn’t ordinarily play. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it in the long run..
This is probably the lamest argument I have ever ever ever read.
If you THINK achievements matter…then they matter. That’s how it is with anything in life, if it matters to you then it’s significant to you….until one day, when it’s not.
To anyone without the 360 (like myself) the points seem very silly…especially if they are making you play a game you don’t enjoy just so a number somewhere increases. Not cool. But if it’s MAKING you enjoy those games…then great.
Two words , Replay Value, it makes you want to replay games that you may have finished the main campaign in and do the side missions or collect every hidden item eg fallout 3 , how many people completed the story bit then didnt bother exploring the map and finding all the other challenges and their acheivements along the way , it makes you want to pick up that game you played 2 years ago and think ‘ i wonder how many more points i can get out of this ‘ and ending up enjoying the game more as you found there was alot more to do in it then you previously knew
and the whole comparing to your mates is great too .
cheers .
I love achievements, game’s on the ps2 and ps3 are good for one play.
But the game’s on the xbox give you a reason to play it again. Achievement’s
add replay value and lot’s of fun. In left 4 dead I beat the whole game in 7 hour’s with my friend. Unlocked about 11 achievement’s. Now I have played it for at least 30 hour’s and have 53 out of 68 achievement’s
All of my achievement points are on one profile. I use a different profile for online gaming is there anyway I can transfer my achievement points to another profile on my xbox to show what I’ve done to my friends online?
yes!
turn the xbox360 on and close any opened profile. then go to “my xbox” and select the option “retrieve gamertag” or sth like that. then follow the steps. u need internet connection. bye!!
pist
If it doesn’t matter then why the gamers spend times.Exogamer(dot)com offers game products like like xBOX 360 ,1600 microsoft points and many update games at cheaper rate than market.It offers auction for the products.I found the concept interesting.
Dude. I when I play games I have to try my best to get all the achievements. I feel proud when I do. Like I accomplished something. And that’s how I really enjoy my games. 😀 I have a friend who calls me an ‘achievement whore’, and truth be told, I can’t deny it. I will get every achievement I can out of a game. But I guess that’s just the type of gamer I am.
Anyway, with that said, I never judge gamers by their gamer score. I think for me personally, its simply an estimation of how many games they’ve played, not how good a gamer they are.
I have one question: before achievements how many of you tried to beat the game on the hardest difficulty or collect all the collectibles? With achievements that provides the incentive to actually do those feats. Achievements encourage completionists.
I remember when I got my 360 and I thought the points didn’t matter. But then I found that I got the absolute most out of a game by getting the achievements. A lot of cheevos send you off the beaten track and make you do things in a game you wouldn’t usually bother to do. Example: Dollcatcher achievement for Fable II. This can only be done by trading with other users online. It was annoying but it was also a great way to enhance the games lifespan.
All in all I think the gamerscore is probably the most important development in next gen gaming. It makes you work for your points and in the end you feel like you got the most out of a game and it’s money well spent and a fun job well done. And if that isn’t at least SOME of the main points of gaming, well, I don’t know what is
I’m with you on this one
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