That's it... I'll just be honest. Achievement Points are retarded.

[Nesmaster]

Kid Ice said it better than I could have... I'd be fine with achievements without the actual point value, but they would have to be more creative that way. For example the EDF achievements would be really good even without a point value, but all of those movie games would be throwaways.

[dgdgagdae]

Hmm, sort of an insulting tone for asking people why they enjoy playing games the way they play, no? "Retarted"? I'm not sure if you're insulting the mentally retarded, people who enjoy the achievements, or the English language.

The whole achievement system used to make me scratch my head. Microsoft loses money on the console but makes money selling games. And yet, they've designed a system that encourages people to spend more time playing the same game instead of moving on and buying a new one? But put into perspective in a world where games are overwhelmingly multi-platform, and it helps drive those who may otherwise not have a preference of which version to buy. Genius.

To answer the original question (I think): I've had my Xbox 360 since October of '06, and I have 1510 achievement points. I get some here and there accidentally, but it's not what makes playing games fun for me. Admittedly, I smile and have to go back and find the reason I "earned" it, so it adds enjoyment. But I don't pursue them.

[Nesmaster]

The only bad thing about achievements is, after you hear as many unlock as I have, you start to hear that sound everywhere for no reason.

I know the sign-in sound is the same thing, but that's besides the point. Sometimes when I"m playing something, someone will sign in at the exact wrong time and I'll immediately think "huh? wtf could I have just unlocked?", only to realize that someone just signed in.

Achievements, like any addiction, has bad side effects.

[bangtango]

Congrats on having enough free time to play garbage games to their completion. I can't even imagine how many hours a week you must spend on there. And Ratatoulle? Don't you have ANY standards? Also, don't you feel you're missing quality games on other platforms that don't have points?

Garbage games to you and a few others maybe. Yet somebody has to buy (or rent) Meet The Robinsons and Ratatouille. That is why they were released.

I'm not here to debate Achievement Points and I'm not here to defend a couple games I've never played. I just don't understand why you need to critique what a guy is playing. If someone wants to play games that I think are garbage, or a system that I think is garbage, I don't give them a hard time about it. It's their money, their system and their free time. What difference is it to you what games Nesmaster is playing?

[boatofcar]

People who spend hours on acheivement points are losers. People who spend hours on video game irc chatrooms and video game forums are super cool.

Seriously, get off your high horse.

[CYRiX]

Sounds like somebody's got a case of the mondays!

[Nesmaster]

People who spend hours on acheivement points are losers. People who spend hours on video game irc chatrooms and video game forums are super cool.

Seriously, get off your high horse.

Exactly! So long as we enjoy what we're doing with our free time, who is to tell us what is cool and what isn't?

90% of my free time is spent on my 360/PS3, or on here. And I couldn't be happier.

[TurboGenesis]

For honesty, I am care less about Achievement points. I just play the game to play it. I still find more fun in other games on other platforms regardless if they have achievement points or not.

I have alot of fun playing Senko no Ronde but barely have any achievement points but I have 20 hours logged with the ingame timer.

I play a game because it is fun and giving me good times.


here is my gamer card


I guess I suck because I don't have high achievement points.
I guess I suck because I don't post alot in game forum.
I guess my e-dingaling is small >_< -- At least my real dingaling is good enough size ^_~

[Joker T]

I like gamerscore and achievements. I think of it sort of as a high score across all my games and I do enjoy getting them.

Before achievements would you say that people who played alot of different games and played them to 100 percent completion wasted their time doing so? Achievements are rewards for the dedicated and hardcore gamers.

You don't have to like them but you also don't need to insult people like Nesmaster that enjoy them.

[Moo Cow]

We've been discussing in #vbender and scooter said it best: "achievements = e-penis length."

I know people who play crap games to get points, or who play one particular section over and over and over to get one specific achievement. Afterwards, I'm always told "man, that totally sucked -- that game blows." Or, "that achievement took me 5 hours to get."

So, I beg the question: Why play something if you aren't enjoying it? Is your e-penis really that small?

What about collecting trophies on Super Smash Bros. Melee? Or trying to accomplish goals in general? Yeah, I'd say if you're not having fun, stop playing it, but as long as you enjoy trying to get the achievement points, what's the problem? I'm not going to argue with the first example: if someone hates the game, they probably shouldn't play it. They also shouldn't buy a shitty game just for points to earn. But what if they enjoy it? When I beat Super C, it took days out of my life. But you know what? I enjoyed them. Sure, there was a lot of sitting around yelling at the Nintendo, but it was all worth it in the end. I like a challenge in my video games. I set goals in games, much like achievements. I don't get points awarded, but I get sense of accomplishment.

[Dangerboy]

Am I the only who noticed the irony in spelling "retarded" wrong in the topic title?

[smork]

What's wrong with achievements? I see them as a little motivator. Nesmaster's use of EDF is a good example. I love the game and want to finish everything -- the 500 points waiting for me after I finish the remaining 10 levels I have on Inferno are the pinprick in my ass to do it.

Some achievements i'll never get -- I don't have the motivation to get all 1250 in Crackdown, and while I am loving Blue Dragon I'll never see the achievements for maxing out all characters. But achievements that fit into the flow of the gameplay are fun and do add value.

I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to play shit games to get points (as I don't have enought time to play kiddie games, way too many other games out there for all sorts of systems) but if that's what floats your boat, so what? It's no worse than trying to get a better high score on a shooter, or do all the side quests in a mediocre RPG.

[bangtango]

Am I the only who noticed the irony in spelling "retarded" wrong in the topic title?

I noticed it as well. Kid Ice made a comment about it earlier. Let this thread hang around long enough and it will generate one or two post of the year candidates.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Activision Patches > Achievement Points

I probably could have earned the Enduro and Spider Fighter ones but, when you're 6, taking a picture of a TV that you can actually make anything out on is more difficult than passing the bar to get the damn patch. Damn you Polaroid! It's just too easy these days.

I don't understand the whole Gamerscore thing. What do you get for a high one? I'd rather the same achievement unlock something in game. Like say, an easter egg, mode or something else that actually matters - outside of the e-penis gauge.

It's really a smart feature though. Get people addicted and they will buy anything to up their gamerscore. Kinda like herbal enhancement for you're e-penis. Don't do a thing, but that doesn't stop people from buying into them time and again.

[DigitalSpace]

As for the "don't you have better things to do with your time?" question, I don't think that needs to be asked here. We all have "better" things to do with our time, we just like to do this.

Quoted for truth.

I think achievement points are a little overrated, but it was a cool idea and adds to the Xbox experience. And some of them can be pretty interesting (such as the ones that encourage you to mess up somehow).

[scooterb23]

Wow, I got quoted in the opening post woooo!

I'm a fan of achievement points honestly, I think they help extend a game's life past the point I would normally lose interest. The one thing I don't agree with is changing the game (i.e. sliders in sports games) for the sole reason of getting easy points. I'm thinking specifically about the sports games, which give you a lot of points for scoring X points in a game. Making the game super easy just to grab those points is really cheap, and goes against the whole system... but of course, that's just my opinion.

[heybtbm]

People who spend hours on acheivement points are losers. People who spend hours on video game irc chatrooms and video game forums are super cool.

Seriously, get off your high horse.

I'll second that.

I love achievements. It extends the time I play a particular game well beyond what I would normally. It's a challenge to get certain achievements just like it was to get the "high score" or "ultimate sword" or whatever in years past.

I actually see this topic differently. When someone has a large amount of achievements for a game, it's apparent that they have the ability to finish what they start. When you see someone who plays a ton of games and still doesn't have the achievement for finishing the game (for instance), it always confuses me. If you pay $60 for a game...why wouldn't you at least finish the damn thing?

Anyway, take it easy. Remember...there is no wrong way to spend your free time. No one is keeping track of what you do. Just keep the important things in perspective and you'll be fine.

[TurboGenesis]

I actually see this topic differently. When someone has a large amount of achievements for a game, it's apparent that they have the ability to finish what they start. When you see someone who plays a ton of games and still doesn't have the achievement for finishing the game (for instance), it always confuses me. If you pay $60 for a game...why wouldn't you at least finish the damn thing.

I guess I am have problems to you? Sorry I have too many games I work up to 60+ hours a week and have wife and kids to juggle inbetween game playing. Thanks mate, shit on me some more

[Slate]

If I'm playing Guitar hero 2 and I beat jordan on expert, I want proof that I did.

[PDorr3]

I am another one who enjoys getting achievements, I am at around 34k now I think. Just like everyone else has said it makes me buy or rent games I normaly would not (usualy rent though for ones I am not sure about) and some of them I really end up enjoying alot that I otherwise probably never would have even played.

I dont play sports games to boost my score either, only one I have played is NBA street only because it was actualy a fun arcadey type basketball game. Sure I go out of my way to achieve some points, like when I got my 360 I played ridge racer 6 over 100 hours so that I could get 940 gamercore in it (I can also thank RR6 for getting me into the racing genre, never before had I actualy enjoyed a racing game other than mario kart). I usualy take breaks from achievements, like my last break was like 6 or 7 months where I went back to playing Final fantasy 11, so I estimate my next break will be when the new expansion comes out later this year.