Kezins Could Care Less About Achievement Points
According to Andy Reiner of Game Informer Magazine the Xbox 360’s “Achievements� could be the x-factor that wins the console war. He claims that Achievement Points are quickly having a great effect over where the consumer dollar is going in the battle. He claims that achievement points are keeping gamers from purchasing other systems simply because they have too much invested in trying to boost their stats on XBL. I find this hard to believe and the Game Informer article never backs up any of their statements with statistics of any kind. Therefore, I classify their claims as pure opinions and guessing. He also notes that if Sony and Nintendo do not try and come up with a point system that they will probably lose the console war.
I have to completely disagree with him for the time being. It is true that game achievement points are not on the PS3 or Wii and it is also true that some people see these points as a way to prove their status as serious gamers. Realistically, I think the system of achievement points is weak and needs some serious revisions. A perfect example is how you can get roughly 600 points in one afternoon with Madden 2006 (I got the 600 in about 2 hours) but it could take weeks or even months to get 600 on most other games. I really think that if Microsoft plans to make these points serious, there needs to be more rigid standards on how these points are achieved. Another perfect example is how you can earn points in some games such as Battlestations: Midway for finishing last. The Purple Heart worth 10 points is awarded in that game for the player with the worst kill/death ratio amongst the players. How is that an achievement? How does that prove to anyone how great you are as a gamer? It doesn’t. As things stand right now, I see the system as little more than a gimmick. It’s a clever one, but still a gimmick.
I’d like to hear what you guys think about this, but for now I’m sticking with my opinion that I could care less about points. Microsoft is starting up a rewards program for points also, but the prizes are really not so great. I also believe that Microsoft needs to get more realistic with the price of downloading ancient games. Sure it’s nostalgic and fun to go back and play the classics, but shouldn’t they be at classic prices? 400 points for Frogger is absurd. You can go out and buy a working Atari system with dozens of games at a garage sale for less. You could also download it to your computer from a zillion sites for free. It’s such an ancient game, that it has been cloned thousands of times and readily available for the price of “free”. I’m also not impressed with the titles available for download. Nintendo is winning the download war right now and they don’t need achievement points. They are also winning with a less superior system and lower prices. In the end, I truly believe that prices will win the war. The writers from all these gaming magazines and sites can debate all the various marketing aspects they want, but in the end price is the most powerful marketing tool. For example, if the PS3 were the same price as the Xbox 360, things would be instantly balanced. If the Wii had a higher price tag that matched the Xbox 360, Nintendo wouldn’t be selling as many units. I firmly believe that we live in a day and age where a majority of consumers are educated and well informed. They do not easily fall for simple marketing techniques and gimmicks that may have worked in the past. It’s going to come down to price and game titles. It’s that simple.
February 24th, 2007 at 11:56 am
I too could care less about the points I play for fun not for points and competing with people. Though I also think Xbox is the best console out there with or without the points.
February 24th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Need……more…..points!!!!
February 24th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I see the Achievement Points as more of little objectives to add a little more life into a game that you probably would have stopped playing after one or two trips through. If you were to ask any 100 people about the Achievement Point system, 95 would tell you pretty much the same thing.
As for the comment about downloading classic games, all three consoles have seen the advantages with reselling classic games like Paperboy and Pac-Man. Where the 360 stands out in this area is in that there are developers out there working on exclusive XBLA titles to add to the growing library of classics. As for Nintendo winning the download war, is that really any surprise? You’re talking about the entire Nintendo backstock going back to the NES. I don’t care who you are, you can’t compete with the Nintendo library — but I could also get all those classic NES games for free, as well.
I do agree with you on one point, comrade — titles and pricing will win this round. Sony is out of the picture, so it’s down to Nintendo and Microsoft. Nintendo has the cheaper console, but Microsoft has the developer support, and will eventually have a larger library than the Wii. The Wii is a novel idea, but the lack of software support for the system will eventually lead it to a strong 2nd place. Or so I believe, anyways.
February 24th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
J.W. good points. 360 also has a “gamer” appeal to it where Nintendo has a mass thing going for it. While Nintendo might be able to move a lot of units, a gamer is also going to want to have either a 360 or PS3 or all three if they can afford it. I don’t see intense shooters (Gears of War type of games) coming out for the Wii any time soon.
Myself, I like achievement points. I’m not going to go crazy trying to get them, but its fun to try to get certain ones, especially if you’re playing with friends cooperatively. In Gears me and a friend will go out of our way to try to get the acievements.
February 24th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
I don’t care about points, but I kind of care when I get ripped off. I was playing NBA 2K7 online yesterday and shot 15 for 19 from the 3 point line in a game which should have been 2 achievements and it didn’t register either.
Nintendo does have a vast library of games, but I really am still dissapointed with Xbox’s choice of games. Paperboy and games like Root Beer Tapper are cool, but not the kind of games that are going to make things happen.
February 25th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
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February 26th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Oh I agree with you Kezins about that. They need some cool titles from other systems or something that are exclusive. Start digging around in the Dreamcast library or something like that.
February 26th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
[...] Now, over at 1pstart.com there is an editorial by Kezins about just this kind of thing: Achievement Points. This is a shining example of taking it too far. Never mind that it’s undermining the purpose of the entire Gamerscore system, in addition to just plain cheating… but this is just freaking lazy! The entire point of the Gamerscore program is to see which gamers could do what within a game. Hell, there are some achievements I will never get because, quite frankly, I’m not good enough. At the same time, I don’t spend ten hours building a freaking ROBOT, for Sixty FREAKING POINTS… [...]