Have Achievements Ruined Gaming?

PopBucket writes: Hello everybody. My name is James and I am a recovering Achievement Junkie. This is my first time at an Achievements Anonymous meeting and it’s been two weeks since I last heard that sweet, sweet popping sound.

Seriously though, it’s been around 5 years since Achievements and Trophies were born, and ever since their arrival on the gaming scene, there have been two very different opinions towards their inclusion in games.

Join us as we explore both sides of the achievement coin...

[MariaHelFutura]

Not ruined, but they have definitely altered it forever.

[iamnsuperman]

I agree it hasn't ruined it. It really depends how you go about getting them. If you just worry about achievements and not play the game then sure it ruins the game but if you play the game and then do achievements once you have completed it then it doesn't. I just wish the achievements were different and not story related stuff. Getting an Achievement for getting to act 2 isn't really an achievement (unless the game is difficult and not many people can). An achievement is play for a stupid amount of hours, crawl the entire level, random stuff

[Wintersun616]

True. The most rewarding trophies are the ones that are not necessary for the games completion, but are either difficult or just weird/fun stuff to do. Getting a gold trophy for simply completing a game feels stupid to me, unless it's on the hardest difficulty.

[Gaming101]

There are a whole lot of games I would never even look at if it weren't for trophies. Then again, there were games that I used to play obsessively just for the fun of it, for my own challenge, and I never do that anymore because after I already get the material gratification from a blink on my screen and an addition to my gamer score, I feel "On to the next thing" more than anything else. A game really needs to be fantastic to keep me coming back after I platinum it.

[JamesSterling87]

So you're saying that crap games get more play because they have achievements to chase?

[Wintersun616]

*sigh*

For the 1000th time, NO!

If you let yourself be too concerned about them to the point when you can't really enjoy the game as it is anymore, then that's your fault. If you don't like achievements or trophies, just stop paying attention to them.

[darkride66]

Exactly.

[GasTankKiller]

I don't think they ruin games. I think that give games more replay value.

Most of the time when I'm done with my first play through, I'm done. However, If I find that I've nearly unlocked all achievements. I'll give the game a second run just to see if I can unlock them all.

[ChunkyLover53]

Nope, if you don't like them, it doesn't affect you in any way. For those that do like them, they add replay value and other challenges, we actually get more from our games.

[AO1JMM]

Added to it in my opinion. Adds to the replayability.

[boybato]

only disadvantage of said acheivements/thropies is that now my friends know that Ive played hanna montana. haha

[HammadTheBeast]

You sick bastard lol

[KMCROC]

what's the horse name .

[TheRealSpy]

The only thing that can ruin gaming is the community. What hurts gaming is 20 million people buying a POS game like COD year after year. the sends a message that the consumer isn't interested in innovation so a lot of companies don't bother taking risks. then we end up with a half dozen COD clones. The community hurts gaming by supporting DLC for things that should be in the game anyway. The community hurts gaming by bickering about which console is better. the community hurts gaming by posting articles like this.

But achievements...no. You don't HAVE to get achievements. They just add an extra layer of fun to the experience. I'm one of those OCD gamers that needs to find all the hidden stuff, getting some achievements as a result just feels a bit more rewarding. And now, MS (and even Ubitsoft) is offering a little bonus to people who go for achievements. I just got a 2% discount on live games. nothing amazing, but i got it for doing something i was doing anyway. not too shabby.

[TheRealSpy]

lol, and there you go community. proving me right. enjoy your subpar games year after year. lets hate on anyone who expects innovation.

what a joke the gaming community is. perpetual 12 year olds.

[Mathew9R]

Anyone remember a time were there was nothing like this at all?

Some of us back in the day fully completed games because we wanted to feel like we accomplished something without any incentive or being forced to just to get somewhere.

[JamesSterling87]

I remember sinking hours into GTA San Andreas, collecting every Horseshoe, Package & Oyster just because I loved that game & wanted to get the 100% stat.

I downloaded it recently on the XBLA, but there's no way that I can be bothered to track them all down again. However, that might be different if the game had related Achievements.

[whoyouwit04]

I always play the campaign first, then multiplayer, then I go back and replay for the achievements. I think thats the smart way to go about doing.

[FarCryLover182]

No, but it made me develop OCD.

[Unztayble]

At first I thought achievements added nothing to the game and that those who aim to acquire them all were just wasting their time. However, I have unlocked 2 platinum trophies on Arkham City and Dead Rising 2 simply because I found myself playing these games so damn much. So I think they do add some re-playability after all.

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

No it actually gives me more goals and adds some replay. Makes me explore the game searching for secrets more as well.

[BrizzyE]

Yea.. Achievements actually give me a further reason to keep playing the game when I think I've done everything I can do in the game. So if anything they actually in my opinion prolong the game

[from the beach]

Not ruined, but until they mark genuine achievement rather than Completed Level Two, Beat Game On Easy, Played 250 Games Online, Met Justin Bieber, they'll continue to leave a bad taste.

[ShaunCameron]

LOL. No. I think Achievements helped enhance the overall experience by rewarding a player with points as he accomplishes an in-game feat.

[HeavenlySnipes]

Every week an article with this exact headline will be accepted

[NeoTribe]

If trophies somehow ruin a game for you than you've got issues of your own. You don't like em... ignore them. If you like them... embrace them. Simple as that.

[3-4-5]

They hardly matter. How can they ruin it.