Is Nintendo Making a Mistake by Excluding a Wii U Achievement System?

Achievements and trophies are a neat little feature. The addition of this external reward system adds longevity, encourages extra challenges and builds your Xbox Live or PSN profile with an gamerscore or trophy list, compiling all of your gaming accomplishments in one place.

Nintendo, known for ignoring such trends and doing their own thing with consoles, chose not to include a similar system on the Wii or 3DS. Sure enough, 5th Cell’s Jeremiah Slaczka confirmed on NeoGAF that, once again, the Wii U will not include a universal reward system of its own.

So, is this a financial mistake, or a breath of fresh air for gamers?

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Yes. I like trophies and achievements, they add more content to a game and some of them are really fun.

[SeraphimBlade]

If you ask me, trophies have become a substitute for ACTUAL in-game unlocks and replay value. I'm pretty much over them now, and I'm seeing that few games give me a good reason to keep playing besides them.

[kingxtreme81]

They are because, like it or not, achievements/trophies matter to a ton of gamers.

Excluding them means that when a gamer who does care about them is deciding which version of a multiplatform game to buy, the Wii U version will now have a check in the "con" column. Maybe it won't ultimately decide that gamer's purchase, but it very well could.

Me, I don't care about 'em at all. Still, I can see why it was a mistake on Nintendo's part to exclude them.

[Jadedz]

Apparently, it can be patched via firmware
They'll add it in (hopefully) with one of their future Wii U updates.

I'd rather they focus on making the online networks and services functional, before they bite off more than they can actually chew.

[slapedurmomsace]

I agree, but it's kinda sad that it's 2012 and adding some sort of achievement system would be "biting off more than they can chew"

[ExPresident]

This ^

As good as it looks its not like the trophy/achievement system is new. There is no excuse for not having it. They could offer to have it as a feature you turn off/on so each gamer can decide for themselves. There is absolutely no reason in late 2012 that this shouldn't be standard.

[metroid32]

What adding score system ?? get a grip thats easy stuff Ninty just dont see the value in it when they would much rather let 3rd partys use their systems on the Nintendo Network as that is better in my eyes i'm over achievments ect they mean nothing at the end of the day and 3rd party devs hate them as well as it prevents them from implimenting their own systems i think Ninty know what there doing here.

[zugdar]

Yes. Its a standard for every other platform.

[GameLord08]

With Miiverse as an actively social game diary, an achievements system on the Wii U is primitively redundant. They're superficial integrations now, and have made a complete mockery of competitive gaming.

[lilbroRx]

People complained about them not having an achievement system with the Wii, then the moment rumors of the "accomplishments" system came out, people started trash talking them about it and calling them copiers or unoriginal. Now they have gone back to slamming them for having no achievement system.

In the eyes of gaming journalist and Sony/Microsoft fanboys, no matter what Nintendo does, its wrong.

This is why I like Nintendo's "we do it our way and don't care what the competition does" approach, because there is simply no pleasing most of these people.

[madjedi]

Your welcome i finished your statement for you, i know it was convenient to exclude that other part
"In the eyes of gaming journalist and Sony/Microsoft fanboys, no matter what Nintendo does, its wrong." And in the eyes of nintendo fanboys nintendo can do no wrong and only ms and sony copy ideas.

If you want to single out another group as terrible, first make sure your group isn't just as bad as the ones you try to demonize.

[lilbroRx]

My group is PC gamers and before that it was SEGA gamers.

Of course, any form of common sense would leave one with on doubt that you a re talking about Nintendo and the last I checked, Nintendo fans weren't slamming the 360/PS3 for having or not having a achievement system. The general Nintendo fan opinion is that they don't really care for it one way or the other.

If its there, that's nice. Its it not there, that fine too. The only people who making a deal about this are the people who never really had any intention of gaming with Nintendo to begin with.

[josephayal]

huge Mistake

[samekratos]

I think it'll be acomplishment's like on 3ds,cant wait to play mario bros u paid it off today.

[RFornillos4]

i'd say it's a sad thing. but it was confirmed though that devs can still put in their own achievement system. and i'm pretty sure a future update would fix these if there's too much clamor about it.

[millzy102]

if people don't want to play games because no achievments then in my eyes they ain't true gamers, gamers play games not collect pointless things. in game unlockables need a big return in my eyes. but then how they sell pointless dlc. I've never brought dlc for any game and don't plan on to any time soon.

[izumo_lee]

The PS3 patched their trophy system a couple years after the XB360 so there is no reason that Nintendo can do the same. I guess they still have yet to decide how to implement it on their system or i hope that is the reason for not having it.

I am concerned since it is Nintendo & they have a history of doing things their way that is a departure of what is the norm in the game industry. Also Nintendo is not as prepared in the online/networking part of next gen as Sony or Microsoft so it may take them some time to get things going.