The seventh generation of consoles provided gamers with plenty of new features and gimmicks which have become industry main-stays; examples of this include plastic peripherals, Downloadable content and friends lists. All of the features just listed have managed to find their way onto all major platforms distributed by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, however one product of the seventh generation has yet to be seen on Nintendo platforms, achievements.
In the video game industry it is common for a company to mimic a good idea found in another; an example of this can be seen with the subscription service ‘Playstation Plus’ which offers a number of games for free each month, the same idea is currently being used in Miscrosoft’s ‘Games With Gold’ offering. Another example is the ‘achievement system’ created by Microsoft for the Xbox 360; this reward system has been copied by platforms such as Steam, iOS and Playstation. With all of this considered, it is rather baffling that Nintendo does not have some sort of achievement system to call its own.
Why Nintendo Should Have Achievements/Trophies
The ironic thing about Nintendo lacking a reward system is that some of the first-party titles are more suited for achievements than most games available anywhere else. I was recently finishing off The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the 3DS and I could not help but think that the game would have benefited from achievements; the exploration, the puzzles and the side quests all add up to form a perfect ‘Platinum Trophy’. Without achievements/trophies I felt less encouraged to do some of the optional quests. The Zelda franchise is not the only Nintendo series which would be a perfect fit for a reward system; the Metroid saga, whether in 2D or 3D would also benefit from having achievements, just think of the potential!
Achievements/trophies are definitely for the minority, the vast majority of gamers will never even glance at their trophy list, but this does not change the fact that certain titles have benefited financially from the inclusion of a rewards system; Sound Shapes is a Playstation title that still sells plenty of units to this day solely for the famous ‘Triple Platinum’ and the easy DLC which rains sliver trophies. While this case maybe rare, it does show that achievements/trophies have an appeal to a marketable proportion of the gaming community.
There are tons of indie titles which grace Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony platforms each year. Unlike some of the AAA titles that have differences in resolution and/or frame-rate, the vast majority of indie games look and play the same on all platforms, the only difference is that some platforms have trophies/achievements while Nintendo platforms do not. For an esteemed trophy hunter like me it is an easy choice to pick up a game such as Steamworld Dig on the Playstation Vita instead of the 3DS if the only difference is a reward system.
What Do You Think?
Achievements and trophies are in no way mainstream, only a very small percentage of gamers actually care about reward systems. Even though the reward systems take up a little more development time to implement into games, the pros outweigh the cons so it would definitely be worth Nintendo having one. It is worth remembering that achievements are only important if you want them to be, if you do not care about achievements they will not affect the game whatsoever but if you are an achievement/trophy hunter like me, they can add a lot more value to games in terms of length and fun.
Does Nintendo need achievements? No. Would achievements be a nice addition to Nintendo platforms? Hell Yes.
Do you think Nintendo should implement a reward system? Tell us in the comments below.