Have achievements contributed to the 360's lifespan?

[bulletman]

I've been thinking about this for a while. I know the 360 is an amazing console with great games, but have achievements actually increased it's lifespan?

[HabsCen10ial]

I don't think it's added to the consoles lifespan but it has helped keep me hooked to gaming. I was at an age where I noticed myself getting bored with gaming but achievements help keep me interested and give me something to shoot for while gaming.

[mortug]

without achievements i wouldn't even been playing. i haven't owned a console since NES, then i got hooked on achievements. without them i wouldn't even own xbox

[X Dboi X]

without achievements i wouldn't even been playing. i haven't owned a console since NES, then i got hooked on achievements. without them i wouldn't even own xbox

^ This.

I wouldn't be playing without achievements either.

Gives the game more lifespan, keeps you more hooked.

[skaghead]

I think its more down to the games and of course Multiplayer

[Akuza]

For some people who need a goal for gaming ..

Gaming is designed to be for fun.. Achievements seem to have taken the fun out of gaming in some games..

[Crizzixx]

While going for cheevos can be annoying in some instances, it gives much needed "goals" that newer games seem to be moving away from. Which is fine, I'm all about the experience, but it has definitely renewed my interest in gaming personally. At least as it pertains to the 360.

As for it extending the life of the 360 itself, well not at all. It has however, increased the user base during that lifespan.

[Terriah]

I don't necessarily think "achievements" have helped solely the xbox's lifespan, I think its revitalised gaming since it gives another objective to playing through the game etc.
I think both major consoles, PS3 with their trophies and 360 with their achievements have employed it, I think because it symbolises play and reward.
I think people tend to like achievements or trophies because as they're playing they receive a reward for doing something, so it encourages them to do it again - play the game more/go find more games to play.

I personally prefer xbox with its point/number system, but both ps3 and xbox employs this method.

[ofay]

For some people who need a goal for gaming ..

Gaming is designed to be for fun.. Achievements seem to have taken the fun out of gaming in some games..
You realize you are on a website about getting achievements




I think it's helped as a visual online bragging rights. People can look and see how "good" you are at a game

[Akuza]

You realize you are on a website about getting achievements




I think it's helped as a visual online bragging rights. People can look and see how "good" you are at a game

Yeah .. I think gamerscore means nothing but a personal goal .. It doesn't show how good you are because especially with storyline achievements ... You'll get the exact same ones as someone who is playing it on the hardest difficulty when your playing it on easy...

The only difference being is right at the end .. But during that time people may concider the person with more gamerscore better silly right?

I like achievements on some games .. But alot of others just seem silly

Especially the ones that ruin games .. (I.E - multiplayer cheevos)

[G-Zus Kriced]

I think they have extended the games lifespan, as well as the console's. It's nice to see actual progress and skill overall from gamers, and to add extra efforts to make the game worth playing. Never have I tried to barrel roll a car down a hill to make it roll five times until I played GTA4.

[niko da bos]

For some people who need a goal for gaming ..

Gaming is designed to be for fun.. Achievements seem to have taken the fun out of gaming in some games..

ya i kind of agree, i used to go achievement crazy now im toning it dwn a bit. sometimes i will be enjoying a game a lot, having fun and completing levels / missions. then i take a gander at the achv list thinking, "oh man this will be a fun trip, i love this game!"
^
then i see all the rediculous requirements and it almost makes the game less enjoyable, i end up grinding and searching for every last achievement. only to realize there is 1 or 2 that are hard as hell, and will take up 90% of your time while going for the achievement list. nobody wants to be missing that last achivements on the list, so close to 100%.

one game off the top of my head is 'toy soldiers', i love tower defense games and this one was a true gem (great find for me). this little arcade title creeped its way into my game list, and is so much fun if you enjoy strategy. even with a guide / walkthru i cannot manage 100% in this game, some of the ration tickets are just obsurd. "snipe 11 soldiers with one bullet." what in gods name, put that achievement in a shooter :confused:

[OptimusPrime76]

You realize you are on a website about getting achievements




I think it's helped as a visual online bragging rights. People can look and see how "good" you are at a game


This is where achievements have gone a bit wrong. On the whole a big gamerscore does not mean you are necessarily a great gamer it means you have more time on your hands. People can whore easy games to inflate score and boost online achievements which takes no skill at all. Sorry but if you have a big gamerscore and it's filled with Hannah Montana tripe and your looking for respect then look elsewhere.

On the other hand some achievements take a lot of skill and patience, completing some games on harder difficulties for example.

Achievements are great and give me a lot of replayability on a lot of games but they have had there shine removed from the 'bragging rights' part simply because there are so many ways to cheaply inflate your score.

[Capn Doug]

This is where achievements have gone a bit wrong. On the whole a big gamerscore does not mean you are necessarily a great gamer it means you have more time on your hands. People can whore easy games to inflate score and boost online achievements which takes no skill at all. Sorry but if you have a big gamerscore and it's filled with Hannah Montana tripe and your looking for respect then look elsewhere.

On the other hand some achievements take a lot of skill and patience, completing some games on harder difficulties for example.

Achievements are great and give me a lot of replayability on a lot of games but they have had there shine removed from the 'bragging rights' part simply because there are so many ways to cheaply inflate your score.

That's why you play games you are interested in and enjoy. Whether the game is easy or not (even if people don't understand how difficult or easy the game is) doesn't matter as much as enjoyment. Take two games, for example, Darkest of Days and Rango. Both are easy and the only barrier to getting the 1000 is the amount of time you are willing to put into the game, and can be completed in a day off. But I will proudly say I have played Rango, since I enjoyed it, being a big fan of platformers. Darkest of Days, on the other hand, is going to be buried in my tag, long forgotten. I am actually actively watching it trying to see how much longer it will be in my completed games sig. Remember, "tripe" is a subjective rating, and games like Call of Duty would go on my list of "tripe."

OT: The achievement system has more contributed to the attach rate of the 360. For those who don't know that term, it is the number of games/controllers/peripherals purchased for each console. That may or may not have anything to do with the lifespan. More, it seems as though the lifespan has to do with the fact that the technology in gaming is not making the massive leaps that it used to. Yes, there are things like 3D, but it is not worth making the investment in a new console since the technology has not advanced.

[13ip0lar]

I think you give a reward to anyone meaningless or not, they will feel a sense of accomplishment, which works it way back into psychology, and then you can hash out why the GS system works. The fact that it costs MS nothing and is so appealing to so many, is a priceless commodity.

[Kairi]

I'm not sure if they have, but they possibly have helped with that. Achievements give more options of things to do in a game other then simply beating it and it gives it more replay value, which may help the Xbox last longer as well.

[Delphan Rane]

The only consoles I've ever owned (prior to Xbox) was Atari 7800 and SNES. When I heard MS was coming out with their own console, I waited two years for the Xbox and got mine at launch. I loved it so much that I knew I was getting whatever the next version was going to be. Achievements had nothing to do with my decision to buy a 360, as it was not something I was expecting. If the next gen console didn't have achievements, it wouldn't affect my decision to get another Xbox...maybe limit the number of games I'd consider playing, but I'll still get an Xbox no matter what.

[NomoreNiceGuy]

No, but it have increased some games lifespan

[Judog1]

No, but I would say that achievements evoked people to play games thy otherwise wouldn't have even considered.

[ghostrunner1990]

Not the lifespan of the xbox 360 but games yes.

[Zaft]

I wouldn't be playing the 360 if it wasn't for achievements. I have an uber computer, and used to be a Steam achievement whore, but Steam has turned to shit in the past year or so, with it becoming more-or-less MySpace 2.0 with games.

If the 360 didn't have achievements, I'd probably just play PC games and try my best to ignore Steam's existence.

[CyberPunch83]

Achievements have most definitely increased the lifespan of the Xbox 360 not only as a console, but as a multimedia device. With all of the added integrations for Facebook, Twitter, etc and the ever-increasing library of games, not to mention Kinect, the Xbox 360 will be my console of choice for a quite a while longer.

[Skilled]

Yes, that's why Sony added trophies. They had to get in on it too.

[kaymassive]

i think it helped to keep us hooked, i'm an achievement whore.lol

[Itose]

Not necessarily the Xbox's lifespan, but for me it does increase a games. I often play though once for fun then again for achievements.

[Opiate42]

They do a job of extending the lifespan of a game, and may be a contributing factor to the life-cycle of the console but I'd say not a defining one.

I'd chalk that up to the fact that game devs have made huge leaps over the lifetime of the PS3 and 360. Compare launch titles to the games coming out now. Achievements, graphics and game engines, level design, story and plot...there's been some massive progress all around as they keep trying to 1-up previous successes and make some ass-kicking sequels to already stellar games.

That keeps many of us with controllers in our hands more than anything.

[Arenazombie]

. "snipe 11 soldiers with one bullet."

This ration ticket actually doesn't exist in toy soldiers. I think it was 11soldiers with one ammo clip which is like 10 bullets or so. There was a ration ticket for 3 kills with one sniper shot which was totally fine and easy.

[o5FLORIDAo5]

it shouldnt increse the life span cuz when xbox comes out with a new console i better be able to bring my gamertag and achievemenets with me!!:uzi:

[superdefnot]

I think its more down to the games and of course Multiplayer

This. Plenty of awesome titles out for all consoles, more to come, more and more diverse multiplayer experiences, the list goes on. Achievements to me are a kind of challenge after the challenge -- it gives games more longevity and as a result, perhaps the console as well.

[GetNikolaiVodka]

it shouldnt increse the life span cuz when xbox comes out with a new console i better be able to bring my gamertag and achievemenets with me!!:uzi:

If they don't transfer over, I doubt I'd even upgrade my system.

[Zaft]

If they don't transfer over, I doubt I'd even upgrade my system.

Considering everything is being linked with your Windows Live ID, such as GFWL, Xbox Live, Zune, Netflix, WP7, W8, etc...I'm pretty sure that you're going to keep all your achievements.

[Foxxy kyle]

Wouldnt every feature the 360 has offered help the lifespan of the xbox 360 and how many users use it?

[CONKER1182]

Achievements is what kept me playing video games. Just as long as they don`t put in missible achievements and collectibles then I`m happy.

[Lostchaos999]

i really think so, for me it makes me want to play the game more just so i can try and get perfect on it

[VladimirK]

I think they have partially.

Without any of the awards stuff and Gears/Halo, plus the way the original prices were set out, I honestly think the PS3 could have easily buried the 360 because of the hardware and free online play.

I think the price comes into it in that folk were more happy to buy a cheaper 360 than the very expensive PS3 at launch and then I imagine a fair amount of them got hooked on the combo of achievements and all their friends making the same choice, (here you get the argument you see of, "All my friends have 360, so then I got/I'll stick with 360.").


If released at the same time and roughly the same price, I think the free online of PSN would have been a big blow to MS because without any other factors like mentioned above, you see two consoles, roughly the same price, one you have to pay £40 a year to play online, the other you just sign up and play. What would seem like the better purchase?

Then I say roughly because PS3 would of course be a higher price but that is for BluRay vs DVD, (plus the cell which I won't go into), which if you think about it, no real comparison.
For games, sure, switch discs on 360, that's no biggie but after playing some games you can't watch a BluRay on 360 and for somebody that loves movies I think that is a great feature of PS3. (Especially considering how much BluRay players were just a short time ago.)

[Bananaster]

I think achievements have helped sell more copies of games that otherwise wouldn't have sold as well. Take avatar for instance, that game probably made huge profits because of achievements.

Some games have ruined themselves with the achievements they have, such as final fantasy and some other rpgs. Some are ruined because of EA/other companies shutting down their servers and making the achievements unattainable. Overall though achievements are a good thing I think

[Whirz]

Not sure they've increased the lifespan but have definitely added a new incentive for the games in general.