Achievements..... Good or Bad for the industry? (Question of the Day 9-3-10)

I don't see how they can ruin anything.. If you don't like them, don't go for them. 

They add replayability, even for games that would normally be over in 5-10 hours (Like CoD 4's campaign)

"If you don't like them, don't go for them  "

" I don't see how they can ruin anything.. If you don't like them, don't go for them  "

" They add replayability, even for games that would normally be over in 5-10 hours (Like CoD 4's campaign) "

How is there anything bad in achievements? If you don't want to aim for them, just ignore them. They add a lot to a games value.

They can be used in good and bad ways (by both the developers and players), but right now I think the good outweighs the bad.

Best thing to happen to games in well over a decade.

Other than multiplayer achievements when I don't have a decent Internet connection, I'm enjoying them.  I'm also a fan of avatar awards, as stupid as avatars might be.  It's a fun way to add replayability to games that otherwise might sit on my shelf for the next five years.

They help this industry, in my opinion. I've seen people buy a game just so they could get all the achievements. And like everyone has said, sometimes you can go back into a game and get the achievements you missed. They're a fun little diversion for me, personally. I don't know how anybody can say they're bad for the industry. They're simply there. If you don't like them, that's totally fine, but nobody is forcing you to get every last one.

They can be bad when people start to get obsessive, but overall, not really. In terms of directly answering the question in the title, definitely no. Not bad for the industry, at all. 
 
Also, hooray for unanimous poll.

This is a perennial question on these forums, and a lot of different perspectives on it. I understand why people don't like them and either ignore them or generally avoid them, but I think it helps the industry and is good for gaming in general. It has driven a lot of innovation in both how games are designed (goals with achievements specifically in mind) and how gamers approach games (not just to beat it, but to be a "completionist" or to get more gameplay hours out of the game). Now, not everyone wants to be a completionist, but it gives the OCD among us (and there are a lot of them, apparently) something to do, and I like the positive feedback they offer.

The achievements when done right makes a great meta-game in the game itself. Some developers use achievements to show you cool parts of the game you may of missed while being in a rush to beat the game.

I love them, luckily so far Xbox Live isn't making a problem with it, but on stuff like Warcraft...
 
Lets just say that if there's an add on that can fake achievements just so that you can bypass the "check" to do anything in the game...that should be enough words spilled...

I think they're alright. I don't strive for them personally but they are welcome for the added replay value they give.

 Remove multiplayer achievements from all games and I love them :) Recently started playing Gears of War on the PC there's no one playing online so no way to ever get the points!!! I am sure there are people out there, someplace without a net connection, is it fair to them already sorry ass bastards to have to look at the points they can never get? 

Cheevs add replay value to games i would usually beat and never pick up again, and some of them are challenging enough to remind me of the old days of Nintendo hard

Im not a fan of them.  I just play the game if I get an achievement then thats cool.  But here and there you do get obsess like the airplane  level in cod 4  

I honestly think achievements are a good thing to help the industry as a way for developers to get you to play the game through and through rather than just rush through the story and that's it.  They put a lot of effort in making a game that they want you to enjoy all of it, not just the story.  Multiplayer achievements however, I think are a bad idea since online can only go so far for so long, and will end up locking late comers out whether it's due to closed servers or lack of community.

In general, a good thing. Gives me incentive to play the game in different ways. On the bad side, I hate it when they include multiplayer achievements simply because it forces (assuming you want the achievements) to play the MP, which more often that not, can really suck. I like what COD does with their games how they have sort of a built in achievement system with the titles and emblems.

Achievements are good, they add a little more reward to the game. But S-ranking a game is different, very few are enjoyable to do so.

" I don't see how they can ruin anything.. If you don't like them, don't go for them  "

Neither. It's just a thing.

I hate achievements.
 

Optional, can make a game more interesting. Good stuff.

Xbox 360 Achievements and PS3 trophies are nice little additions to video gaming but I hate seeing people take them so seriously that they make them their life's work. Many people, instead of living active lives, sit in front of their T.V. accruing these points and trophies. That's the one negative I have about them. 
 
Want proof? Read their grammar. It's deplorable. They spend more time gaming than doing their schoolwork.
 
Then again, there are people who spend all day on message boards racking up ungodly post counts. Seems like a lot of people would rather stay indoors all year-round doing both instead of getting out in the world.

" I don't see how they can ruin anything.. If you don't like them, don't go for them  "

They make you buy more games. And more sales is good for the industry.

" @Dad_Is_A_Zombie:  Wow, brilliant response. The point isn't whether or not one personally chooses to do or enjoys achievements. The question was whether or not they are ruining the hobby.  So, if people love achievements so much that they play games simply to gain them, will they buy and play crappy games, and not care how crappy they are because they're not after quality, but achievements?  "

You could play fallout 2 or deus ex 10 times at the very least without any hint of an achievement, they were so fun you could come up with your own personal goals (due to the immersion) which are way more satisfying.  Such as: be a total asshole, not use any guns, play all of the mafia families against each other and escape with all the cash and the booty XD,Not kill anyone, declare war on vault city etc.......
 Achievements are personally set and rewarded, I don't need to brag about what achievements I have while it's much more interesting to talk to friends about personal achievment goals which are personal and often humorous. such as passing all of half life 2 holding the teddy you see in the beginning.
Online games such as cod should have achievements as they have no character immersion.
 They have succeeded in totally dumbing down the industry and apparently the people who use it.
OVERALL : NO

" I don't see how they can ruin anything.. If you don't like them, don't go for them.  "

Again with your poll I find myself in a grey area. When done well achievements are fun incentives that add to the replay value of games. When done incorrectly they make me want to punch a baby.

Achievements are hard to diagnose as good or bad for the industry. @Dad_Is_A_Zombie makes a good point in that they keep the developer's work in the public eye for longer, but adding a longer lifecycle to a game could be a negative for the industry because  people aren't buying new games as quickly because they're spending increased times with old titles. I think, simplifying it as much as possible, achievements help a solitary developer, but hurt the overall industry.
 
I think this makes sense. Call me out if it doesn't.

I love my platinum trophies!

I don't think dev's should be obligated to include them. Otherwise, I'm neutral.

They give me something to do once I've beaten the game. They should have been called 'Challenges' then this question wouldn't keep coming up.

Achievements are like Farmville.  Sure it might be fun for some people, but I bet a lot of people are just addicted to them and don't realize how dull they sometimes are.
 
I tried WoW achievements for a little while.  Opening 300 easter eggs was not fun.

Amazing from both a consumer perspective and a developer perspective.  Look at all that data to be analyzed.

Achievements are actually a great addition to gaming. The only bad thing that came of it are people who become obsessed with it (nothing wrong with S-ranking a game; but if you buy games for cheap achievements...) and multiplayer orientated achievements.

"  Remove multiplayer achievements from all games and I love them :) Recently started playing Gears of War on the PC there's no one playing online so no way to ever get the points!!! I am sure there are people out there, someplace without a net connection, is it fair to them already sorry ass bastards to have to look at the points they can never get?  "

" @Dad_Is_A_Zombie: Yet more angst from the Green Guys. I don't think Greg was "attacking" your response. "

" I hate achievements.
 

"

I think they're great when they give you a creative goal that you might not attempt to do without that achievement ("Dastardly" in RDR...). I don't like when it's "kill x amount of enemies" or something like that, especially in multiplayer because it encourages boosting.

The only point at which achievements become a problem is when people become addicted to them or find themselves very enthusiastic to obtain achievements, only to find that there are some crappy achievements within the game. On the whole I think they are a very good thing; they give us extra goals to strive for which we wouldn't have gone after otherwise, they are an additional means of rewarding the player for completing pre-existing goals and they add replayability value to games.

" The only point at which achievements become a problem is when people become addicted to them or find themselves very enthusiastic to obtain achievements, only to find that there are some crappy achievements within the game. On the whole I think they are a very good thing; they give us extra goals to strive for which we wouldn't have gone after otherwise, they are an additional means of rewarding the player for completing pre-existing goals and they add replayability value to games. "

I can't honestly vote either way in this poll. I definitely don't think achievements have improved anything about gaming for me, but I also don't think they are ruining anything by being there. 90% of the time, I don't even look at the achievement screen because I know it's going to affect the way I play the game. Keep in mind, I am saying this from a rental perspective. If I was buying all my games, I would probably think differently.

" @Gamer_152 said:

" The only point at which achievements become a problem is when people become addicted to them or find themselves very enthusiastic to obtain achievements, only to find that there are some crappy achievements within the game. On the whole I think they are a very good thing; they give us extra goals to strive for which we wouldn't have gone after otherwise, they are an additional means of rewarding the player for completing pre-existing goals and they add replayability value to games. "

I find people who buy games just for achievements are pathetic. But even that does short-term good for the industry. I just wonder if there are any potential negative long-term effects. So far, developers don't seem to be directly manipulating them to sell games. Not yet at least. "