Vermin360

Well, I'm hoping that 2012 is a better year than last. Three deaths (family and friends) on the same day, my employer shut down two weeks before I moved into a new house, and I've had to replace a furnace and two major appliances within three weeks of each other. Anybody else have a 2011 they'd rather forget?

I saw this linked from another site the other day (can't remember where though). Nice work. I think I appreciated it, too, because I've been that guy. Actually, I've been both those guys at one time or another.

As a self-professed Achievement whore, I can see that Army of Two is going to spend a little more time in my disc tray than expected over the next couple of weeks. It always disappoints me to see servers close down, seeing as I have a nasty habit of collecting too large a stash of yet-unplayed games, but such is the risk I suppose. 
 I could make arguments both for and against them shutting down servers on older titles, but I'm sure there's been plenty enough of that already, both on "teh internets" and in the EA board rooms. Note to self: make more concerted effort to unlock online Achievements as soon as I pick up a game, and worry about all the single-player later, when the existence of servers matters not.

Shua, if somebody posted "FIRST!!!1111!" it would have made your morning. :P

To be clear, I consider boosting to be setting up a private match for the express purpose of whoring Achievements. The fun of one should never take away from the fun of many (in the case of the corner-huddling medics in a public match).

To mfpantst, my introduction to gaming came far from alongside the emergence of Achievements. My first gaming experience was with the Coleco Telstar in 1977, and my first console was Mattel Electronics' Intellivision (a machine that still has a welcome place in my collection). I think my interest in Achievements is more deeply rooted to my complete immersion in games from a young age right through my professional adult life. And my data addiction.

Booster. It's a dirty word on the internet, right up there alongside Achievement Whore. But really, where is the problem? The object of a game is to have fun, and when you think about it, the hunting of Achievements is just another game outside the game itself. It's not unlike a scavenger hunt or a game of hide and seek, and given the right mindset, that can be a hell of a lot of fun.

 When a person gets stuck on the latest edition of the New York Times crossword puzzle, it's not uncommon for him to ask for help from friends. Sure there's an element of pride at being able to say you completed it without outside help, but in the grand scheme of things, who is it hurting to enlist a little aid from your peers?

 Boosting is just that. Getting a little help to gain something that for all intents and purposes has no outside value other than what it's worth to the individual. Can I trade my Gamerscore for cash? No. Will it give me an unfair advantage in a job interview over somebody else? Likely, no. And if it does, there's probably one heck of a good reason for it. My Gamerscore is my New York Times crossword.

Call me a hypocrite, but while I'm not a fan of people who hack and mod in order to raise their gamerscore, sharing secrets and exposing exploits or loopholes that were built into the game is fair play. And I'll tell you something else, the community of boosters on Xbox LIVE is generally better at displaying sportsmanship than the core group of competitive gamers.

 I've both arranged and joined gaming sessions through the help of an Achievement-dedicated website and have encountered a far better play experience than the average game of Halo 3 or Call of Duty X. Not once in a boosting session have I been spawn-camped without my consent, sworn at maliciously, or peppered with racial slurs. I've added 17 people to my friends list that I've encountered through boosting sessions. By contrast, I've not added a single person who I've been paired up with through random play. And I've gone back and played several games with these new acquaintances for pure fun later, and had a great time doing so.

 Boosting sessions often let you get to know the stranger on the other end more than in a competitive match. I've had conversations with people I've never met in person, yet I know how their wedding plans are coming along, felt the pain of them losing a bidding war on a house, wished them well in upcoming surgery, and compared Schwarzenegger impressions. As much or as little, true or false, that people are willing to share, it's a lot more fun, and feels much more like being a part of a community. And as those of us who have outgrown our friends and focused more on family and career sit alone on the couch, isn't a little community just what we're looking for?

So with all the restitution that Sony plans to make toward its customers, do you think they'll do anything to compensate its development and publishing partners for the inconvenience that was caused?