Achievements are a relatively new phenomenon. Some people love them, some people hate them, and some people are outright addicted to them. It's funny, because they don't really mean anything, cost almost no time to put in games and don't really contribute anything to the overall game. Sure, some of them might encourage you to go off exploring areas you might not have done so if there weren't an achievement attached to doing so, or you might play through a game again on a higher difficulty level when you probably would have just played through it the one time. But recently, a new breed of Achievement has popped up: (no pun intended) The in-game Achievement.

If regular achievements tied to Xbox Live and Playstation Network Accounts don't contribute to anything, then these take that a step further. Because, effectively, no-one but you or anyone playing your game is going to see these in-game accomplishments. Isn't that missing the point of achievements entirely? Some argue that achievements are just "bragging rights" and I can see this. The more you earn, the more points or gamerscore or levels you get, and this in turn is seen by anyone who you play with online or anyone who see's your forum signature that has these items tied to it. But how do you show off in-game achievements? With a screen-shot? That's no good because this can easily be faked. These in-game achievements are in a limbo world where they are known only to you and don't contribute to some greater goal.

I, personally feel they are worthless. If you like achievements because they encourage you to do things you wouldn't otherwise do in a game, then I can see where you might be indifferent towards them, or maybe even like them. But as a person who likes achievements that contribute to a larger entity of score and accomplishment, I don't see their point. Many people even feel the same way about Steam Achievements.

Steam is a huge digital distribution service for PC games. The largest, in fact. Within the past few years it has seen an enormous surge in growth and also recently introduced it's own version of Achievements. Now, the thing with these achievements is that they DO tie to a larger entity of accomplishment and they ARE seen by other people besides yourself. Yet why do most people feel they are inferior to Xbox Live's and PSN's equivalent? It can't be because of the popularity of Steam; it rivals both of these networks. But I'm getting beside the point. In-game achievements and Steam achievements are both straddling the line of acceptance and validity by the community at large. One, however, I feel has the upper hand; and it isn't the in-gamers.

Will we soon see a dissolution of all achievements in general? Probably not, they are too popular right now to just do away with. (Some say they even influence their decision of purchasing a game or not) But in-game achievements I can see being done away with in the future. If other people can't see them, what's the point? That's my stand at least. What's yours? In-game achievements, yay or nay?

Achievements are a relatively new phenomenon. Some people love them, some people hate them, and some people are outright addicted to them. It's funny, because they don't really mean anything, cost almost no time to put in games and don't really contribute anything to the overall game. Sure, some of them might encourage you to go off exploring areas you might not have done so if there weren't an achievement attached to doing so, or you might play through a game again on a higher difficulty level when you probably would have just played through it the one time. But recently, a new breed of Achievement has popped up: (no pun intended) The in-game Achievement.

If regular achievements tied to Xbox Live and Playstation Network Accounts don't contribute to anything, then these take that a step further. Because, effectively, no-one but you or anyone playing your game is going to see these in-game accomplishments. Isn't that missing the point of achievements entirely? Some argue that achievements are just "bragging rights" and I can see this. The more you earn, the more points or gamerscore or levels you get, and this in turn is seen by anyone who you play with online or anyone who see's your forum signature that has these items tied to it. But how do you show off in-game achievements? With a screen-shot? That's no good because this can easily be faked. These in-game achievements are in a limbo world where they are known only to you and don't contribute to some greater goal.

I, personally feel they are worthless. If you like achievements because they encourage you to do things you wouldn't otherwise do in a game, then I can see where you might be indifferent towards them, or maybe even like them. But as a person who likes achievements that contribute to a larger entity of score and accomplishment, I don't see their point. Many people even feel the same way about Steam Achievements.

Steam is a huge digital distribution service for PC games. The largest, in fact. Within the past few years it has seen an enormous surge in growth and also recently introduced it's own version of Achievements. Now, the thing with these achievements is that they DO tie to a larger entity of accomplishment and they ARE seen by other people besides yourself. Yet why do most people feel they are inferior to Xbox Live's and PSN's equivalent? It can't be because of the popularity of Steam; it rivals both of these networks. But I'm getting beside the point. In-game achievements and Steam achievements are both straddling the line of acceptance and validity by the community at large. One, however, I feel has the upper hand; and it isn't the in-gamers.

Will we soon see a dissolution of all achievements in general? Probably not, they are too popular right now to just do away with. (Some say they even influence their decision of purchasing a game or not) But in-game achievements I can see being done away with in the future. If other people can't see them, what's the point? That's my stand at least. What's yours? In-game achievements, yay or nay?