The Platinum Advantage

[CriticalGaming]

I was browsing Reddit this morning and I came across a sudden thought. I've been a fan of trophies slash achievements since day 1 despite not really putting any real focus into them until fairly recently. As it stands now I've platinum'ed (or 100%ed) 40 games and have become part of the trophy hunter community on reddit and on PSNprofiles.

Now it's not really news that Sony has been dominating the last two console generations (we aren't counting the Switch) mostly due to Microsoft's weird obsession with punching themselves in the dick. The thought that popped into my head was thus, in discussions online about completionists and trophy hunters I never see anyone talking about Gamerscore or an Xbox equivalent of Trophies. I am not saying they don't exist but when there is a subreddit dedicated to PS Platinums for games, I wonder if Xbox is hurt by the fact that on Xbox there is no final badge of completion provided for getting all the achievements in a given game.

Platinums are widely discussed, bragging about, ranting about, analyzed even before a game comes out, but Xbox achievements are not at least not that I've seen.

Whether you love or hate trophies or achievements, I would pose the question thusly. Do you think the way each system has implemented the achievement/trophy program has affected their performance in the market at all? Because I would argue that the shinny Platinum badge promotes not only discussion but also bragging rights in a way that a 1000/1000 point score does not. The tracking system for Playstation trophies also seems far better than anything I can find for Xbox as well.

 

[BrawlMan]

I honestly don't care about either. I just want to play good games. I know Sony has implemented things way better or done something really unique with their trophy system. I still do get some satisfaction with trophies, but if I don't get 100% trophies/Platinum, I won't lose sleep over it. The last Platinum Trophy I got was from Double Dragon Gaiden last year. I am currently sitting at 4 Platinum trophies.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I actually prefer Xbox's method of achievement rewarding. Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum trophies have their merits, but Gamerscore, to me, is more meaningful. I like a growing, all-encompassing number versus an arbitrary and delineated total of types of trophies. Not that there's much difference, just my preference. I've long since been committed to any gaming community that purposefully focuses on achievements/trophies, so why Xbox and its Gamerscore might not be equally prevalent today is beyond me, and I don't really care. I'm proud of my +115K GS that I've been building since the inception of achievements.

There used to be a website through which your Xbox would "blog" about your activity. Every day, it would sync your account, and your Xbox would post about what games you played and how much Gamerscore you earned. It gave badges for consecutive days played or for difficulty of achievements/total achievements, etc. It was really fun, and a lot of people obsessed over it, like, if you had a streak of consecutive days played, you'd make it a point to play something, even for a minute, just to keep your streak going. I don't know why or exactly when it died off, but I'm pretty sure it was before/near the beginning of the last gen.

Other than that site, though, my Gamerscore was mostly for bragging with my friends, i.e.: who had more in which games, which really hard ones we'd managed, which games we'd 100%'d, etc. Never had the same urgency with my PS trophies. Granted, most of my friends are on Xbox and I've not owned a Playstation since the PS3, so I never really felt as connected to that gaming identity. My PS3 was strictly for exclusives, and there was never enough of those for me to invest myself.

 

[CriticalGaming]

There used to be a website through which your Xbox would "blog" about your activity. Every day, it would sync your account, and your Xbox would post about what games you played and how much Gamerscore you earned. It gave badges for consecutive days played or for difficulty of achievements/total achievements, etc. It was really fun, and a lot of people obsessed over it, like, if you had a streak of consecutive days played, you'd make it a point to play something, even for a minute, just to keep your streak going. I don't know why or exactly when it died off, but I'm pretty sure it was before/near the beginning of the last gen.

Well another thing in Sony's favor is that earning Platinum earns you're profile rank which earns you points that you can use to redeem for $ over time. Which makes earning trophies technically valuable as well. i remember back in the day when the 360 was fresh, MS said that there would eventually be a system where you can trade gamerscore for rewards in much the same way, but they never did it. Additionally Trophies back in the PS3 days would reward you with Ps3 themes if you got the platinum on a game. There was an account-unlockable as an extra reward for the platinum.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I don't give a shit about achievements/trophies, but I do know that there's a pretty big "achievement hunter" community on the xbox that does care a lot about their gamer scores. They don't necessarily care about getting every achievement in every game and 100%ing games, but rather care about having a high gamer score, which to them indicates that they are hardcore gamers who play a lot of games. I've heard of some members of that community who play games almost solely based on how easy it is to earn gamer score, and who might play complete dreck if it means an easy 1000 points.

Personally I've never bothered with trophies and see no personal value in them. I'm not going to have fun grinding a game, or playing a game in an awkward way just so that a machine praises me and calls me a good boy. I see achievements and trophies as a value add to extend the life of a game for people who buy a limited number of games per year and feel they need additional content to justify continuing to play. That's not a position that I'm in. I play a game until I'm done with it, and I buy new games whenever I feel like it. I don't feel the need to justify my purchase by doing absolutely all of the content possible before moving on.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Well another thing in Sony's favor is that earning Platinum earns you're profile rank which earns you points that you can use to redeem for $ over time. Which makes earning trophies technically valuable as well. i remember back in the day when the 360 was fresh, MS said that there would eventually be a system where you can trade gamerscore for rewards in much the same way, but they never did it. Additionally Trophies back in the PS3 days would reward you with Ps3 themes if you got the platinum on a game. There was an account-unlockable as an extra reward for the platinum.

Eh, not sure how involving a monetary aspect makes for a better achievement hunting experience, but I can see how some might like that sort of incentive. Personally, I'm good with the meta game and racking an ever-increasing score. I recall there supposing to have been something similar for Xbox, and I'm glad it never came to fruition; I can think of very little I'd want to "cash in" my hard-earned GS for.

As for aesthetic rewards, again, I'm pretty nonplussed. For the amount of time I spend looking at the dashboard outside of a given game, I'm not sure a game specific theme would incentivize me to want to put myself through the wringer to platinum a game I otherwise only reasonably enjoyed, i.e.: I'm not going to play God Of War on the hardest difficulty just for a Kratos theme I'd likely prefer less than the custom picture of my dog.

I don't give a shit about achievements/trophies, but I do know that there's a pretty big "achievement hunter" community on the xbox that does care a lot about their gamer scores. They don't necessarily care about getting every achievement in every game and 100%ing games, but rather care about having a high gamer score, which to them indicates that they are hardcore gamers who play a lot of games. I've heard of some members of that community who play games almost solely based on how easy it is to earn gamer score, and who might play complete dreck if it means an easy 1000 points.

Personally I've never bothered with trophies and see no personal value in them. I'm not going to have fun grinding a game, or playing a game in an awkward way just so that a machine praises me and calls me a good boy. I see achievements and trophies as a value add to extend the life of a game for people who buy a limited number of games per year and feel they need additional content to justify continuing to play. That's not a position that I'm in. I play a game until I'm done with it, and I buy new games whenever I feel like it. I don't feel the need to justify my purchase by doing absolutely all of the content possible before moving on.

Gamescore/trophies have been a divisive subject since their inception creating a vast valley between the hipsters (no pun/dig intended) who don't care about them or find them silly and pointless, and the obsession-driven psychos who mainline achievements/trophies like heroine addicts chasing dragons. And in that valley lies most people who can reasonably enjoy the meta experience and their purchase of games in ways they might not otherwise have thought to. Yeah, I got the "Little Rocket Man" achievement in The Orange Box, not because I "needed" it, but because I enjoyed the game enough to want to play it in a different way with an added challenge. Does that make me stupid or obsessed? Neither, I squeezed a lot of life out of the game and had a blast doing it, y'know, what videogames are intended for.

 

[BrawlMan]

Yeah, I got the "Little Rocket Man" achievement in The Orange Box, not because I "needed" it, but because I enjoyed the game enough to want to play it in a different way with an added challenge. Does that make me stupid or obsessed? Neither, I squeezed a lot of life out of the game and had a blast doing it, y'know, what videogames are intended for.

And there's nothing wrong with that. We've all been there at some point. Like I said before, I don't mind achievements or trophies, but I have my limits and I just want to play a game with good gameplay and replay value. That's all that matters to me.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Trophy lists just make me want to Plat the games I already enjoy on their own. Unless it's too much of a hassle. But if it makes for a fun meta game, or simply adds more "content" in the form of goals for something I've already beaten, I'll go for it.

I don't have a hard rule about Platinums (speaking as someone who has 118 of them), in terms of how long they should take or how challenging they ought to be, although I do think it's a little bit pathetic how there's an industry catering to padding your profile with 20 cent shovelware.

 

[CriticalGaming]

I don't have a hard rule about Platinums (speaking as someone who has 118 of them), in terms of how long they should take or how challenging they ought to be, although I do think it's a little bit pathetic how there's an industry catering to padding your profile with 20 cent shovelware.

Damn dude 118!

What was the hardest one?

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Put it this way: Even though I’d already Platinum’d four games by that point, I spent about a decade actually caring about doing so ever since hearing that chime for the Trophy of Dinstinction in Demon’s Souls without even seeking it. This was all before the digital game rewards stuff they have now. I think my last was # 20 with Elden Ring.

Can’t say I’ve ever given two shits about Achievements because their implementation seems to have as much thought put into it as anything else on Xbox does.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

I don't give a shit about achievements/trophies, but I do know that there's a pretty big "achievement hunter" community on the xbox that does care a lot about their gamer scores. They don't necessarily care about getting every achievement in every game and 100%ing games, but rather care about having a high gamer score, which to them indicates that they are hardcore gamers who play a lot of games. I've heard of some members of that community who play games almost solely based on how easy it is to earn gamer score, and who might play complete dreck if it means an easy 1000 points.

Personally I've never bothered with trophies and see no personal value in them. I'm not going to have fun grinding a game, or playing a game in an awkward way just so that a machine praises me and calls me a good boy. I see achievements and trophies as a value add to extend the life of a game for people who buy a limited number of games per year and feel they need additional content to justify continuing to play. That's not a position that I'm in. I play a game until I'm done with it, and I buy new games whenever I feel like it. I don't feel the need to justify my purchase by doing absolutely all of the content possible before moving on.

These badges almost always aren’t even all of the content though either. And that brings me to another point: multiplayer achievements/trophies can generally fuck right off. I could’ve Platinum’d a few more games if it wasn’t for that shit, especially Killzone 2 which was one of my biggest gaming regrets not to.

Apparently the Elite difficulty trophy, which I unlocked the same session as the Demonslayer trophy for extra bragging rights, is still the rarest for the game even for PS Profile users. Yet the “most brutal” MP trophy I never had a snowball’s chance in hell of obtaining with the way those fuckers play. Then there was a couple more batches of MP trophies for map packs. It’s bullshit even if it doesn’t count for Platinum. Now the servers are off, so oh well I guess. It’s why MP stuff should just be kept as an internal part of the game’s stats, and not tied to a separate platform-centric award system.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Damn dude 118!

What was the hardest one?

What’s even crazier is I recall just maybe 2-3 months ago homie getting # 100. SotC IIRC.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I think my last [platinum trophy] was # 20 with Elden Ring.

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[hanselthecaretaker2]

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Jokes aside, not sure if it’s mostly because I’d played all of FROM’s souls games before (and Sekiro), but it was the easiest one for their games too. Having brain-dead easy ways of beating bosses like Malenia helped, and the collection stuff was reasonable for an open world game. I’d say Demon’s Souls was the trickiest due to so many “missable” factors, stone grinding, etc. and I took the grindy route for weapons (ie no Stockpile Thomas dupe’ing). Sekiro was probably the most difficult in terms of gameplay (Bloodborne second). I didn’t bother with either of the Souls sequels since I was only missing the covenant/all spells stuff.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Jokes aside, not sure if it’s mostly because I’d played all of FROM’s souls games before (and Sekiro), but it was the easiest one for their games too. Having brain-dead easy ways of beating bosses like Malenia helped, and the collection stuff was reasonable for an open world game. I’d say Demon’s Souls was the trickiest due to so many “missable” factors, stone grinding, etc. and I took the grindy route for weapons (ie no Stockpile Thomas dupe’ing). Sekiro was probably the most difficult in terms of gameplay (Bloodborne second). I didn’t bother with either of the Souls sequels since I was only missing the covenant/all spells stuff.

I hated Elden Ring but it's by far the easiest game to platinum because it was easy to cheese. Though after all the nerfs I'm not sure that is still the case tbh.

 

[Xprimentyl]

What’s even crazier is I recall just maybe 2-3 months ago homie getting # 100. SotC IIRC.

I had a friend several years ago who went by the gamertag "bithbheo" (I think he's since changed it,) and his gamerscore was not only insanely high, but he was an insane completionist. I'd say without hyperbole that he 100%'d damn-near everything he played, on AND offline achievements. And he wasn't doing it to inflate an arbitrary number; he was just damn fucking great at everything. We met in a Game Spot Union, and our union leader would organize game nights, and bith basically dominated everything we played. He was a level 50 in Halo 2. He netted every "Seriously..." achievement in every Gears of War title. He even went to the effort to get that infamously bullshit achievement in Ghost Recon for making to #1 on the WORLD leaderboard. Dude was a fucking legend; I seriously wouldn't be shocked if I found out he was "Let Me Solo Her," he was that good.

Jokes aside, not sure if it’s mostly because I’d played all of FROM’s souls games before (and Sekiro), but it was the easiest one for their games too. Having brain-dead easy ways of beating bosses like Malenia helped, and the collection stuff was reasonable for an open world game. I’d say Demon’s Souls was the trickiest due to so many “missable” factors, stone grinding, etc. and I took the grindy route for weapons (ie no Stockpile Thomas dupe’ing). Sekiro was probably the most difficult in terms of gameplay (Bloodborne second). I didn’t bother with either of the Souls sequels since I was only missing the covenant/all spells stuff.

I know, just some friendly jealous mockery. It's been over a year of nigh exclusively Elden Ring for me, and I STILL haven't beaten it. I've been avoiding Maliketh for like two weeks!

I hated Elden Ring but it's by far the easiest game to platinum because it was easy to cheese.

You want some too???

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[BrawlMan]

You want some too???

You just jealous of their Elden Ring Platinum swagger.

 

[CriticalGaming]

I know, just some friendly jealous mockery. It's been over a year of nigh exclusively Elden Ring for me, and I STILL haven't beaten it. I've been avoiding Maliketh for like two weeks!

 

[Xprimentyl]

You just jealous of their Elden Ring Platinum swagger.

View attachment 11050

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

What’s even crazier is I recall just maybe 2-3 months ago homie getting # 100. SotC IIRC.

Yup! But that was in September, so a little over 7 months ago. To give even more perspective, I got the first trophy for that particular list in November 2019. I just figured I'd go back and clean up for my 100th. A lot of Plats I just get from going back to a game 3-4 years later and replaying them for the missing trophies.