PlayStation Trophies? No Thanks, I’m Happy With My Gamercard And Achievements
I was really excited about Sony’s PlayStation Trophies feature. After a long time, Sony had something to contend with Microsoft’s well established Gamercard Achievements. But the latest developments have made it somewhat less appealing to many, and thank you Sony, but I would rather stick with my Gamercard Achievements.
Sure, it sounded cool at first. The ability to view actual trophies for special feats you accomplished is really rewarding, instead of a dumb generic number. But don’t we already have this in the Xbox world? The major drawback of Gamerscore is that it’s numeric based, which kills some of its appeal. But Xbox gamers could already view individual achievements in their games blade, much like the trophies in PSN.
Maybe a numerical system isn’t so bad after all? Achievements aren’t just some dumb numbers, a numerical score is much easier to compare than individual trophies. It is a standard index and you can quickly gauge the reputation and skills of another player just by comparing your gamerscore with theirs. You don’t want to say something like I have 5 platinum trophies, 20 gold trophies and a bunch of other silver and bronze ones. Instead, a single gamerscore of 15,000 gets that point across much more easily and gives you a better idea of who you will be dealing with.
Another drawback, as Kotaku says, is that the system will not scan older saves and award you trophies based on your progress. This means that you will essentially have to go back through and play the game all over again in order to earn your much-deserved Sony achievement points, which I’m sure many won’t do. It isn’t something surprising, considering that PSN trophies are just an afterthought after Xbox Live’s huge gamercard success.
Not all of your PS3 library will be compatible with Trophies either, unless it’s patched. Killer titles such as Call of Duty 4, Devil May Cry 4, GRID, Ratchet and Clank Future and Resistance won’t even add support for PSN Trophies. Ouch indeed, that’s a long list of triple A games. For the full list, visit the sixthaxis. Its a real blow to get the Trophies steam rolling.
Trophies add another replay element to Play Station games much like Achievements did with the Xbox 360. It’s really important as you have a further incentive to actually explore the game world and finish the whole game. In the end, both Trophies and Achievements will have a strong loyal fanbase following. It isn’t like one system will be doomed and the other one will get all the glory. But as for me, the next time I go out shopping, I’ll buy Devil May Cry 4 for the 360. What about you?
Jul 10th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Why do you like XBOX too much? PS seems to be better.
Jul 10th, 2008 at 9:19 am
@ Sakib
Well, I have no favorites over the other. But I tend to point out the advantages and disadvantages of every new gaming technology/release. I’m necessarily neither wrong nor right, it just boils down to individual tastes, don’t you agree?
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 11:48 am
Woah…WTF…lol, why does it concern to you guys so much. I mean you guys dont have PS3, why would u ever “Switch” to trophies? Besides, I think its time to talk about advantages of the system.
Aug 8th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Trophies are lame.
But something is better than nothing 😉
Oct 28th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Just by reading the first two paragraphs ALONE I knew you were a MS fanboy.
May 21st, 2009 at 3:43 am
I personally think that ps3 should have kept achievement free. Achievements for most game just ruin the game by taking all the fun out of it it’s all about the gamer score not about the game so grads Xbox for ruining next gen. I don’t give to shits about well I don’t play games for the GS BS yes everyone has whored GS be4 and your lying if u say u don’t. Besides if you really wanna make a mark online try getting good at call of duty or sum online game to make your mark instead of showing all of the world you have less of a life then someone that plays World of Warcraft or Everquest.
Dec 1st, 2009 at 5:15 pm
article was a biased POS if u ask me. 1stly achievements or trophies dont really make a game better or worse. the entire point of having that is because the developers want us to waste huge amounts of time replaying a game. personally i think it adds to my game experience coz ive always wanted to show off the stuff ive “achieved” in games to other ppl . what better than having an achievement saying i finished the game in the hardest diff. or i made 30 headshots consecutively. Back on topic , this article is biased and the dude who made is it a 360 or worse MS fanboy because ur points dont stack up. ive only read half of it and frankly dont feel like reading the rest because its obvious u dont have a point. the trophies are basically THE SAME THING, and ur nitpicking. Adding or subtracting trophies or achievements from a game doesnt make it any better or worse which is why multiplatform games before this trophy system never got higher ratings on the 360 because ps3 lacked “trophy” support. Replaybility is ultimately to the games credit not the achievements. And ROFL at the fact i never even noticed that the ps3 didnt reward u for doing ridiculous stuff until the news of trophies came out so its no big deal. As for dmc 4 on the 360… u have a pretty dumb reason to get it on it. ive gotten it on the 360 myself but not for achievements..but becoz id rather save money. if the ps3 was modded however i would only have 1 system this generation . Infact the game made its name on the playstation and im much more compfy playing it on a ps controller rather than a 360 controller. Alas the price . 🙁
Dec 2nd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
@ James
I only buy exclusives for the console since I don’t have a mod chip, plus I play online. The rest, I play on PC. 😎
Dec 2nd, 2009 at 1:05 pm
@ the Gaming Wiz – “I only buy exclusives for the console since I don’t have a mod chip, plus I play online.”
which console were u talkin bout? the 360 or the ps3? well either way i still dont see the point when we are talkin bout a offline sorta game like dmc 4. It doesnt have any MP . i think it only lets u upload ur stuff to the live score leaderboard or something. im not sure. Your telling me u bought dmc 4 on the 360 simply to upload the scores..!? 😯
Dec 2nd, 2009 at 1:45 pm
@ James
Ummm I bought DMC4 on the PC. What I meant is if a game gets released on PC + consoles, Ill get the PC version cause its cheaper. However if its only a console exclusive eg. Halo, Resistance, etc. i’ll buy the console version. And the PS3 can’t be modded AFAIK.