Achievements on Nintendo Switch
I really wish Nintendo had a trophy system on the Switch. It’s a topic that has been discussed back and forth, with plenty of evidence for or against them, so I won’t try to assert my opinion as fact. Personally, I would just like it better if trophies were available.
As a confession, I used to be a self-proclaimed “trophy whore.” On my PS3, I would specifically seek out games that I could get the platinum trophy for, essentially the mark that a game has been finished completely. If I walked away from a game without the platinum, I felt like I wasn’t getting my money’s worth. When I finally did get platinum for a game, I could confidently say I had milked it for all it was worth and continue onto the next game.
Back when I had more time to play video games, this wasn’t an issue. Gaming took up the bulk of my free time, and there was plenty of that to go around. If anything, I was more concerned with making sure I had enough game to fill up my time, rather than enough time to finish my gaming. Lately, though, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I have a full time job, a family, and a side hustle. When I do play video games, it is infrequent and mostly for short spans of time. I just do not have the time to get platinum trophies anymore, at least not with the fervor that I used to pursue them.
However, just because I rarely get platinum trophies now, it doesn’t mean that I don’t see value in the lesser trophies available. The social aspect of achievements is particularly attractive to me. If I’m playing the same game that some of my friends have played, I can see what they have and I don’t, or vice versa. Trophies give gamers a way to show what they have accomplished in games, and compare those achievements with friends. You don’t have to take a picture or video to prove it (though I often do); you can just point out the trophy.
I won’t go so far as to say that trophies are tremendously important to me. Some of the most extreme opinions on the matter will suggest that games are specifically ruined by trophies, either their omission or inclusion at inappropriate times. Tohonas explains that his Switch is almost never used, “I simply don’t play it because it doesn’t have trophies or achievements” (2018). In the other direction, William White offers a scathing criticism of trophies, suggesting that “developers often use them for artificial padding, stretching out a game long past its lifespan” (2020).
The simplest solution, I think, would be to have toggles for both achievements and their notifications. If you want them available, and you want to see the alert when you obtain one for the satisfaction in conveys, leave them on. If you like to have trophies as a goal, but don’t want your game constantly interrupted, especially during critical story points, turn the notifications off. For the category of gamer that doesn’t care at all about achievements, or actively opposes them, turn them off entirely. Sure, they exist on the platform, but what do you care if your personal gaming experience isn’t tainted by them?
I like the affirmation of difficult or labor intensive tasks that I do manage to pull off in video games. My wife and I have nearly finished Yoshi’s Crafted World with all sprouts discovered and every flower obtained. I will most definitely take a picture when we do, to share it (or brag about it) with our friends on social media. Still, it would be nice to have that fact documented in a list of all my gaming successes.
The trophy list for a game gives me a clue about what all the developers expected you to be able to do. I’m not obligated to get all of them, especially in the case of trophies that artificially extend a game. In some cases, though, I have only learned of certain game modes or other additional content strictly because there was a trophy for it. Sure, some of the content is crap (online multiplayer on Rage), but trophies do point out its availability.
Actually, let me pause there and mention that I despise trophies for online or multiplayer content. In my opinion, an achievement should judge players against a set rubric, almost like a standardized test of the video game world. Playing through a game on the hardest difficulty is the same amount of effort, whether it’s immediately after release or a decade down the road. It doesn’t depend on servers being on and active, or judge against the skill levels of other players. It’s just me versus the game, and whether I passed or failed.
Besides online trophies, an achievement system gives me direction. It shows me what you can do, what you should do, and what I may strive to do even after I finish the main story. The drip feed of trophies through a game keeps me motivated to reach the end, even if some people do hate when games give trophies for trivial tasks like finishing the tutorial. Most achievement systems have a ranking system of some sort, so you can tell those are easy tasks. Finishing the tutorial might be a bronze trophy, where defeating the optional secret boss is gold. I wouldn’t expect a prestigious trophy early in the game, but getting started on a long list of tasks near the very beginning encourages me to continue on.
It is tremendously unlikely that the Switch will get trophies now. Sam Loveridge points out that “This far into the Switch's life cycle, introducing a new achievements system would most likely annoy more players than it would appease” (2019). Too many people have spent too much time across too many games for Nintendo to introduce trophies now without some sort of retroactive application. Someone shouldn’t get trophies now for the same things that people didn’t get trophies for earlier.
At the end of the day, trophies or the lack thereof will not make or break the Switch for me. I really enjoy the console. It has a super convenient form factor, and being able to switch between docked, tabletop, and handheld is absolutely amazing. The games are super fun. The widespread inclusion of local multiplayer, ESPECIALLY couch co-op, is incredible. Literally, the only complaint that I have about the Switch is that I would prefer trophies, and that is a minor disappointment at worst. I wish that it had trophies, but I’m not at all frustrated that it doesn’t. Nintendo knocked it out of the park with this one, I’m just picky.
Resources:
Hennett, J. (2016, October 4). 2016-10-26 Platinum Trophy Rarity. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://jakehennett.wordpress.com/2016/10/26/2016-10-26-platinum-trophy-rarity/
Loveridge, S. (2019, May 6). Cuphead is proof that Nintendo Switch really needs an achievement system. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-switch-cuphead-achievements/
Rowe, A. (2019, January 2). I Wish the Nintendo Switch Had Achievements. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://medium.com/@Xander51/i-wish-the-nintendo-switch-had-achievements-daa18d235f3d
Tohonas. (2018, September 6). Why achievements ruined the Switch for me. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://medium.com/@Tohonas/why-achievements-ruined-the-switch-for-me-77a93cb08a38
White, W. (2019, December 23). Nintendo Switch Still Doesn't Have Achievements. Here's Why That's Great. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://www.ccn.com/nintendo-switch-still-doesnt-have-achievements-and-thats-great/
As a confession, I used to be a self-proclaimed “trophy whore.” On my PS3, I would specifically seek out games that I could get the platinum trophy for, essentially the mark that a game has been finished completely. If I walked away from a game without the platinum, I felt like I wasn’t getting my money’s worth. When I finally did get platinum for a game, I could confidently say I had milked it for all it was worth and continue onto the next game.
Back when I had more time to play video games, this wasn’t an issue. Gaming took up the bulk of my free time, and there was plenty of that to go around. If anything, I was more concerned with making sure I had enough game to fill up my time, rather than enough time to finish my gaming. Lately, though, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I have a full time job, a family, and a side hustle. When I do play video games, it is infrequent and mostly for short spans of time. I just do not have the time to get platinum trophies anymore, at least not with the fervor that I used to pursue them.
However, just because I rarely get platinum trophies now, it doesn’t mean that I don’t see value in the lesser trophies available. The social aspect of achievements is particularly attractive to me. If I’m playing the same game that some of my friends have played, I can see what they have and I don’t, or vice versa. Trophies give gamers a way to show what they have accomplished in games, and compare those achievements with friends. You don’t have to take a picture or video to prove it (though I often do); you can just point out the trophy.
I won’t go so far as to say that trophies are tremendously important to me. Some of the most extreme opinions on the matter will suggest that games are specifically ruined by trophies, either their omission or inclusion at inappropriate times. Tohonas explains that his Switch is almost never used, “I simply don’t play it because it doesn’t have trophies or achievements” (2018). In the other direction, William White offers a scathing criticism of trophies, suggesting that “developers often use them for artificial padding, stretching out a game long past its lifespan” (2020).
The simplest solution, I think, would be to have toggles for both achievements and their notifications. If you want them available, and you want to see the alert when you obtain one for the satisfaction in conveys, leave them on. If you like to have trophies as a goal, but don’t want your game constantly interrupted, especially during critical story points, turn the notifications off. For the category of gamer that doesn’t care at all about achievements, or actively opposes them, turn them off entirely. Sure, they exist on the platform, but what do you care if your personal gaming experience isn’t tainted by them?
I like the affirmation of difficult or labor intensive tasks that I do manage to pull off in video games. My wife and I have nearly finished Yoshi’s Crafted World with all sprouts discovered and every flower obtained. I will most definitely take a picture when we do, to share it (or brag about it) with our friends on social media. Still, it would be nice to have that fact documented in a list of all my gaming successes.
The trophy list for a game gives me a clue about what all the developers expected you to be able to do. I’m not obligated to get all of them, especially in the case of trophies that artificially extend a game. In some cases, though, I have only learned of certain game modes or other additional content strictly because there was a trophy for it. Sure, some of the content is crap (online multiplayer on Rage), but trophies do point out its availability.
Actually, let me pause there and mention that I despise trophies for online or multiplayer content. In my opinion, an achievement should judge players against a set rubric, almost like a standardized test of the video game world. Playing through a game on the hardest difficulty is the same amount of effort, whether it’s immediately after release or a decade down the road. It doesn’t depend on servers being on and active, or judge against the skill levels of other players. It’s just me versus the game, and whether I passed or failed.
Besides online trophies, an achievement system gives me direction. It shows me what you can do, what you should do, and what I may strive to do even after I finish the main story. The drip feed of trophies through a game keeps me motivated to reach the end, even if some people do hate when games give trophies for trivial tasks like finishing the tutorial. Most achievement systems have a ranking system of some sort, so you can tell those are easy tasks. Finishing the tutorial might be a bronze trophy, where defeating the optional secret boss is gold. I wouldn’t expect a prestigious trophy early in the game, but getting started on a long list of tasks near the very beginning encourages me to continue on.
It is tremendously unlikely that the Switch will get trophies now. Sam Loveridge points out that “This far into the Switch's life cycle, introducing a new achievements system would most likely annoy more players than it would appease” (2019). Too many people have spent too much time across too many games for Nintendo to introduce trophies now without some sort of retroactive application. Someone shouldn’t get trophies now for the same things that people didn’t get trophies for earlier.
At the end of the day, trophies or the lack thereof will not make or break the Switch for me. I really enjoy the console. It has a super convenient form factor, and being able to switch between docked, tabletop, and handheld is absolutely amazing. The games are super fun. The widespread inclusion of local multiplayer, ESPECIALLY couch co-op, is incredible. Literally, the only complaint that I have about the Switch is that I would prefer trophies, and that is a minor disappointment at worst. I wish that it had trophies, but I’m not at all frustrated that it doesn’t. Nintendo knocked it out of the park with this one, I’m just picky.
Resources:
Hennett, J. (2016, October 4). 2016-10-26 Platinum Trophy Rarity. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://jakehennett.wordpress.com/2016/10/26/2016-10-26-platinum-trophy-rarity/
Loveridge, S. (2019, May 6). Cuphead is proof that Nintendo Switch really needs an achievement system. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-switch-cuphead-achievements/
Rowe, A. (2019, January 2). I Wish the Nintendo Switch Had Achievements. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://medium.com/@Xander51/i-wish-the-nintendo-switch-had-achievements-daa18d235f3d
Tohonas. (2018, September 6). Why achievements ruined the Switch for me. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://medium.com/@Tohonas/why-achievements-ruined-the-switch-for-me-77a93cb08a38
White, W. (2019, December 23). Nintendo Switch Still Doesn't Have Achievements. Here's Why That's Great. Retrieved January 15, 2020, from https://www.ccn.com/nintendo-switch-still-doesnt-have-achievements-and-thats-great/
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