Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3)

[Colly]

I know we're all sick of the topic - but are trophies really that much of a big deal? That it would be considered an incentive to buy a console?

I'm not trying to sound sarcastic - I'm really wondering. I've never paid attention to them, I didn't realise they were seen as a genuine selling point to "hardcore gamers" (read: anyone who plays a first-person shooter).

It's no different than RPG folks have to collect every rare item and replay games for a "perfect" playthrough. And a big selling point for RPGs is the amount of extra shit they pack in. A lot of people are perfectionists and, as a result, trophies cater to that market.

To summarise, they're essential to the unemployed and dateless wonders.

[Quom]

I think it helps spur some people on to play through games they otherwise may have given up on. I'm fairly neutral on them as it's extremely rare for me to finish a game. But I must admit I do like it when I do something worthwhile that earns me a trophy. Having said that I don't look at the list first so It's a nice surprise when I do something crazy like kill a room full of whatever with one grenade or come from 20 points down to win, which already feels like a massive achievement and sudden;y a trophy appears in the top right corner.

I'm not a massive fan when you get a trophy for getting through a level that was basic or finding something you needed to in order to complete that level anyway. Yes give me a trophy for finishing the game, but I don't need one for making it to each checkpoint.

It would be good if there was some use to them. Like if you got sent something for hitting X on your score (similar to the Nintendo Club I guess but earnt through gameplay rather than purchases). Would be a good way to reward those who show dedication to your product, especially since you are doubtless using the gamer-score to learn more about your demographic anyway. Flip-side is people may attempt to do something nefarious to artificially boost their score, as well as potential to reward those who have pirated a copy of your game.

[Benji]

It's not a major selling point, but it adds replayability to me. I've completed New Super Mario Bros and got a bunch of stars, but I've got no desire to go for them all just for myself. Ditto to completing most shooters. They have higher difficulties, but once I've completed it, I see no reason to play it again (with added frustration) without trophies. I'll probably re-play the game in spots for fun, but I doubt I'll ever play the game in full ever again.

[TCO]

Seeing as Sony and Microsoft have implemented them into all of their games and while can't really say that they solely make people buy games, they sure as hell don't stop people from buying them, so it'd be silly for Nintendo to completely ignore them. The benefits even if limited/somewhat non-existent far outweigh the negatives of having them.

I'm not big into trophies, the only game I platinumed was Madden 10 and that was because I loved that game, even if they made them so hard that it was literally impossible to do some without using a 2nd controller.

[Sousa]

It's not a major selling point, but it adds replayability to me. I've completed New Super Mario Bros and got a bunch of stars, but I've got no desire to go for them all just for myself. Ditto to completing most shooters. They have higher difficulties, but once I've completed it, I see no reason to play it again (with added frustration) without trophies. I'll probably re-play the game in spots for fun, but I doubt I'll ever play the game in full ever again.

So basically, you're not incentivized to get everything in a game unless there's a mechanism for publicly showing off about it?

[TKz]

It's not a major selling point, but it adds replayability to me. I've completed New Super Mario Bros and got a bunch of stars, but I've got no desire to go for them all just for myself. Ditto to completing most shooters. They have higher difficulties, but once I've completed it, I see no reason to play it again (with added frustration) without trophies. I'll probably re-play the game in spots for fun, but I doubt I'll ever play the game in full ever again.

So basically, you're not incentivized to get everything in a game unless there's a mechanism for publicly showing off about it?

I like trophies but I never really sync them or have them on show. It's more for myself and some challenges add an incentive we wouldn't have had before. It gives us a reason to want to beat X boss in under X minutes or find and kill every whatever in a certain level.

[Benji]

It's not a major selling point, but it adds replayability to me. I've completed New Super Mario Bros and got a bunch of stars, but I've got no desire to go for them all just for myself. Ditto to completing most shooters. They have higher difficulties, but once I've completed it, I see no reason to play it again (with added frustration) without trophies. I'll probably re-play the game in spots for fun, but I doubt I'll ever play the game in full ever again.

So basically, you're not incentivized to get everything in a game unless there's a mechanism for publicly showing off about it?

Pretty much. Why boast about my e-penis if I can't back it up?

[EWB's Best Poster.]

New Wii U wont play blu rays. Or Dvds. Boss man says theres too many devices owned by people that do that already. I assume hes talking about the ps3.

[gunnar hendershow]

It's not a major selling point, but it adds replayability to me. I've completed New Super Mario Bros and got a bunch of stars, but I've got no desire to go for them all just for myself. Ditto to completing most shooters. They have higher difficulties, but once I've completed it, I see no reason to play it again (with added frustration) without trophies. I'll probably re-play the game in spots for fun, but I doubt I'll ever play the game in full ever again.

So basically, you're not incentivized to get everything in a game unless there's a mechanism for publicly showing off about it?

Pretty much. Why boast about my e-penis if I can't back it up?

Gone are the days when you can brag about beating Emerald Weapon without Underwater materia. Now people can check to see if you're full of shit.

[Herr Matzat]

New Wii U wont play blu rays. Or Dvds. Boss man says theres too many devices owned by people that do that already. I assume hes talking about the ps3.

Movies, that is... they save a lot of monny on not buying the licenses.

[Skummy]

Or they stick with what Nintendo have said for years - it's a games console. It should focus on playing games.

[TCO]

Or they stick with what Nintendo have said for years - it's a games console. It should focus on playing games.

Or you know it could play BluRays and shift more units because of it. I know the BluRay player was a big selling point of the PS3 to me. I like the ability of my consoles being very efficent media players a great thing about the PS3 is sticking in a USB and playing almost any form of video, music or photos straight away.

[Skummy]

Which is a huge selling point, I'm not arguing that. But Nintendo's mentality has always been one of ensuring that they make the best games console they possibly can, rather than using hardware, time and effort that could be used to that end to instead make an "entertainment hub".

[EWB's Best Poster.]

I follow your point. I think from my point of veiw if Nintendo wants to step into the hardware ring games wise, it should offer a more complete package too. No dvd player? thats like 15 bucks. Blu ray I can understand thats money paid to sony. But dvd? Come on now.

That being said, I wonder what kind of features they will offer. My fondest wish is that they embrace what ps store and xbox arcade does and see if theres new developers wanting games for sale for 10 bucks on their system. I just dont want mario and link stamped on every product before its given to us, you know? Theres people with ideas and nintendo is missing out.

[Quom]

Blu-ray was a big feature when the players cost $700. Now they are cheap enough that there isn't massive value adding to for buyers. I never watched DVDs on my PS3 because I was worried about burning out the laser. I'm considering buying a BR player to protect my PS3, well probably not, since I download most things.

[Herr Matzat]

If i has DVD or BluRay tech in it i am 100%shure they would alow you to watch video with it if they had not to pay licensing fees. ;-)

Edited June 16, 2011 by Michael Matzat on a Plane

[Bobfoc]

The original Wii was quickly hacked in order to allow it to play DVDs, so it wouldn't surprise me if the modding community did something similar with the WiiU within a brief period of time.

[Quom]

That's the closest thing to trolling I have ever seen from you Matzat, which is saying quite a bit.

[zero]

Who the hell doesn't own a DVD player already? Blu-ray, I'd get, but we're long past the point of DVD being a selling point for a console. And even Blu-ray isn't THAT big of a deal, players are getting much cheaper (saw a 3D BD player at Walmart for $90 the other day), and all that really matters for consoles now is if they stream Netflix.

[Skummy]

I know that, especially since the PS2, we're supposed to expect our games consoles to be able to do every fucking thing, but is there really any harm in a games console that plays video games? It's insane how many articles online are writing off the WiiU because of this already - it's especially hilarious that one of them said something along the lines of "Nintendo decided with the Wii that gamers didn't need HD graphics. They lost that battle" - yeah, I'm sure they're crying into their vat of money they've made from having the best selling current-gen console on the market about "losing that battle".

Linux on my toaster, something something, blowjob robot. Repeat ad nauseum.