Study: Game Achievements = Better Games Sales

[Queasy]

Interesting

An Xbox 360 Achievements study indicates that games that include more Achievements garner better reviews and perform better at US retail.

The study, Accomplishments Unlocked 2007, was carried out by San Diego, Calif.-based research group Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR). It focused on the Xbox 360 Achievements system which rewards gamers with points for completing various goals in a given game.

The results showed a strong correlation between a game?s diversity of Achievements and its profitability, and suggested that the more diverse the Achievements offered to the user the more enjoyable the game proves, hence the greater review scores and increased number of units sold.

The study also showed that games that incorporate online elements into their Achievements gross 50 percent more money than those that don?t, and suggested that gamers research available Achievements before deciding whether to purchase a title or not.

?Consumers want their games to include both variety and abundance of Accomplishments,? said EEDAR boss Geoffrey Zatkin. ?Our research shows that incentives such as Achievements impact sales choices such as which game title to buy and which platform to buy it on; they also extend the replayability of a title.?

All Xbox 360 titles incorporate Achievements. Sony is said to be planning to adopt a similar system when it launches its PlayStation 3 Home initiative next year, while Nintendo Wii title Metroid Prime 3 has its own in-game ?Accomplishment? system.

 

[imported_michealo]

resistance:FOM had an in-game achievement system

 

[Robor]

I can't say achievements would make me purchase a game but I will say my friend and I scoured maps in Gears of War looking for the cog tags.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

Yeah I'd never buy a game because of achievements but nicely implemented achievements can definitely make a game more enjoyable.

Orange box did a really good job with the achievements. I had fun completing Ravenholm with only the gravity gun and crossing the antlion beach without touching the ground. Things I wouldn't have thought to try before that were actually fun to do.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I would have stopped playing Crackdown long ago if not for all the amusing achievements.

resistance:FOM had an in-game achievement system

Hardly the same as the 360 system, but some of them are funny. e.g. "Why are these candles screaming?" and "Karma's a Bitch!" .

 

[tw1164]

I think the study is silly. I don't think achievements would change a consumer's game choice. I do think that the buyer would have more a lot more game time for the titles w/ achievement.

 

[purbeast0]

Achievements are one of those things that is like the rumble feature in controllers. Before you didn't have em, everything was cool. But once you have em, it's hard to go back to not having em.

Well in a way it is like that

Also I would say that the majority of people who have both Xbox360 and PS3 would get the games on Xbox360, and the achievements being part of that decision.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
Also I would say that the majority of people who have both Xbox360 and PS3 would get the games on Xbox360, and the achievements being part of that decision.

I know that's how I feel about the games. It's also nice to have rumble in certain games too.

 

[Anubis]

i really dont care about them honestly

 

[R Nilla]

As everyone on Anandtech always loves to say, correlation != causation. Couldn't this simply be indicating that the companies who take the extra time to incorporate worthwhile achievements (rather than hastily coming up with a handful of easily-earned ones) are the ones who are taking the time to put out a quality, polished game in the first place? If you're rushing through the achievements, chances are you probably rushed through development of the entire game. Look at a game like Vampire Rain versus a game like The Orange Box. That may be a poor example since Orange Box consists of mostly ported material, but you get the idea.

Along with that theory, I'd say that games that actually take the time to include a variety of multiplayer achievements are most likely games that actually have a deep and rewarding online experience.

 

[mugs]

Or maybe the developers who make well-designed games also put the effort into coming up with a variety of achievements.

Achievements don't make me buy games. They do make me play them longer. They would affect my choice to buy a game on one system vs another to an extent, but the controller is a much bigger factor to me. With Guitar Hero, where the controller is more or less equal on all platforms, I'd go with 360. On a Wii vs 360 decision it'd depend on how good the Wii controls are. When I get a PS3 it'll just be for PS3 exclusives, because I don't like the controller.


Edit: R Nilla beat me

 

[FoBoT]

i agree, i like games like that

 

[darkswordsman17]

I guess I'm in the minority here. Achievements do nothing for me as far as interest or desire to play a game (as in I don't play it more to try to get all the achievements or anything). I actually find the notification when I get an achievement to be kinda annoying.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're a bad thing. Its good in that there's a challenge aspect, which works really well for some games (such as Guitar Hero). I've heard some people say that the achievements have gotten them to play games they would not have otherwise, which is a good thing.

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: tw1164
I think the study is silly. I don't think achievements would change a consumer's game choice. I do think that the buyer would have more a lot more game time for the titles w/ achievement.

I agree. It might affect how long you play the game, but not whether you buy it or whether


I think a more realistic explanation for the correlation is that game designers who put a lot of thought and time into the achievements, also put a lot of thought and time into the game. That attention to detail shows up in many places. Also, varied achevements can only be achieved with varied gameplay, which is a good thing. Not too many developers are going to rush their game out the door, and still take time to make the achievements worthwhile.


Edit: Wow i'm slow. In all fairness, I started writing my answer before those other two posts were made, but I got called away.

 

[swaytech]

It brings new life to console games imo

 

[Yreka]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: purbeast0
Also I would say that the majority of people who have both Xbox360 and PS3 would get the games on Xbox360, and the achievements being part of that decision.

I know that's how I feel about the games.

X3

I actually regularly choose the 360 over PS3 version specifically because of the achievements.

Its not the cumulative gamerscore either. Mine isnt even that high for as long as I have had the system, its a personal goal thing. It adds more depth and value to the game.

On the other hand, if the game is shit, the game is shit. No amount of achievements will save it. If I am not into the game in the first place, I definitely will not be bothered chasing the achievements.

 

[RagingBITCH]

I don't think I give a rats behind about achievements...it doesn't make or break me buying a game. In the case of "well I can get it for PS3 or 360...", perhaps.

 

[CKDragon]

I have a confession to make. Shortly after buying my 360 I saw on CAG that Bionicle Heroes was $8 shipped from Walmart. I read the ~59% reviews and still decided to get it almost entirely for the easy 900+ achievement points. It was bad.

What's my penance?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: CKDragon
I have a confession to make. Shortly after buying my 360 I saw on CAG that Bionicle Heroes was $8 shipped from Walmart. I read the ~59% reviews and still decided to get it almost entirely for the easy 900+ achievement points. It was bad.

What's my penance?

It is a dumbed down knock off of lego star wars 2, without co-op. My son loves Bionicles and was adamant about getting it despite the poor ratings, so I did, I think it was $25 used at the time? Neither of us have played it much, and I use it as a prime example of impulse purchases and bad franchise tie-ins, to teach him to be an informed consumer. So it was worth it just for that. BTW, Superman Returns leave you with a bad taste in your mouth? Try finding all the kittens, even with a map, we gave up long ago.

On the study: While some say achievements don't effect the purchase, just the play time, I contend that it does have some effect on the purchase for many. Often replay value is mentioned as a primary factor in a game's value, and while the achievements aren't replay, they do extend the play time of a title, and knowing that going in, can have some influence on a purchasing decision IMO.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
BTW, Superman Returns leave you with a bad taste in your mouth? Try finding all the kittens, even with a map, we gave up long ago.

Heh, actually I haven't gotten to it, yet. I've been playing a lot more Halo 3 than I anticipated going into it and I've been spelling that with trying to beat the last three Guitar Hero 2 songs on Expert before GH3 comes out. The amazing thing is that I've been "working from home" the entire month of October (fun, first-month-of-the-fiscal-year contract issues) and I still can't find enough time for games.

Rock Band, Mass Effect, and Mario Galaxy are going to make my head explode.

 

[bigpow]

IMO, it's a way to add more value to a game.

It's also a good reason to stop playing a certain game
i.e. I knew I had to move on from Viva Pinata when I got all the achievements (I knew I had been playing it a little too long)

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Wow, I just ignore the achievements.

 

[gorcorps]

It definitely adds more replayability for me. And if I hear from others, when I have to choose between 2 games, that one has better achievements implementation I'll get that game. But achievements don't make a bad game good. I definitely like them, but I won't force myself through a bad game just to get them.

 

[gamepad]

Originally posted by: PieIsAwesome
Wow, I just ignore the achievements.

 

[Xavier434]

I really enjoy going after achievements if they are well thought out. I do hope that studies like these do not persuade game developers to just start tossing in all sorts of ridiculous achievements just to increase the numbers though. That could defeat the purpose.