Trophies vs Achievements

Last week I chose to play Mirror's Edge on the Xbox 360 over the PS3. Nick was somewhat shocked because he claimed Trophies and Achievements are essentially the same. They are set to unlock dependent on what you are able to do in the game. You get something that really adds no physical value to your game purchase. Feeling of accomplishment aside, I say Achievements are worth more than just trophies.

The primary reason that Achievements are superior to Trophies is that they have an overall way to compare one player vs another player. It's arbitrary to assign points to each accomplishment, but because Microsoft has chosen to do so, there is now a way to compare not only game to game but also player to player. Everything adds up to a total. So no matter what games a player has tried, they are able to be measured up against another. With the Trophy system there is no easy way to do this. You could compare games individually, trophy by trophy. Certain ones are worth more because of the gold, silver, or bronze rankings. There is no easy way to compare across the board.

Whether it was a good move or a bad move, Achievements have sparked a competitiveness among game players and is the much better "points" system.

David