Gamer Points -- we're addicted (Xbox 360 delight #010)
It occurred to me, late last night, that I wasn't playing Need For Speed: Most Wanted to have fun. No, I was recklessly building my bounty score in order to challenge and defeat Kira "Kaze" Nakazato (#7 spot on the Blacklist 15), so I could net another 25 gamer points. With the introduction of gamer points and their accumulation into the "Gamerscore," Microsoft has invented a new level of gaming addiction.The Gamerscore is actually a manipulation of one of the founding concepts of video games, the High Score. Until now, the High Score has steadily lost its importance in mainstream console gaming. Most games in the current generation don't even keep High Scores, and if they do, they're secondary statistics that often go unnoticed. After all, what good is a High Score saved on your living room Xbox or uploaded to an obscure leaderboard? No one sees it.
Enter the Gamerscore. A universal High Score plastered on your Xbox Live Gamertag. A measure of your overall skill. The ultimate bragging right.
Just consider Vladimir Cole, the man behind the "Joystiq" gamertag, and open Gamerscore addict. He practically forfeited his fall semester at Wharton in order to earn that glowing achievement pictured above (Geometry Wars Evolved: Survived 1,000,000) and cop another 30 gamer points. And then we found him playing Quake levels using only the blaster, again, not because it was fun, but because it meant another 15 gamer points. Sure, it may not sound like much, but those points add up.
[It's been rumored that Vlad forces Christopher Grant to use the Joystiq gamertag whenever he's at Vlad's apartment in order to pad the Gamerscore-this, despite the fact that Chris owns a MU that carries his own gamertag. The plot thickens...]
Other Xbox 360 delights: 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009
Xbox 360 annoyances: 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 010, 011, 012, 013
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Pixelantes Anonymous @ Feb 8th 2006 1:20PM
Hi, my name is Pixelantes Anonymous, and I'm a gamerscore addict.
Thryon @ Feb 8th 2006 1:22PM
I agree. I have rented Amped 3 and Call of Duty2 only to get points...(then I got addicted to Call of Duty 2 and had to purchase it). I am also planning on renting Quake 4 and GUN, even thou I finished the PC counterparts, again....just to get points. I am only at 4370, but looking to climb the ranks...
How the hell does J. Allard get over 10k...I bet he has someone playing his profile. It's the only way. (well I guess if you are paid to play games all the time and get free beta of games to be released, then it is possible)
YOUZER @ Feb 8th 2006 1:23PM
Achievements are just one way to turn a crap game into one you'll play hours on end.
cubbiechris @ Feb 8th 2006 1:27PM
Yep...Count me in as a achivement addict. It's worse then crack!
ZaBlanc @ Feb 8th 2006 1:30PM
So what you're saying is that it's completely addicting, but not fun?
Ok-ay, then...have, errr, fun with that?
MarxMarvelous37 @ Feb 8th 2006 1:41PM
Count me in too...
I would add that a lot of us don't have the time or budget to go for the huge "overall" gamerscores. Luckily the Xbox.com integration makes it easy to compare stats on any specific game with anyone. This is especially helpful since the difficulty in gaining point varies widely by game. (Getting 1000 pts in King Kong doesn't exactly get you the props!)
"Sure you're outscoring me by 5000, but I'm beating you at GW achievements... booyah!" :)
InvadErGII @ Feb 8th 2006 1:43PM
My favorite thing about acheivements is that, when done properly, they encourage the player to try things they wouldn't have otherwise, adding additional replay value to the game. For example, I never would've even attempted to play Call of Duty 2 on the insanely difficult/awesome Veteran difficulty if there weren't acheivements for doing so. The 'tricky' acheivements, like 'Pacifism' in Geometry Wars, also add a lot of depth. Unfortunately, not all 360 games do their acheivements this way (I'm looking at you, King Kong and Need For Speed). It's a fantastic feature, though - one with great opportunities now, as well as a lot of promise as new game after new game hits store shelves.
I'm not thoroughly addicted to bringing up my gamerscore like some of the commentors before me (or the author of the article, for that matter), but the idea of doing things to add to it will always be a potential source of new things to do.
Nate @ Feb 8th 2006 1:43PM
I think it's fun and addicting....
I love Marble Blast Ultra (Yep, Marble Madness nostalgia kicking in), and working on getting all par times and finding all the easter eggs is addicting, challenging, and fun all in one....
I only have about 1,800 or so gamer points, but there's always a nice sense of accomplishment when you get some.
mcclintock @ Feb 8th 2006 2:08PM
@5
It's a way to turn a lazy gamer, like me, into more of a hardcore gamer and it also lets the developer encourage you to experience aspects of the game that you might not have otherwise.
It's a very cool feature that is implemented creatively by some and matter of factly by others.
anyway, err...have fun with your false sense of superiority ;)
SuicideNinja @ Feb 8th 2006 2:12PM
I'm more interested in the Achievements than Gamer Score. Maybe gamer score will mean more once more people have an Xbox 360.
So many hours in Zuma just to pass the Secret Shrine...
ZaBlanc @ Feb 8th 2006 2:14PM
To #9:
I thought that was the point of unlocks? And you got gameplay out of it instead of a morbid addiction to beating someone's score...when yer not even having fun doing it?
If it's fun to do, that's fine...I'm more reacting to the point in the post that said:
It occurred to me, late last night, that I wasn't playing Need For Speed to have fun. No, I was recklessly building my bounty score in order to challenge and defeat Kira Kaze Nakazato (#7 spot on the Blacklist 15), so I could net another 25 gamer points.
Paranoised @ Feb 8th 2006 2:15PM
Gamer Points in games like Call of Duty, Geometry Wars, and PGR3 are designed in a way where only the players who really good at the game could get most of the points. On the other hand NFS:MW, the EA Sports games, King Kong, and Tony Hawk (You get 50 points for having a haircut in that game, compare that to Geometry War's 30 points for getting a score of 1 mil or above.)
The point is, while the current model is effective for comparing the gamerscore of the same game with your buddies, but it seems that the overall score is pretty worthless measure.
DudeGuyMan @ Feb 8th 2006 2:37PM
To ZaBlanc:
I'm pretty sure that the guy playing NFS only for Gamer Points made his statement tongue-in-cheek about not having fun. You are a self-professed "Nintendo Fanboy" as stated on your blog so quit being jealous and just give the 360 a chance...
Morgon @ Feb 8th 2006 2:47PM
VC needs to start forcing the whole Joystiq team to play under his tag... and maybe a few neighbors ;)
http://www.mygamercard.net/leaderboard.php?gt=Joystiq
He's got lots of padding to do!
mofomojo @ Feb 8th 2006 3:03PM
I feel that ranking and scoring often detracts from the fun of the games. It may even make people excessively assholic ("NO, DON'T FUCKING TOUCH IT, I SPENT 50 HOURS GETTING THAT SCORE/RANK!!")
It gets ridiculous sometimes. I say we need better games, then come to me with this "gamerscore" ranking crap.
No, unless you're in the top 5 players, you're just another brick in the wall.
~NX~ @ Feb 8th 2006 3:08PM
The thing about these Gamerscores are that they give a false representation of skill. Because of the way the points are added up, the scores are mainly biased toward the people who buy the most games. You might as well just wire transfer MS $100 to get a thousand more points because that's pretty much what you're doing now.
mcclintock @ Feb 8th 2006 3:14PM
I hear ya ZaBlanc. Unlocks lead gamers towards extra content and down paths the story may not take them, But the public/social aspect of the gamercard and all the info it profiles kind of makes you want to put your best foot forward.
If your going to stay in all day you may not get out of your Pj's but if you're gonna hit the town you'll most likely get dressed to impress. I've only got 1265 out of a potential 7900 gamerscore with current games I own. So I guess I'm going to the ball in my Pj's. That's where another feature of Live comes in though, the Gamerzone. My zone is recreational, so i'm not going get matched up with some hardcore 12 year old pro that stomps all over me!
Some people are more competitive than others and derive more pleasure out of besting others at a given game than they do from playing the game itself. To each his own and Microsoft has brilliantly offered a service that can please most gamertypes.
Brian @ Feb 8th 2006 3:17PM
It's obvious that it's addicting with the gamerscore points. If the achievements weren't available I would have never went through COD2 on Veteran. Surviving 1,000,000 on GWR is amazing.
Morgon @ Feb 8th 2006 3:19PM
I agree with you, NX!
Though if you think about it, they do sort of go hand in hand.. you don't get any points for actually buying the game, you do have to play it a bit - and to get as high as the top 25, they've put in a lot of time getting high achievement rates on all of the games they own.
However, MGC will soon have 'true' leaderboards based on the completion percentage among the games they own.
Can't talk too much about the how's and when's, but I can guarantee it's coming ;)
I think it'll be at that point that we start to see the true effect of the GamerScore as it pertains to making people spend more time with their games.
Ben @ Feb 8th 2006 3:30PM
Whoa, now that's freaky. Just last night I stayed up until 2 am to beat the #8 spot on the blacklist, and started to work on #7, Kira. Freaky. Anyway, achievements are great... let's worry about the model of how they are formed for the next iteneration of Xbox.
gamer1 @ Feb 8th 2006 3:31PM
I think the Gamerscore/Achievement system is great. It makes my want to play my games more thoroughly. It also gives me incentive to replay games that I havent played for awhile to squeeze out more points. What is also great about it is that you can compare the achievements for your games against your friends, if they have the game. It gives that extra competitive edge to try to get more achievements with the games you have.
Although the overall point system isnt balanced, I think it still works well. Who are we to say that people who are good at racing games should be just as good at FPS or sports games? Same vice versa. Also, what if some of us simply prefer to play a specific genre? For example, I dont have any sports games, but I can still rack up a decent amount of points with the games that I have. What if all you play are sports games? You can still compete against my score with the games youve got!
When it comes down to it, although many of the points are a result of the amount of money and time you put into your games, people with high Gamerscores have proven that, not only are they well rounded gamers, they are still pretty good at games to have unlocked all their points.
So far, Call of Duty 2 seems to be the easiest retail game for me to complete all the achievements. The hardest Ive found has been Dead or Alive 4. For XBLA, I think the easiest to complete has been Marble Blast Ultra. The hardest one that I have is Geometry Wars. But my most proud of achievement is the Grand Pearl Pooh-Bah for Hexic HD. I think I like it the most because I know that everyone has this game.
James @ Feb 8th 2006 4:02PM
NX,
You don't have to buy the games. You could just go rent them. So it's not necessarily for a person having alot of gamerpoints to have bought alot of games.
Arachneya @ Feb 8th 2006 5:02PM
http://www.mygamercard.net/leaderboard.php
Psygnosis2097 @ Feb 8th 2006 7:51PM
Ugh.
~NX~ @ Feb 8th 2006 8:17PM
That leaderboard link proves my point. All the people at the top are going out and buying EVERY game on the Xbox 360 - around 36 games!
And James, yes you can rent Xbox 360 games, but not Live Arcade games. Those are locked to an individual system with some sort of DRM, which means no resell rights.
Superzapper2000 @ Feb 8th 2006 8:53PM
Sad ! .
C. Grant @ Feb 9th 2006 12:11AM
Alright, I admit it! He made me play through the opening level of Quake 4 with only the blaster... just for the points! It was horrible!
Come on though, getting all the GW achievements. That's impressive. We'll have to work on the rest of the score Morgon, thanks! ;)