Study: More Xbox 360 achievements = better reviews, more sales

by Ross Miller { Oct 17th 2007 at 2:25PM }

A new study by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) suggests that the Xbox 360 achievement system (here called "accomplishments" for some reason) has an effect on the title's success. According to the press release, EEDAR found a "strong connection between a game title's diversity of Accomplishment types with that game's profitability -- pointing to the idea that the more diverse the Accomplishments available to the user, the more enjoyable the game, higher review scores, more units sold."

We're hesitant to conclude that the number of achievements is a causality for gamer enjoyment, although we know of a few people who swear by their gamerscore (and a handful of games whose sales, but not necessarily reviews, were greatly increased because of their achievements). We wonder if the correlation is instead a sign that developers who spend more time ensuring the quality of their games also extend that hard-work towards the achievements, as well. If Valve's The Orange Box sells a bajillion copies, it's not necessarily because it has 99 ways to up your gamerscore.

Tags: achievements, gamerscore, research, study, xbox-live

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 17th 2007 2:27PM

Wait, so you mean replayability equals a higher chance for a game to sell well? Wow what a fucking surprise.

phattie @ Oct 17th 2007 2:28PM

I think King Kong pretty much proved that.. lol.

Zertoss @ Oct 17th 2007 2:31PM

I imagine higher diversity in achievements equates to higher diversity in gameplay, which would mean more time spent developing the game and thus usually end with a better game.

It makes sense really.

jsn @ Oct 17th 2007 2:43PM

we're starting to see that now. Where early games, and even lots of later ones, had the simple "beat a level, get an achievement" system. They're really starting to get creative and make them something you have to work at a little more. Basically they're learning how they can use achiements to increase the life span of their games. It's basically your same old video game with 37% MORE CRACK!

Shagittarius @ Oct 17th 2007 3:15PM

I definately prefer beat the level get the achievment. I hate stupid achievments like 'Waste 40 more hours maxing out character levels even though you beat the game 40 hours ago'.

I play a lot of games and have no interest in making the most of every game. I don't even care about the points, just make sure you at least include an achievement for beating the game (Im looking at you blue dragon).

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Oct 17th 2007 2:34PM

Achievements Rule!!! I think that when a game has acheievements that are at least fun to try to get then the game is better for it. There are alot retarded ones out there thats for sure. Oh and I especially like achievements that unlock something else than just gamer points like my Serious Achievement on Gears unlocking the Marcus Fenix Avatar with the Fire behind him as you can see ;)

robert @ Oct 17th 2007 3:48PM

the Serious Achievement should be called the Ridiculous achievement.

10,000 kills, assuming you are the only person to kill everyone on the other team every game you play, comes out to 2,500 games.

of course no one is going to have 2,500 perfect games in a row so the real number of games getting that achievement is probably quite a bit more.

that's a whole lot of time spent playing that game, i don't think i'll ever play enough to hit that achievement... just don't have that kind of time to invest for 50 points added to an arbitrary score that has no intrinsic value.

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Oct 17th 2007 4:02PM

@ Robert

You are right buddy, it is rediculous and I hope they DONT bring it back for part 2 maybe just 5000. Anyhow I never intended on actually setting out to get this achievement but since I played so much Ranked online matches and found that I had around 6000 already I just decided to go ahead and finish it. And your calculations arent too good. I averaged around 800-1000 kills per week so it wasnt that difficult. But then again Im not an average Gears player.

Word of the street(IDF-Digital Ruler). @ Oct 17th 2007 4:04PM

The seriously achievement can be done by a pro in 3 months, basically is a reward for playing it a lot, not bad since there are people still playing Counter Strike source.

The thing is that some guys cheated achievements making it worthless, well I would like to keep play Gears of war a lot of my friend still do but the thing is that I’m sick of it, I keep playing the same maps over and over and over

I also love achievements that give you something like the ones in Gears of war,Doom, UMK3 but my Favorites are Zombie Exterminator/Punisher/Overtime that unlock the Megaman suit in Dead Rising and Anti-Hero that unlocks the Kickass Darkness Dashboard.

The most reward full ones must be the Halo 3 MP achievements,I mean Overkill, Stepping Razor man I was so happy when I unlocked Mongoose Festival not to mention the Skull ones that unlock the Hayabusa Armor.

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Oct 17th 2007 4:11PM

Right on Word of the street, Im working on those skulls =)

Phranctoast @ Oct 17th 2007 2:34PM

Game achievements have never been new. most games have extras or medals (whatever). Lives ability to flaunt them is the only new thing about it.

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Oct 17th 2007 2:37PM

I hear PS3 is working on an achievement system....hmm.....wonder why??

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 17th 2007 2:38PM

and that's why it's cool.

Phranctoast @ Oct 17th 2007 2:48PM

wow. I didn't mention the ps3 at all. I even gave credit were credit is due. The unification of achievements in one format rather than the way they are in games before this is a great idea. I just need to point out the obvious.

Phranctoast @ Oct 17th 2007 2:53PM

where.

Word of the street(IDF-Digital Ruler). @ Oct 17th 2007 4:12PM

Actually this guy is right, achievements aren't nothing new I remember older games with achievements but now is obligatory in every XB360 game.

HineyWipe @ Oct 17th 2007 2:39PM

Group leader: Ok HineyWipe, tell the group why you are here, tonight.
Hineywipe: Um, well (cough) uh, um here because I am an achievement whore.
Group: Welcome HineyWipe!

And so began my first session at AWA (Achievement Whores Anon)...

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Oct 17th 2007 2:46PM

We must have a different schedule because Ive never seen you there lol.

Dirt @ Oct 17th 2007 2:47PM

This makes perfect sense, too.

Lets take Oblivion for example. You gain achievement points/awards for completing the various levels in all the various guilds. When I played it on the PC, I had zero inclination to do anything except join the warriors guild and finish the game. I thought the game kind of stunk.

When I bought it on the 360, I saw that there were awards attached to every guild. I ended up putting in 70 some odd hours completing every guild (Warrior, Mage, Thief, etc) and in the end THE GAME FREAKING ROCKED. I would have *never* done these paths if there were no achievements awarded for them.

In effect, the points/awards "lead" players through the entire game that they might not see otherwise. They allow people to experience the full game, rather than just a part of it.

If you look at Chromehounds, you get points for playing specific types of mechs. I personally love treaded mechs, and would probably never have bothered making an inverse leg mech simply because I was happy with the treaded. However, after seeing all the points for playing each type I became acutely aware of the benefits of what each mech chassis can do.

Achievements are the best thing to happen in console gaming in a long, long time.

mr nimblewick (SegaDF - Jogurt Ring) @ Oct 17th 2007 2:51PM

Wait, after disliking the PC game you bought it for 360? What kind of person does that?

why not the LS2/LS7? @ Oct 17th 2007 3:35PM

You're a dream customer. You bought a game TWICE, the second time because you knew you DIDN'T LIKE IT.

Could you please run down your demographic info? I'm always looking for the kind of customer who will pay me double even when I make a game they don't like and I could use some help with my research.

Arturis @ Oct 17th 2007 3:46PM

I've actually done that myself - When I purchased Final Fantasy 8 for the Playstation, I ended up returning it in about 4 hours because the combat felt so slow on the PS1's aging hardware. A few months later I picked it up for the PC, and to this day it is my favorite Final Fantasy game.

Oren @ Oct 17th 2007 5:19PM

So basically what you are saying is that you are willing to endure hours and hours of not having fun only so that you can see some kind of reward in the end. So is gaming like a job to you?

To me, people who like achievements are the same people who's first thing to do after buying a game is to go online and type into google "game_name + cheats". They are not really enjoying playing the game but they have a real sense of satisfaction of being able to say "oblivion, ah yea, I finished that one" or see the a large number next to their "E-penis", sorry I meant "gamer score".

Dirt @ Oct 17th 2007 5:49PM

Yes, I bought it for the 360 after disliking it on the PC because my 360 has a COUCH, and it has a nice SURROUND SOUND system. And a nice big HDTV. I wanted to see if the experience would be a bit better, and overall, yes, it was a ton better than on the PC. But the achievements really made it shine by allowing you to visit different areas of the game that you might not go on your own. (Ie. On the PC I only went to the Fighters guild)

"So basically what you are saying is that you are willing to endure hours and hours of not having fun only so that you can see some kind of reward in the end. So is gaming like a job to you?"

That isn't what I said at all. The game opened up different areas to play through, and in doing so also opened up more STORYLINE that made the game from meh to fantastic. It has some seriously cool missions to do that I never saw before.

"Could you please run down your demographic info?"

Sure, when you release a game I don't like, try adding in achievements in your 360 version that rewards people for going to places they might not normally go to. To do things off the beaten path. And obviously, have that content be FUN. The fighter guild in itself was not all that fun. The main storyline in itself was not all that fun. I did both of those on the PC. On the 360, I did the Mage guild which WAS fun. I did the Thief guild which was totally awesome fun. I did a bunch of side quests that was fun.

Pretty simple, yeah?

ThornedVenom @ Oct 17th 2007 2:48PM

YOU HEAR THAT SNEAK KING?!!

Marty @ Oct 17th 2007 2:48PM

"A new study by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) suggests that the Xbox 360 achievement system (here called "accomplishments" for some reason) has an affect on the title's success."

You mean it has an EFFECT.

Phranctoast @ Oct 17th 2007 2:51PM

effect and affect always get me as well. The, ones a verb and ones a noun rule doesn't always apply.

Alexander @ Oct 17th 2007 2:53PM

I couldn't believe Nintendo and Sony didn't copy this right off. I would of loved to play Twilight Princess with achievements!

felixlighter @ Oct 17th 2007 2:53PM

What a great example of misinterpreting statistics. I think the relationship Ross Miller came up with is much more likely.

If a game has a high number of varied achievements then that would indicate that the developer took handled that aspect of development with care. If a developer takes more time and care with that aspect then that developer is more likely to take more time and care with other aspects of development resulting in a higher quality game. Higher quality games receive higher review scores and sell better.

paralipsis @ Oct 17th 2007 2:58PM

The Orange Box is my first direct experience with achievements (beyond the purely obvious ones that games have had for ages), as I have never played an Xbox system. And I must say that I find them immensely gratifying to achieve, even if they do not add to a "gamerscore" or any such thing. I am glad that Valve left these intact for the PC version. It's a mechanism that sure beats "collecting every star/coin/other random item" or simply "get a gold medal on every level". Those were a big step up frfom just making beating the level the only requirement, though they usually end up getting a little repetitve.

One thing that even the most primitive achievement system does is make it possible for casual games to have a sense of completion (get to the end of the game), and for more commited gamers to feel like they have accomplished a serious challenge (get all achievements).

I'm hoping other games beyond Valve's multi-platform titles extend the notion of achievements beyond Microsoft consoles. It doesn't really need to be integrated into some kind of overarching network, at least for me. I don't really feel the need to advertise my recreational accomplishments to complete strangers.

T3H WICKERMAN (FDF) @ Oct 17th 2007 2:58PM

time for a poll joystiq buy on 360 for achievements or other system.

dan stabbingworth @ Oct 17th 2007 3:11PM

Me fail English? That's unpossible!

Phranctoast @ Oct 17th 2007 3:24PM

Thanks dan for making my day!

David Keating @ Oct 18th 2007 8:14AM

This is absolutely an illusory correlation. A great example of illusory correlations is the correlation between the number of household applicances and the liklihood of using birth control. They are correlated but they are related to socio-economic factors.

There is a hidden 3rd factor absent from thise discussion... developers who are likely to make good games are likely to also take advantage of a system's strengths. In the 360's case, one of the strengths is it's meta-game acheivements. If a developer has the gumption to make a great game, odds are they are also likely to capitalize on the achievement feature as well. But because this correlation seems so cut and dry to the layman, we're going to start seeing crappy games with more achievements now, because developers are going to think more achievements will increase sales for their mediocre products.

Just my 2 cents.

WiNG @ Oct 17th 2007 3:07PM

"Fratricide"

'nuff said

Intentless @ Oct 17th 2007 3:09PM

On one side it helps people play larger scale games... Give incentive to finish them... Oblivion and Enchanted Arms I think are good examples... However with multiplayer games like Gears and Halo 3.... I find some of my friends don't have any interest playing them after they get all the acheivments...

Nestea_Zen @ Oct 17th 2007 3:31PM

They're morons. If they are pc gamers why bother and play 360. Just to have an account with points? lol. If they're not pc gamers and just play from time to time, they're not gamers.

Intentless @ Oct 17th 2007 3:36PM

So you are saying if you don't play PC you arn't a gamer? My point I'm trying to make is that achievments have changed the game... In some cases it helps because I'll still play geometry wars to try to get an achievment or beat my friends score... At the same time when I have a choice of playing a game on PC,PS3 or 360 I rather play 360 because it gives me that sense of accomplishment but at the same time I've recently decided that I'm going to not play RTS on anything but a PC... cept for Halo Wars...

Nestea_Zen @ Oct 17th 2007 3:57PM

No of course not, lol.
This yes:
If they're not pc gamers and your friends just play 360 from time to time, they're not gamers. This is no offence just somekind of realization.

Achievements are great. Till now no system had achievements/accomplishments like the 360 has it. It's great. Good games, with great stories have great achievements, cheaper games have easier achievements.
It's the game that makes the achievements what they are not otherwise. So the result of this study does not make any sense.

Intentless @ Oct 17th 2007 3:10PM

Or in PDZ and Gears side of things they are so aggrivating that you don't bother with them...

KingOfGods @ Oct 17th 2007 3:11PM

I own both a PS3 and a 360 and 99.99% of the time I would buy the 360 version of a multi platform game just because it's more fun to play with achievements involved.
Plus you have the added benefit of Live and being able to communicate with friends for help with the game or just to chat at any moment while playing.

why not the LS2/LS7? @ Oct 17th 2007 3:37PM

Gamerscore is for lamers.

I don't really have a problem with achievements, but lumping all your stuff together into one score is nothing but a transparent attempt to make money off people who want to measure their e-Penises.

having fun > measuring d*ck sizes

Josh Clark @ Oct 17th 2007 4:45PM

I kind of agree. I think having a percentage of points obtained over points possible with currently owned games would be a nice addition.

Plaid Ninja @ Oct 17th 2007 5:03PM

Well, it might not be directly related, but it could be true. More achievments might mean there's more to do in the game, more to unlock, more to strive for. It could be an indication of the time & effort put into developing the game, and a sign that there is a lot of replay value.