Nintendo dismisses need for Achievements

Good game design rather than a sign-posted Achievements system should encourage users to fully explore a game, Nintendo has argued.

Speaking to Kotaku about why, unlike its rivals, the platform holder has so far chosen not to implement a unified trophy system across all titles published on its hardware, Nintendo of America exec Bill Trinen explained, "When they create their games, [Nintendo's designers] don't tell you how to play their game in order to achieve some kind of mythical reward.

"Basically, the way the games are designed is they're designed for you to explore the game yourself and have this sense of discovery," he continued.

"To that end, I think that when you look specifically at games from EAD [Nintendo's internal development division] and a lot of other games that Nintendo has developed as well, there are things you can do in the game that will result in some sort of reward or unexpected surprise.

"In my mind, that really encourages the sense of exploration rather than the sense of 'If I do that, I'm going to get some sort of artificial point or score that's going to make me feel better that I got this.' And that, to me, is I think more compelling."

Trinen did add that Nintendo isn't completely against the idea of trophies, stating, "We're not opposed to Achievements."

Indeed, a handful of its recent titles, such as Wii Sports Resort and the Super Smash Bros. series, have included collectible badges. However, if you were hoping for it to fully jump on the Achievements bandwagon it sounds like you're in for disappointment.

Of course, Nintendo isn't alone in its general apathy towards the Achievements phenomenon. Have a read of Matt Edwards' recent EG piece for a little more insight into their relative evils.