properly implemented achivements= sales?

this is probably the most interesting video games study i've heard of in a long while. it's not just some slapdash gathering of sales charts that compares microsoft to sony to nintendo made games, trying to figure out if master chief could out arm wrestle mario.

no, this breaks down whether or not the proper implementation of achievement points in a game, that reward the player just enough for their hard earned time and money, and tries to discern how much that affects their sales.

in fact, the study, featured on gamespot, seems to link games where developers spent time and effort developing incremental rewards with over 30 achievements (or trophies, if the ps3 is your bag) with better game sales.

as a rampant consumer of video games I can honestly say that this is not only one of the smarter uses of bar graphs that i've seen used to take apart game sales metrics, but also the most interesting study period.

yes, we know more girls are playing games than ever before, and old people like the wii. but proper implementation of a reward system to foster a relationship with the user and encourage them to not only see all the different aspects to your game, but show them that you appreciate their time. wow. didn't see that coming til i pulled it off my google reader.

bloggin' and loggin',

JD

i guess i'm the only one with ps3 firmware 2.40 now...

so this is an unofficial test drive as no one else seems to have the 2.40 firmware since it was recalled shortly after being released.

i downloaded it with no complications the morning of so here are my impressions.

to be completely honest, the list of things it can't do is as long as my arm, and if you're expecting xbox live level of usefulness and interactivity, prepare for disappointment.

short list of fails:

- no access to ps store in game
- can't stream music in game (but can play music on the console hard drive)
- can only play music in games that support it

they've also introduced an achievement trophy system. to put it bluntly, so far, it's completely safe to call it half-cocked.

i got ahold of a copy of super stardust hd (don't let anyone else tell you different, this is the only game that currently supports them) and not only is the sound kind of lame (nothing compared to the now classic xbox *bing*) but everything about it is low-key.

quiet unlock noise, small upper-right hand logo for trophy notification, and so far, they're all pretty hard. i think the balance of achivements is lacking, but again, this is only one games' impression worth, so take it with a grain of salt.

*bing!*

JD