Competitiveness on a Different Level?
Hey guys, BigC3 here sorry about the lack of content we’ve had out recently, we never anticipated this massive lack of free time when we originally planned this. So, I decided to write a wee article here to make up for it a bit.
With the release of trophies in the summer of 2008, Sony unleashed a new beast. Before, Playstation owners played games purely for the enjoyment with friends and to move up the leaderboards in one or two particular games. However, a new dimension was added; friends competing against each other over a large number of games, instead of just within one game at a time.
This has inevitably lead to ultra-competitive gamers fighting for the highest number of platinums to the furthest extremes.
It must be remembered that Sony and the Playstation leveling system counts each platinum trophy as equal in number of points, but different levels of respect are given to the different games from which these platinums can be earned. For example, Terminator Salvation is regarded as one of the ‘easiest’ platinums to achieve, as it requires only a small number of hours to achieve, without any real challenge, whereas Warhawk requires hundreds of hours to win the set number of games with all the in-game rewards which must be achieved.
The ‘hardcore’ trophy earners rarely try to achieve these ‘hard’ platinums – ones which require over 10 hours of work generally, instead sticking to the easiest ones,which may give them a reputation as a ‘Trophy Whore’. Stooping to these lows to increase the level will give the player little satisfaction in the grand scheme of things, whereas the massive relief and self-confidence gained on a harder game will grant immense satisfaction and bragging rights, as well as a higher social standing – fellow gamers will recognise the original gamers skill when they see the ‘hard’ platinum they have just earned.
I can speak from experience on this – last summer I took out a subscription to a postage-game rental service, with the primary aims of achieving some more platinums and trying out some games I wouldn’t have had a chance to otherwise – Bionic Commando, Lord of the Rings: Conquest, Tomb Raider: Underworld, among others. While I did enjoy the easier games, longer and harder ones such as Bionic Commando gave a me a deeper sense of satisfaction when I earned the platinum, even though I had only achieved the Lord Of The Rings one a fortnight beforehand.
Now I turn my attention to completing the harder games which I own and still have to platinum – Warhawk, Grand Theft Auto IV, Battlefield Bad Company, Killzone 2; the sense of accomplishment when I finally platinum these should, hopefully, be overwhelming.
With some of these well-respected platinums earned, I will hopefully be able to compare myself to the highest of ‘Trophy Whores’ – those who have Hannah Montana and Up in their catalogue; played purely for the platinum, and not the fun and satisfaction which goes along with the game.
Gaming used to be a verb – something you did to entertain yourself; with the introduction of trophies, and the rule of mandatory trophies as of last January, Sony has turned gaming into a noun – it is now a game in itself; instead of exclusively playing Call of Duty games in order to reach the peaks of the leaderboard, gamers are now playing all games to reach the peak of the trophy leaderboard, by spreading their gameplay across several, often several dozen, games, which, while increasing the rank and competitiveness of gaming, also could decrease the fun which used to be involved by a few friends sitting around blowing stuff up and having a laugh.
Trophy Trackerz Podcast 