Ever since Microsoft has introduced the achievement system in 2005 with the launch of the Xbox 360, it has proven to be one of the most popular additions to gaming. There’s something about completing an objective and hearing that little “blip” noise that fills you with a sense of accomplishment.
The rules for achievements, however, have remained pretty stagnant over the years. Retail games have a maximum allotment of 1,000 gamerscore with 50 achievements. Those numbers can be increased through DLC, but it’s largely the same.
XBLA games have seen even less change as they have been only allowed to offer 200 gamerscore since launch. Xbox 360 Achievements received a rumor from a trusted source that Microsoft is going to change the rules for XBLA soon.
The new rules allow a base gamerscore of 400 with a max of 30 achievements being offered. DLC for these games can offer up to 100 gamerscore and 8 achievements per quarter. In total, this allows XBLA games to offer 800 gamerscore and 62 achievements over its lifespan.
While Xbox 360 Achievements speculate the change may be due to Microsoft acknowledging that there are people who won’t buy DLC if there are no achievements, the change may also be due to competition.
While the actual gamerscore counts for Xbox 360 users, the actual number of achievements counts for a lot more. While the achievement is still the most popular form they appear in, Sony and Steam have been offering more in their form of achievements lately. It’s especially apparent on Steam with titles like Team Fortress 2 having achievements numbering in the hundreds.
This would also be great for XBLA games that also appear on the PSN. It’s annoying to see games like Beyond Good and Evil HD only have 12 trophies on the PSN. Microsoft is the leader when it comes to achievements so whatever they change will reflect on other platforms.
This is still just a rumor for now, but we’ll keep you updated if there are any changes or confirmations.
Do you think Microsoft should increase the achievement limit for XBLA titles? Or is it just fine the way it is? Let us know in the comments.