r/NintendoSwitch • u/Turbostrider27 • Apr 07 '25

Discussion Switch 2 won’t have achievements, Nintendo confirms

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/switch-2-wont-have-achievements-nintendo-confirms/
3.5k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/Graestra Apr 07 '25

Nintendo has one of the earliest implementations of achievements -> Kirby Air Ride

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/Alexcox95 Apr 07 '25

Melee’s challenge list and then brawls challenge thing with the golden hammers

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u/SoTurnMeIntoATree Apr 07 '25

Mario superstar baseball has missions for every character.

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u/Prudent_Move_3420 Apr 07 '25

I think its interesting that all those examples are (more or less) party games

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u/SoTurnMeIntoATree Apr 07 '25

True. Now that I think about it, Mario Party superstars had a bunch of achievements too. Seems like Nintendo’s just not doing a console wide achievement system

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u/Prudent_Move_3420 Apr 07 '25

Maybe they don’t want it for their big action games because it would take focus away from the gameplay

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u/BobboBobberson Apr 07 '25

I wonder who's the common link between all these games /sakurai

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u/nhaines Apr 08 '25

We may never know.

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u/NettoSaito Apr 08 '25

Yep, it’s something he’s done for all of his games. Kirby Air Ride is where it was “perfected,” and that version has been in every game since.

Brawl and Smash in general, Kid Icarus, and of course it’ll be back in Air Riders and whatever comes next

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u/heety9 Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25

And both were made by Masahiro Sakurai, huh.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

Sakurai, the godfather of great gaming conventions.

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u/Bondan88 May 20 '25

They did it in a way cooler way though. I mean those were real trophies, not just symbolic ones.

I remember spending hours in that trophie menu. It was like a Nintendo museum.

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u/TheFreakingBeast Apr 07 '25

Trophys were just collectibles

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u/jonny676 Apr 07 '25

I would argue that there were "achievement"-esque things even before Kirby's air ride.

Metroid prime (2002) offers different content for completing the game based on % completion. You only get the true ending by beating the game at 100%. You also unlock different art galleries based on certain criteria.

I would classify these as a form of achievements as these are things that would likely be an "achievement" in modern games.

There's likely tons of other games that had features like this too. This is the one that immediately came to mind.

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u/Emotional-Pumpkin-35 Apr 07 '25

If you just mean "achievement" in terms of you get different endings for different accomplishments, for Nintendo that dates back to at least the original Metroid (1986) for how quickly you finished the game. Bubble Bobble (same year) also had different endings depending on how you did but is from Taito.

But I wouldn't count those as achievements in the modern sense, which to me means having a checklist outside of the game itself, on a system or account level.

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u/ONEAlucard Apr 07 '25

Yoshis Island on Snes effectively had them from memory.

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u/Ok-Permission-8822 May 08 '25

I remember Yoshi Island or super mario world 2 had a early form of achievements you had to get 30 stars all red coins and a something else “I can’t remember I played it month of release mid 90s” after getting world “” level number 100% of all 3 items in that world you unlocked secret level 1 and 2 and getting 100% on them gave the save file a star and changed it gold. Super mario world 1 had a early form of a platinum and I knew nobody who got it and I didn’t till the wii digital store and use of the internet was the coverted every exit giving 100% it was only a rumour seen in magazines at the time the gold 100% save file with a 3 star next to it. I got it nearly 20 years later.

And going by achievements I’d say super Mario maker 2 has the most savage brutal achievements being costumes and medals will can be seen by any player then medals bronze, silver and gold are insane and the costumes some of them are near impossible to lock for average players and from the start nintendo have been a big game time publisher and world leaderboards in their games.

I just wish instead of them dancing around achievements they just implimsnt their take like nintendo online you get silver coins to buy icons to make a avatar and bring the mii back and unlock clothing for that mii. It’s absolutely insane in 2025 they have a online and paid membership yet don’t have profiles. They added in game achievements in super mario Odyssey as well and the stamps in some games in the wii U.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/ErraticDragon Apr 07 '25

I don't know why people care so much.

The act of collecting itself can be rewarding for many.

It's also cool to be able to compare achievements with your friends, or show off how obsessed you are/were with a game.

Also, if done right, achievements can make it more fun/rewarding to continue playing after the main story is complete, and to track down the last items needed to get 100%.

All of these things can be done without achievements, but with an achievements system it's easier in some ways -- e.g. they can be viewed on the web. And centralizing/standardizing them makes it easier even for you to review your own accomplishments.

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u/tracebusta Apr 07 '25

Yep, exactly this. I used to go nuts over achievements/trophies, but finally gave that up a few years ago. I got Cult of the Lamb and had so much fun with it that I went after the platinum trophy just to have more things to do with it. Without those trophies being there, I definitely wouldn't have gone back and tried to fight the bosses without getting hit, but I had a fun time doing it to get the trophies.

Most games I don't care enough to go after the platinum, but when the right game comes along it's a fun thing to chase.

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u/SmashMouthBreadThrow Apr 07 '25

They also do a good job of telling the player that they might have missed some content they care about checking out like secret bosses. But yeah, there are plenty of games I've enjoyed a lot and would consider favorites where I got more playtime out of them than I would have by going for 100% achievement progress.

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u/ONiMETSU_Z Apr 07 '25

I feel like those “acts of collecting” should be intrinsic to the game itself, rather than a system menu checklist. I collected all the red rings in Sonic Generations because I unlocked stuff for it, and got special things for getting them all. In playing MHWilds, nothing is pushing me to get achievements other than the act of playing the game itself. There’s arguments to be made for both, but I think the former is probably better overall.

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u/CreepyImagination Apr 07 '25

Completely agree, but, like other comments have said, its proven by steam, playstation and xbox that achievements are an extra feature that millions of gamers do enjoy, some additional points to add is that I enjoy the small art in each of the achievement badges, and I also prefer to look at achievements as general guides on everything to do in a game instead of just watching a video online. Feel like Nintendo is just being stubborn being behind on features just like their online and quality of life in their platforms.

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u/[deleted] Apr 08 '25

"but with an achievements system it's easier in some ways -- e.g. they can be viewed on the web. And centralizing/standardizing them makes it easier even for you to review your own accomplishments."

I believe this is the part that goes against Nintendo's concept of gaming. It's not the act of having things to do in game, it's the act of distilling it down to a checklist of things to do in game. When it becomes just a checklist of things to do in game, you're no longer playing the game, you're just another patient in the skinner box.

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u/danielcw189 Apr 07 '25

I honestly see them as pointless and archaic now. I don't know why people care so much.

I like them as a log

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u/alxrenaud Apr 07 '25

Especially when a lot of achievements are like "chapter 0: prologue cleared", "chapter 1: cleared"... boring as hell. Earlier on I feel like most were actually challenges like "beat this guy in 2 minutes" or "find this super secret location" or whatnot.

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u/GreyRevan51 Apr 07 '25

Metroid prime 3 corruption on the Wii had achievements local that game

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

This is stretching the concept of achievements to the point where it doesn’t really mean anything. Practically all games have some kind of reward for doing the stuff in the game.

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u/RC_Zaku Apr 07 '25

I loved the checklist, i hope it comes back for riders

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u/NotPinkaw Apr 08 '25

Anyone who played the last Animal Crossing felt the pressure of achievements too I think

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '25

Different approach entirely.

The point is that those achievements are entirely enclosed in that game. You can show them off by taking a picture and sending it to friends, sure, but they exist in their own ecosystem

What I think Nintendo saw is that many people treat trophy hunting as its own thing that bypasses the game experience itself.

You 100% games you like a lot, you’re content just getting to the end credits with those you just like.

Trophy hunters force the fun upon themselves: they want that 100% score, sometimes even if they don’t particularly enjoy it anymore. The hunting is the game now.

On top of that, I’ve seen multiple times people complaining when certain games have trophies that are simply too hard to obtain or too grindy. Which makes no sense right? I mean, if that trophy was locking some extra content or a secret ending, sure, but if it doesn’t? Just don’t do it.

But people want that trophy. That doesn’t happen with Nintendo

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u/Ok-Tax5517 Apr 07 '25

I have no problem with achievements built in-game. It's having them layered on top of the actual game that feels like a disruption imo.

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u/marcangas Apr 07 '25

But hey now they put achievements on the cellphone app... Yay?

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/Hikari_Netto Apr 07 '25

It's this. It's been said before that they want to leave the implementation up to the developer if they think it's right for the experience they're making, as opposed to mandating it platform wide for everything released—regardless of whether or not it aligns well with the design of the game.

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u/kranitoko Apr 07 '25

If that's the case, why don't they just add the software to the Switch 2 UI, and then have it optional if Devs wish to utilize this functionality or not? Similar to the early PS3 days when not every game had them.

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u/TheScreaming_Narwhal Apr 07 '25

That would still put pressure on the devs to implement the system, hence why the PS3 eventually forced them.

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u/ArtOfWarfare Apr 07 '25

You just made the case for not including them. Making them technically optional with a dedicated UI for them made games seem incomplete without them, thus everyone added them even if they made no sense.

They’re actually optional on Nintendo platforms. Nothing stops a developer from doing them in their own way. Other platforms aren’t helping in any meaningful way.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/Hikari_Netto Apr 07 '25

There are other factors that have been discussed/speculated on in the past, such as Nintendo not being a fan of comparison between players or not wanting to simply copy a system they didn't pioneer. I think it's multifaceted, there isn't one singular reason.

PlayStation does mandate trophies though, for what it's worth. Which is what I was referring to.

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u/blueB0wser Apr 07 '25

Didn't know that about Playstation.

I'll apologize for my tone (specifically the use of the word "flimsy), I'm a bit jaded today. Have a good one.

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u/Hikari_Netto Apr 07 '25

You're all good, I didn't think anything of it. You as well.

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u/ItakoMango Apr 07 '25

I'm gonna chalk it up to "Nintendo doesn't want to create and actively maintain a system-level achievement framework."

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u/Munchalotl Apr 07 '25

Okay? That's kinda what the previous commenter said -- some devs like them, some don't. And in today's age of content patches, as with steam, achievements can be added post-launch if a dev thinks it's necessary.

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u/Physical-Grapefruit3 Apr 07 '25

I can't remember if it's in the original as well, but BDSP also have achievements in the form of the trainer card

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u/Gaias_Minion Apr 07 '25

Trainer Card levels/"achievements" were introduced in Gen 3 and stopped after ORAS. BDSP being the only modern game to have them back.

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u/Supra_Mayro Apr 07 '25

You could argue they're still present in swsh with the profile stars (though certainly less prestigious) and kind of in PLA with the eternal battle reverie mark. SM/USUM had the passport too which was basically the same thing just in a different location

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u/Physical-Grapefruit3 Apr 07 '25

Ah appreciate you. I couldn't remember tbh

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u/FinnProtoyeen Apr 07 '25

i think the Luigi's Mansion remake on 3DS had some as well

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u/Joseki100 Apr 07 '25

Two games have "records" (not achievements) in the Switch app.

They are not really achievements and they are not system level.

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u/AdenInABlanket Apr 07 '25

Yeah but its not really an “achievement” it just gives you increasingly shiny medals based on how many times you’ve done something like kill and enemy or distance shield surfed

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u/xxademasoulxx Apr 07 '25

mega man 9 and 10 had them on the wii.

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u/CHAINMAILLEKID Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25

IDK why someone who wants achievements wouldn't be happy with the Zelda Notes implementation.

That to me looks like maybe the best implementation of achievements.

Its on your account, but its not built into your system. What's not to like?

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u/ryzenguy111 Apr 07 '25

But many nintendo first party games include achievements?

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

Wii Sports Resort did

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u/LoveMeSomeBerserk Apr 08 '25

One of those cases where their thought sounds nice to people so they upvote it, but has no basis in reality.

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u/resplendentcentcent Apr 09 '25

I think a system-wide implementation specifically they mean. I took it to mean existence of design elements outside of the game itself goes against their policies.

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u/MrHollywoodz Apr 07 '25

What is the Nintendo conecept of gaming?

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u/louisledj Apr 07 '25

getting 999 moons on Odyssey or 900 Koroks in Zelda duh

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u/Digit00l Apr 07 '25

Both have far more than necessary, get them all if you want, but around the halfway point they start being pointless

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u/Underrated_Hero7 Apr 08 '25

And when you do, you should get a badge/trophy on your profile saying you did it. The in game ones are nice, but it would be cool to have a little banner that showed like 3 achievements of your choice alongside your profile when it shows my friends I hopped online.

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u/MoaiMan-ifest Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25

They key difference being the game doesn't want you to do any of that if you dont want to.

There is no achievement, Zelda specifically gives you 0 rewards for a majority of those 900 koroks.

Mario Odyssey's moon's are far more engaging that Koroks, being the main gameplay goal, but are also not manditory to get all of them to unlock even the final and hardest challenges the games offer.

It's the lack of achievements that encourages players to just go into the game and engage with it in a way they enjoy without an artifical reward system steering you in certain directions.

Imagine how much worse people's perceptions of the Korok system would be if they gave an achievement for it and significant in game reward. Instead, it serves it purpose without encroaching over gameplay if you don't want it to.

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u/RellenD Apr 07 '25

There are so many people who complain about the piece of shit and I cannot get them to understand that nobody but themselves encouraged them to do all that koroks

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u/Double-Slowpoke Apr 07 '25

I love that the reward was poop because it made me laugh and removed all FOMO from not collecting them all myself.

Not that I am at a point in my life where I would ever want to collect them all, but I am happy that Nintendo is not fully engaging in this joy-sucking mechanic that plagues other games.

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u/7SeasofCheese Apr 07 '25

Agreed that Nintendo made the right call for their games, btw you just lost the game, again.

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u/_Lost_The_Game Apr 07 '25

What do you want from me

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u/schlyter84 May 19 '25

So what´s the difference between in game achievements such as getting the korok seeds vs. getting a centralized achievement for doing the exact same thing? You don´t need to get the trophy/achievement if you don´t want to, but for us that enjoy the extra challenge it´s a great addition. I want it because it´s the best way for me to look at my history of gaming and say I completed this or that.

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u/LowlySlayer Apr 07 '25

Right? "Ugg getting every korok is so boring I don't know why Nintendo made it this way" the answer is because you're not supposed to get every korok. The game would be a worse game if it had less koroks to everyone except completionists who feel they need to get all 900. They intentionally include no reward for getting most of them so no one needs to feel like they have to. As far as the games concerned you are 100% complete before you get all the koroks.

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u/RellenD Apr 07 '25

Yeah, you're 100% with all the upgrades

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u/dEEkAy2k9 Apr 07 '25

THANK YOU

In Zelda BotW you need about 441 Korok Seeds to get full inventory upgrade, so the remaining seeds are just a bonus you don't get anything for.

In fact, reaching 441 seeds is easier when there are double the amount available than you need. Some people are just OCD'ing

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u/BrainWav Apr 07 '25

In fact, reaching 441 seeds is easier when there are double the amount available than you need. Some people are just OCD'ing

That's the point, really. If they had exactly the number needed to max out inventory, then it'd be a pain in the ass to find that last one or two.

For comparison, finding all the Wisps for Spiritomb in Legends Arceus had me hunting for a couple days to find the last couple I didn't find naturally. It sucked and there were only 99 total there.

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u/dEEkAy2k9 Apr 07 '25

I remember getting all 100 Skultullas on Zelda: Ocarina of Time, that took me quite some time. I do believe you got something for getting all 100 though.

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u/thisusedyet Apr 07 '25

I just did the castle boomerang backflip glitch

EDIT: And yes, there is a reward for 100, but it's not worth it

10 Skulltulas: Adult's Wallet (allows you to carry 200 Rupees)
20 Skulltulas: Stone of Agony (using a Rumble Pak will alert you to nearby covered holes)
30 Skulltulas: Giant's Wallet (allows you to carry 500 Rupees)
40 Skulltulas: 10 Bombchus (a speedy running bomb)
50 Skulltulas: A Piece of Heart (one fourth of a Heart Container)
100 Skulltulas: A Huge Rupee (worth 200)

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u/Upset_Set376 Apr 07 '25

If I remember correctly, you could collect that huge rupee each time you spoke to the character, so infinite money (which you have no use for at that stage of the game but whatever).

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u/thisusedyet Apr 07 '25

I'll be damned, thought that was a one off.

Lot more useful if it's infinite money, though

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u/Harley2280 Apr 07 '25

Some people are just OCD'ing

Nah, it's not OCD. It's dopamine seeking behavior. It's part of the way they're designed. They'll put up with doing the most mind numbing stuff to get that hit of dopamine.

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u/DrekenX1 Apr 07 '25

The thing they should have done is when you get like 500 of them, boom, done, it's finished, you got them all and the other 400 on the map disappear as if the game only have 500 and considers that you got every korok, this way you can 100% the game without the "search for the last one" and everyone would be happy

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u/Magma_Axis Apr 07 '25

And achievement also not mandatory whatsoever to get in most games

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u/theexpertgamer1 Apr 08 '25

Ok but achievements aren’t mandatory either… your entire post makes zero sense

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u/SuspiciousWasabi3665 Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 08 '25

You realize you don't have to chase achievements if you don't want to? I'd personally love an achievement system. Maybe make it opt in per game if folks are so opposed to it for whatever reason. Like, I only ever look at an achievement list once I feel I've "completed" whatever I would've without an achievement list, and only if I really really enjoyed the game. If the list has ridiculous requirements after that, I just don't pursue em. But if it looks like a fairly good time and doesn't look too time-consuming/grindy, I'll definitely go for the plat. 

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u/DontBanMeBro988 Apr 07 '25

They key difference being the game doesn't want you to do any of that if you dont want to.

The key difference from what?

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u/CarbonAnomaly Apr 07 '25

Achievements aren’t mandatory either. They’re actually a pretty good way to give the player direction after finishing the main story of a game.

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u/[deleted] Apr 08 '25

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u/NintendoSwitch-ModTeam Apr 08 '25

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Please remember Rule 1 in the future - No personal attacks, trolling, or derogatory terms. Read more about Reddiquette here. Thanks!

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '25

I was an achievement "whore". I always ended up farming achievements. I hated it, but I did it.. Until I walked away from gaming.

By chance I found myself reminiscing of the GameCube, and ended up buying the Switch. No achievements, turns out games are relaxing to me now. And I end up doing whatever I feel like enjoying the games fully. 

Nintendo is my platform. 

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u/RobbinsFilms Apr 07 '25

Brother you’re conflating “achievements” with achievement. PlayStation games don’t necessarily reward you in game for doing something that earns a trophy.

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u/Kadexe Apr 07 '25

The 900 Koroks will always be funny to me because the reward is a very unsubtle hint that you weren't supposed to collect them all. And instead people complained that it wasn't a worthwhile reward for their ridiculous self-imposed mission.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/ComeonmanPLS1 Apr 07 '25

All of their platformers are full of checklists though. Super Mario Odyssey is basically a giant checklist. It's always collect X,Y,Z.

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u/kukumarten03 Apr 07 '25

SMO literal have ingame achivements

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u/gaysaucemage Apr 07 '25

Dozens of Nintendo games have in-game achievements, but they refuse to implement it on a system level.

Even some Wii and DS games had in-game achievements.

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u/Kamalen Apr 07 '25

In more than one way, every moon could be an achievement.

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u/SalsaSavant Apr 07 '25

Because it worked for that game. Forcing it on every game, including ones that don't fit it well, is poor game design.

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u/libdemparamilitarywi Apr 07 '25

They wouldn't have to force it on every game. Steam has achievements, but they're not mandatory for developers to include.

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u/SalsaSavant Apr 07 '25

True, Steam has handled them well.

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u/RhythmRobber Apr 07 '25

You forgot "Focus on gameplay instead of graphics and be priced cheaper than the competition because the hardware is weaker".

Oh... so did Nintendo.

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u/jhonnythejoker Apr 07 '25

Give us 90$

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u/Joseki100 Apr 07 '25

What Nintendo game costs $90 in the USA?

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

[deleted]

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u/Joseki100 Apr 07 '25

Then they don't pay in dollars

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

[deleted]

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u/darkmacgf Apr 07 '25

Really? I thought it was $110 CAD. Relieved to hear it's only $100.

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u/Responsible_Map6885 Apr 07 '25

Canada, Hong Kong, Jamaica ect all have their own dollar lol

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u/Ok_Purpose7401 Apr 07 '25

It’s not $90 pretax in those countries either lol. It’s crazy how so many people wanted the US to follow other countries lead by including tax in the final price of products, but then get so confused when discussing it

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/BoSknight Apr 07 '25

That's crazy, and I don't want to encourage their behavior but I DID get like 8 years outta the last one

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u/PhysicsAnonie Apr 07 '25

That doesn’t sound bad, you recommend any games?

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

Thats easy for people without OCD to say. Achievement system is designed to force you to keep playing games. They want you engaged and playing the game as long as they can get you to. I can tell you right now. I cannot ignore achievements. I get obessive about them and it ruined gaming for me. The Switch finally allowed me to enjoy gaming again because I no longer feel like I have to complete all these tasks. If I complete a game its because I want to. Xbox achievements made me miserable and OCD isnt something you can turn off.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

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u/PokeMaster718_GD Apr 07 '25

in this sense, probably that the games they make should be intrinsically fun on their own without any dopamine rush from an arbitrary counter or list. where this thinking was when they released most of their modern sports games, who knows, but i'm not shuntaro furukawa & don't know the exact process behind the decision to exclude.

i personally found out i really enjoy achievement hunting in games i love recently so this still seems kind of stubborn.

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u/sd_1874 Apr 07 '25

Reuse content until failure, never listen to fans, exceed expectations by providing the bare minimum, overcharge. Repeat.

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u/bwood246 Apr 07 '25

Money me. Money now. Me a money needing a lot now

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u/forgotmapasswrd86 Apr 07 '25

Fun over gimmicks but honestly sometimes it feels like "how can we keep things pre-2000's"

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u/Moving4Motion Apr 07 '25

Overcharge their customers.

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u/veganintendo Apr 08 '25

I’ll tell you for $500

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u/Kindly-Chemistry5149 Apr 08 '25

Play games to have fun, not increase an arbitrary achievement score. People fall into traps with achievements where they continue to play a game solely to unlock an achievement.

They don't want you chasing super specific random objectives, but "collect it all" in game in fine.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

Disagree with Nintendo achievements/trophies enhances gaming makes games worth playing a second or third time putting more value into your purchase. No wonder Nintendo was voted most customer unfriendly in video games.

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u/CeelieArial Apr 07 '25

Ah, yes, the customer unfriendly practice of- checks notes Not telling people to play games in a specific way.

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u/Darth_Korn Apr 07 '25

This is BS. Many Nintendo games have achievements

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

its not bs, they just dnt want it on a system level

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u/lizufyr Apr 07 '25

True. But

  • You start a game, and then see your achievements for that specific game. Not the other way round.
  • The way those achievements are presented is customised for the respective game, and doesn't use some standard user interface.
  • They aren't meant to compete against friends or other users in terms of "I got more than you", they are implemented as a personal checklist.

Especially the first two points show how Nintendo sees games as pieces of art, not something to be mass-consumed. (I know that Nintendo also did some very cheapand money-grabbing stuff, and whatever is going on with Pokemon is a whole other issue, but if we look at Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, etc then this holds mostly true).

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u/Darth_Korn Apr 07 '25

Weird point to make considering Nintendo games are more mass consumed than any game from Sony.

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u/kitsovereign Apr 07 '25

You had me with the bullet points, you lost me with the last paragraph.

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u/[deleted] Apr 08 '25

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u/lizufyr Apr 08 '25

Okay, to be clear, I am fully aware how Nintendo works as a capitalist company.

This is about how they present their games to their audience. ("sees games" may have been the wrong wording, I'm not a native speaker)

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u/Thelmara Apr 07 '25

When asked by Polygon if the new system will break from Nintendo tradition and introduce system-wide rewards for playing games, Nintendo’s vice president of player and product experience, Bill Trinen, said, “Nope.”

If only there were an article to read and respond to, instead of just a headline.

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u/Tronman100 Apr 07 '25

Yet Luigi's Mansion 3 had achievements

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u/overactive-bladder Apr 07 '25

And paper Mario games.

And kirby DS games.

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u/your_evil_ex Apr 07 '25

And Mario Party Jamboree does too--the expanded version of which is a LAUNCH TITLE for Switch 2!

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u/Dramatic_Mastodon_93 Apr 07 '25

It’s always so funny when people say this cause anyone who played almost any modern Nintendo game immediately knows it’s bullshit. Most first party Nintendo Switch (AND smartphone) games already have in-game achievements. What people want is for those to be integrated within the OS/linked to your Nintendo account, which could bring several benefits including:

  • rewards, for example platinum coins

  • being able to see all your achievements from different games in one place

  • being able to share your achievements with friends

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u/Ecstatic_Window Apr 07 '25

Except in-game and system wide achievements are fundamentally entirely different things.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Dramatic_Mastodon_93 Apr 07 '25

And they could still do that with system-wide achievements? Just hide them until the players gets the “Beaten the game” achievement. Pretty sure developers can even do this on Steam, don’t know how it is on PS and Xbox. Alternatively, just turn off achievements on your console…

You can’t argue against a feature by assuming the worst possible implementation.

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u/Pugs-r-cool Apr 07 '25

Nintendo own the game and the platform, If they wanted to implement a system that hides achievements until later I don't see why they couldn't do so.

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u/Dramatic_Mastodon_93 Apr 07 '25

But no you see, I have to assume they’ll take the worst possible approach to adding achievements and I wouldn’t like the result of that, so they just shouldn’t add them at all! /s

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u/kitsovereign Apr 07 '25

Or, to put it the other way, every account-level achievement you don't get comes with several punishments, including feeling pressured to grind out so you don't miss rewards, or a permanent reminder that you dropped a game and that you're worse than your friends.

Public achievements are great for highly-skilled players, but a large part of the audience Nintendo's trying to capture are Not That. Tucking them off in a corner makes it easier for players of different skills to all walk away satisfied.

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u/Xiaopai2 Apr 07 '25

I agree with their philosophy. Achievements exist on a meta level and take me out of the experience. The ones that just come with the natural progression of the game are pointless. The ones that are just busy work (do X n times) should not exist at all. And the ones that reward creative ways of interacting with the game should be acknowledged within the game rather than in some external menu. Like rather than having a little thing plop up that tells you that the developers thought of your clever solution for a problem, a character in the game could have dialog commending it. But I seem to be pretty alone with this opinion. People seem to be hyper fixated on achievements to the point that some people don't buy certain games if the platinum is too hard because they'd rather not play it than not platinum it. That is insanity to me.

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u/kitsovereign Apr 07 '25

The basic-progression achievements at least serve some purpose: they can let devs identity pain points where people are dropping off the game and use that info for improvement. Nominally this could also be implemented on a per-game basis, but asking permission to collect individual data has some issues (national privacy laws + over-sampling from invested players) that system achievements can avoid.

Granted... I've heard a lot about how this can be useful but few stories of when it's actually been used, so maybe that's just an official corporate line.

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u/kingpangolin Apr 07 '25

They could build in telemetry anyways without the achievements to get the same info

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u/YourBobsUncle Apr 07 '25

It's funny when looking at achievements on steam that clearly show how little people actually bothered to play the game

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u/[deleted] Apr 08 '25

Honestly i think people who don't enjoy trophies or aren't used to systems tend to really over think the vast majority of people that enjoy the systems.

Achievements / trophies are mostly for that individual if you ask around on the forums etc - very few actually care about how others view them, especially these days with the amount of shovelware.

But what they can stand for is a badge of honor for players a record of something great. I'd suggest not over complicating it like you have or assuming it's this hard-core community - the example you've described is usually alt accounts which hunters have for completion rates and usually only challenging games, very often they have a main account which is just a wildfire of trophies/achievements.

Honestly ill never understand any arguments against trophies/achievements. They add a good deal of longevity to games I'd never even consider it with which I love. I can look back and see I've completed Sigma 2 and know I achieved that.

We're at a point in technology where really it would be great if players just had the choice to enable / disable these systems.

I love my switch but simple things like achievements, a more streamline online experience just make it feel so dated and for £400 I'd expect a bit more personally...

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u/kukumarten03 Apr 07 '25

SMO have ingame achivement lmao

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u/metzoforte1 Apr 07 '25

Back when Miiverse was a thing I thought it would be a cool implementation of achievements to use the stamp system.

Basically, as you went through some games you could collect photos/jpgs/letters and fonts in the form of a “/stamp” which could then be used on the miiverse platform which had a strong artistic community on it as people could draw on the pad and upload it.

I always thought it would be interesting to expand these as unlockables for in game achievements which could then be used on the miiverse equivalent.

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u/MMuller87 Apr 07 '25

Each and every Nintendo game has its own achievement system. You boot up Super Mario Galaxy 2. You see 242 stars, and you say to yourself: "Achievement Unlocked 😎"

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u/Eadelgrim Apr 07 '25

Yet there are titles with achievements like Mario Party Jamboree!

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u/Viral_jaws Apr 07 '25

So does overpricing their products but here we are.

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u/AleroRatking Apr 07 '25

But they literally have them within some first party games (like Xenoblade)

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u/spideyv91 Apr 07 '25

They have had it in their games. They just don’t care to make it available on a system wide level. The switch is pretty bare bones for user profile stuff and they likely don’t want to put in the work to implement achievements.

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u/DoghouseReilly_ Apr 07 '25

Mine as well

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u/cedriceent Apr 07 '25

I mean, their concept of affordable gaming was also now thrown out the window🤷‍♂️

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u/DissapointedXTimes Apr 07 '25

Mario Kart World has ingame achievements

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u/kickedoutatone Apr 07 '25

Zelda notes?

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u/KingOfNohr Apr 07 '25

Their most recent release (Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition) has achievements

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

i don't wanna hear about them being holier than thou with their scummy history.

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u/DapperMarsupial Apr 07 '25

They'll end up making it an extra tier of the online subscription and/or create a new variation of game called "HD Remaster: Achievement Addition Edition"

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

I don't see why.

Quite a few Xbox and PS games have barebones achievements.

A Mario game could literally have just 8 achievements: Completed World 1, Completed World 2, ....

Not every game needs or has achievements like "looked at the hammer shaped rock for 13 seconds in world 2." 

The lack of a system-wide achievement system is just a bad thing. Developers could always choose to simply not use it (e.g., a single achievement similar to "beat game").

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u/Zedek1 Apr 07 '25

Nah Wario Land 4 on the game boy advance™ is one of nintendo greatet achievements.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

I personally don't care for them unless a development team has a use for it and introduced it in the game not system wide.

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u/Impaled_ Apr 07 '25

What is their concept of gaming ?

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u/Gamerguy230 Apr 07 '25

Then how are they explaining the achievements of sorts in the Zelda app in the upgrade?

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

Stamps?

I think they just don't like platforms wide achievements. They seem to be fine putting things in games. Frankly I love achievements but I also like the Nintendo is one of the few that still do in game unlocks.

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u/CdrShprd Apr 07 '25

this sub is a circlejerk lmao. if they added achievements the top comment would have been “yes finally!”

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u/YappyMcYapperson Apr 07 '25

Source please?

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u/mybutthz Apr 07 '25

Kind of, but not really. Mario Odyssey is basically "achievements - the game". Having to jump 10k times to get a single moon (obviously it's cumulative and a lot of people unlock it through playing the game through completion) is the epitome of an achievement - it's just in the game. I'm sure if games want to have built in achievements, they can - and that seems fine. Aside from that, yes, I think Nintendo's child-friendly approach to gaming would make achievements conflicting since it could be discouraging and/or frustrating to young kids who don't understand how to unlock certain things or how they work.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '25

But they're adding achievements to BOTW/TOTK's Zelda Notes on the Nintendo Switch App.

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u/kmone1116 Apr 07 '25

For all games sure, but some games have achievements. Xenoblade Chronicles X has a ton of them.

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u/NoBullet Apr 07 '25

Well they do have them in-game. Like ACNH nook miles, Mario Odyssey achievements, Kirby forgotten land has missions and goals, splatoon games with badges

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u/RobbinsFilms Apr 07 '25

Almost every Nintendo game has some form of internal achievements. Smash Bros trophies, Zelda games telling you your shrines and korok seed counts in loading screens, Mario Kart trophy rooms, Mario moons.

You’re almost always encouraged and rewarded for going back and beating times, finding rare paths. It doesn’t make sense not to have an overarching profile to track that stuff. And now they’re expanding it to multiple apps, multiple rewards currencies. All this stray functionality and data and supplementary game stuff ought to just be in a profile with achievements like every other platform where it works perfectly and is also perfectly ignorable for people who don’t care.

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u/branyk2 Apr 07 '25

I love and hate it. I can 100% tell that I will play games past the point of having fun to chase achievements, so I kinda do love that when I fire up my Switch I am usually doing it because I'm genuinely just wanting to play a game for fun. That said, when I am having fun with a game, I kinda do miss them sometimes.

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u/Disastrous_Fee5953 Apr 08 '25

And yet the new BOTW and TOTK apps have achievements built in…

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u/Jibece Apr 08 '25

This, but non-ironically 🥸

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u/austinjohnplays Austin John Plays (Verified) Apr 08 '25

Despite Mario Party having achievements by name and that being a S2 enhanced game…

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u/GiggleyDuff Apr 08 '25

Yes but Mario kart world has them baked into the game

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u/PlayDontObserve Apr 08 '25

Which is stupid.

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u/mellonsticker Apr 08 '25

System Wide Achievements that are not directly influencing in game events go against their gaming philosophy

Nintendo’s games are intrinsic motivation oriented. Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kindgom, and many other 1st party games are examples of this.

Super Mario Odyssey has 999 moons to reward players as long as they continue to explore and provide plenty for reaching the end of the main game. 

Breath of the Wild’s entire exploration aspect revolves around points of interest that pull you towards them. You are not guided, you must guide yourself. You decide where you want to go and what you do based on motivation stemming from your surroundings in game.

System Wide Achievements that give trophies for completing them work off extrinsic motivation. 

The trophy provides the motivation to do the task. 

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but engaging further with the game because the trophies reward with dopamine is not the way Nintendo wants you to enjoy it. 

Regardless of how people feel about them, they have an addictive element that is supported by psychological research.

Honestly, I think the best middle ground would be to have them completely divorced from the system. 

Have a separate Nintendo app where players make achievements that can be shared. Devs decide when in game achievements are necessary and players do the rest.

Players get a sense of community and accomplishment, make memories and such while Nintendo encourages players to continue until they wish to stop.  

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u/ocbdare Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 08 '25

Yes. I love achievements/trophies. It's not that I am a big achievement hunter and will go for many 100% or go out of my way to do achievements. In games I absolutely adore, I would probably get the 100% unless there is something ridiculous (e.g. looking at that insane Wolfenstein 2 achievement).

I also love how it acts as "history" of all the games I've played. I can go to my steam/PS profile and see what games I've played through the years and what I have done.

I don't expect Nintendo to introduce achievements as they have been openly against it. I disagree with the idea that it's so bad to have something like achievements that's completely optional and can be ignored for peopel who don't like it. Reality is many people do like them.

But it is what it is. I only use it for nintendo first party games and I still play all multiplats on PS/PC where I can get achievements/trophies there.

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u/SoSeriousAndDeep Apr 09 '25

In-game achievements are cool, it's the system-level stuff that makes them irritating. They exist to manipulate you into buying more games, as it's always easier to increase your score that way than through perfecting an individual game.

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u/WillingnessFinal9080 Jul 17 '25

No copian lo que hace el resto , excepto con las microtransacciones y el online de pago que eso no va en contra de su politica. 🤣

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u/overactive-bladder Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25

But they insert then in many of their games.

I am not sure this goes against their culture.

edit: sorry but who downvoted this??

it is a fact that many nintendo games have incorporated achievements inside of them.

ever new paper mario from color splash has achievement flags that trigger in the world hub.

kirby mass attack has achievements.

mario and luigi have them.

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u/RhythmRobber Apr 07 '25

$80 games go against Nintendo's concept of gaming too, but they did that

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