Playstation 3's Trophy System Introduced, is it the Answer to Xbox 360's Achievement System?

On July 8, Sony released their PS3 firmware version 2.41, finally adding their answer to the Xbox 360's very addicting achievement system, trophies, along with the ability to access the Cross Media Bar (XMB) while playing a game. It's nice to see Sony finally adding features to their console that have been available on the 360 since it's launch in 2005.

The trophy system sounds good. There are four different levels of awards--based on difficulty I assume-but the execution is less than ideal. Initially, there are only ten games that even support the trophy feature. They are: BUZZ! Quiz TV, LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm Pacific Rift, NBA 09, PAIN, PixelJunk Eden, Resistance 2, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation and Warhawk. At least five of these games have yet to be released.

Once again, Sony has demonstrated that they are a company run by businessmen, not gamers. Yes, the basic idea is the same, you can earn trophies playing games and show them off to your friends for bragging rights and friendly competition, but Sony failed to realize that for the system to be truly compelling, it has to be required for every game like it is on the Xbox 360. On Microsoft's console, you earn points for every game you play, making your gamerscore and achievement list into a sort of gaming resume. Everyone has the same ability to gain points, the playing field is even. If someone on an Xbox 360 has a higher gamerscore than you, one can safely assume that they have either played more games or are more skilled than you are. It determines a sort of pecking order. Gamers are all about high scores and have been since the days of endless competitions to see whose initials would be next to the high score in Street Fighter II or Space Invaders. Microsoft understands this, Sony does not.

The Playstation 3's system has no such common ground. If another gamer has more trophies than you, it just means that he's purchased more games with the feature enabled. It is in no way a reflection of his personal gaming expertise or experience. Sony has promised to add retroactive trophy support for games that have already been released. Without a universal requirement, however, trophies are little more than a fun diversion. They fail to inspire the kind of achievement-collecting competition that has been present on Microsoft's console since day 1.

Remember the days when Sony actually innovated instead of trying to catch up to another company by stealing and then slightly changing their ideas? They are a great company, and the Playstation 3 is a great console, I just hope it manages to live up to its potential. With amazing games like Resistance 2 and Bioshock coming out this fall, they are headed in the right direction. Hopefully they can capitalize on that momentum.