We previously reported that a Wii U achievement system was in works, and now Nintendo has confirmed just that: the Wii U will be getting an achievement system that offers developers to add them in their games. But unlike Microsoft on the Xbox 360, Nintendo won’t force developers to include achievements. Speaking to Kotaku, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said, “Once you start getting into game-specific achievements, that’s developer driven”. Fils-Aime pointed out that it’s not “their philosophy” to force developers to include Wii U achievements in their games, but they will have the option of doing so.
Nintendo has been reluctant to include achievements in their systems, arguing that Nintendo’s game designers “don’t tell gamers how play the game in order to get some reward”. Despite Nintendo’s opinions on in-game achievements, they have had a widespread acceptance on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3. Even PC games now have achievements via Steam and other services. Nintendo did add achievements into the 3DS, but they were rarely game based and mostly rewarded players who used the Street Pass feature. Nevertheless, it’s good to hear that Wii U achievements are a reality.
Reggie Fils-Aime also touched on the Wii U friend code system, saying it will be much simpler to use than previously. However, he pointed out that “friend codes” won’t be gone completely, only that it’ll be “a lot simpler” to use. The Wii’s friend code system was a truly awful way befriending someone online and playing with them, it’s good to see Nintendo changing this.
