1)  I get your point, and I guess I never really thought about it like that, but I still say there is a difference between a milestone and a collectible.  The huge majority of trophies in every game are for performing ordinary actions within the game or, at the very least, for actually PLAYING the game itself.

2)  The fact that I don't have any platinums is probably why this annoys me.  I don't particularly see why that is funny, since the entire point of my griping is that I am prevented from procuring platinum trophies I would otherwise get by collectibles.  Every single game that I have more than 60% of the trophies in, the only real thing preventing me from getting the platinum is collectibles.  Granted I am missing a couple of trophies on Uncharted and Infamous, but they are easily doable, I just didn't see the point since to have any chance of getting the platinum anyway, I would either have to devote HOURS to running around with the sole intention of finding a bunch of treasures, or go online and find a treasure location guide and then run through the game picking them up, two things I am unwilling to do for a variety of reasons.

I see how it's kind of a ridiculous argument, don't get me wrong, and I know that trophies are arbitrary and don't mean anything, but it kind of frustrates me that every single game I play involves running around the levels looking for items unrelated to the actual gameplay.

Again, this amuses me.

You're griping that it's too hard or too time consuming to get platinums when they are supposed to hard to get or take devotion, otherwise, you should call them lazy which is what you're already calling them.

Don't get me wrong, I get your argument, it's just you're arguing circles with yourself.  If you really want a platinum, go play something like Terminator Salvation where you'll get a platinum for merely playing though the game.  Otherwise, most platinum trophies take a fair amount of time and effort to get.  I too am really close in Uncharted, while I had the patience to find all the treasures, I don't have the patience to play through the game on crushing (mainly because it's bullshit).

I don't mind time and effort.  I wouldn't mind having to play through every game three times to get the platinum.  I don't mind having to perform difficult challenges, play games on every difficulty, perform specific in-game actions.  I think you missed my point, or more likely I just didn't explain myself very well.  I have zero problem with the time, effort, or devotion required to get a platinum.  I am not saying every game should be Hannah Montana or Avatar The Last Airbender.  My point is not that I "really want a platinum" because if I did I would open up a website, look up a blast shard guide on Infamous, run around and get the blast shards, and be done.  My point is just that platinum trophies should be attainable through playing the game itself, and that for the price video games cost and the production budget of a lot of big games, I would like to think that developers can come up with much more interesting ways to challenge the player or get them to invest their time than scattering bullshit items to every far-flung corner of their game.

But that isn't what platinum trophies are though.  Platinum trophies are badges for truly beating everything the game has to offer.  The badge or trophy you get when you complete a game means something (and is generally a gold) so that's your reward.  If you want the coveted platinum trophy, you have to go the extra mile and do everything the developers put in there.

A lot of people like taking time to explore areas to find little things like that.  If you don't like them, that's cool, they are in no way required to finish the game.  They're just required if you want to get the platinum.

And while you call that a lazy way to extend the game, it's actually an ingenious way to get players to explore the environments they poured all that work into.  What's the point of making a large gorgous environment if there's no point and going through it?

I could just as easily ask, "What's the point of making a large, gorgeous environment if all you're going to do is fill obscure corners of it with meaningless items?"

Is Final Fantasy vs. 13 a spinoff?

Because there's a large group of people that want to explore the environments and then there are large groups of people that normally wouldn't unless you give them some prodding.  In both cases, those people that explore get a greater sense of atmosphere.

And for your question I could also then ask what's the point of even worrying about graphics?  Why not have everything in a large grey box?

People who want to explore the environments are going to do it regardless, and the idea of dangling a trophy in front of users so that they will roam around the world you created strikes me as masturbatory in the extreme.  Maybe developers should concentrate a little more on providing users with content they will want to engage in anyway rather than trying to find ways to force them to roam around a world for their own gratification.

Edit:  It is worth noting that I have never personally spoken to someone who was like, "Yeah, I'm getting Blast Shards on infamous right now, it's sweet."  They do it because they want the platinum.  It may be stupid, but it's human nature to want that arbitrary prize.  The question is whether developers use that information to create an engaging experience or if they use it as a carrot on a stick to force people to experience their own work.  One of these is a good way to run a business, the other is not.

I'm actually one of the people that will say yeah, I'm looking for _x_ for the platinum but that's also fun for me because collecting things is fun.

I realized that I've never played a FPS that was genuinely hard. Just frustrating. In fact, Braid is the only game I've ever played that I really had to stretch the edges of my mind to beat.