I will never understand the importance of achievements. Do people not enjoy the game once they are completed unless they have a list of things to do? Do people want proof that they have completed certain tasks so that they can show friends and brag about it? Are people incapable of making up their own enjoyable achievements?

*cough suchascompletinghaloreachonlegendarywithoutdyingwhichihave cough*

I think the best option.for Nintendo would be something similar, yet totally different.

Puzzle pieces.

Each game, instead of Trophies or Achievements, has a Jigsaw-like puzzle to it. Instead of getting a trophy or a little number, you get a puzzle piece. You use the Wii U Gamepad to put the pieces together.

Instead of a total Gamerscore or Trophy level... It manages the total puzzle pieces you have along with completed puzzles that each game has.

I would have though they would have some sort of achievement system. Wii sports resort had stamps. so theres bound to be something.

That could work really well.

They could have two puzzles per game that has implemented it. One gets distributed automatically (although a copy would be on the disc for those without internet, with all pieces collected already), and acts as advertising, with a mechanism for people to exchange pieces similar to how the 3DS does it (although there'd need to be a modification to make it work right). The other comes with the game itself, and you collect the pieces for that one by completing achievements.

The completed puzzles could then perhaps be used as backgrounds in some manner for certain screens. It would give a tangible benefit to collecting all of the achievements in a game.

I think what is being demonstrated here is that, if Nintendo does it right, they'll turn "achievements" into yet another layer of fun, rather than just being a score or a trophy. It's not outside of the realm of possibility, given that Nintendo has a long history of taking stuff that is common, and adding their own twist to make it more "fun".

I agree that playing games *only* for trophies and achievements is silly. I for sure don't, I only play games I enjoy.

However they do add replay value by adding extra things to do. Having a public list of games you ever played is very neat as well; even if I'm not obsessed with maxing all games' trophies out, when I make new friends and compare games, we instantly have an idea of tastes in games and which games we can play together. Countless times I met people with very similar games list and it helped us be closer friends (bunch of Capcom games + bunch of Sega games, etc). Of course comparing and bragging rights is cool as well, seeing someone with a list of maxed out, very hard games, is rare but nice to see.

I for one will be far more likely to concentrate my next-gen gaming on the PlayStation platforms, and Microsoft's to some extent because I already have huge game lists/trophies/achievements on them and a lot of added friends. Nintendo is being too slow to join this and meanwhile people build their loyalty to other brands. If Wii had an interesting achievement system, or even a good social/online system, I'd get one, but it never really happened. I love the PS3 which I got first, I even bought the 360 which I like too (good social aspects), but the Wii never interested me so I think Nintendo really needs to get it right with the Wii U if they want to bring in players from the Sony and Microsoft sides. Achievements on the Wii U would be a good motivator for many players; there are even sites/whole communities specialized on it.

Besides what I don't understand is what people have *against* trophies and achievements. They are an added feature and take nothing away from the game; the notifications can even be turned off, so those who dislike collecting them can safely ignore them.

They probably dislike them only in the sense that some developers will just add trophies or achievements, rather than trying to make a better game. It's a subconscious perspective that doesn't hold up to scrutiny, but is there nevertheless.

Probably also the "is it really an achievement, "finish first chapter"?" thing - a lot of "achievements" aren't really achievements, they're giveaways.

I think, although it's shaky, there's indeed some sort of system. Nintendo said it themselves I think?

Also, the WiiU versions won't look 'slightly' better. Most games built from the WiiU up will look vastly better, and of course utilise the WiiU gamepad.

I hope.

I like that idea. 

Reggie basically said they will be there, but developers will not be forced to use them. So from what I gather, this either means Nintendo WILL have a unified achievement system similar to MS, but not all third party games will necessarilly use it, OR, each game will have its own achievement system (or will not) similar to how Smash Brothers Brawl and Metroid Prime 3 have some semblence of one that is specific to the game. I'm really hoping for the former..

yes