For video game developers and publishers, as well as producers of social websites and interactive
media, implementing measures to increase a user’s emotional or financial investment in a product
is a key step in maximizing the average revenue per user.
Accomplishment systems are currently one of the leading methods available for increasing user
investment, longevity and loyalty to a specific online service or interactive application.
In Accomplishments Unlocked 2007, the Microsoft Xbox 360 Achievement System, perhaps the
most widely-used Accomplishment system today, has been deconstructed to identify the key facts
and principles you need to know in order to take full advantage of your revenue opportunities.
The report analyzed the 4,615 achievements incorporated in 124 retail and 63 downloadable game
titles available for the Microsoft® Xbox 360™ during the period November 1, 2005 through June 1,
2007.
In conjunction with the report, Electronic Entertainment Design and Research has released the first
published classification system for Accomplishments, identifying 16 unique types of
accomplishments.
In addition to the Accomplishment classification system, the report referenced many additional
factors including genre, ESRB rating, gross sales in the United States, Metacritic® Metascore®,
online dependency and multiplayer capability. The report identified highly informative success and
revenue correlations between Accomplishment types and the analyzed factors.
