Power Corrupts and Gamer Points are evil

Microsoft have got it all wrong. Creating Gamer Points as an integral part of the XBL experience is detrimental to gaming and corrupts the minds of pure gamers. Some of these gamers already have corrupt minds but the pressure on pure gamers to conform is massive. Now don’t get your knickers in knot. Show some restraint and let me finish. I promise I won't even mention the Gamer Point cheats.

In the eyes of big, bad Bill you need Gamer Points to prove that you’re a great gamer. You might think you’re a legend on Call of Duty but if you don’t have all the Gamer Points before you shoot someone in the head from 1000 metres just forget it. You’re nothing. But ask yourself why you need to show anyone anyway? You got 10,000 online kills in Gears of War and gained all 1250 Gamer Points. That's great, well done you, but who'd you do it for? What motivated you? I doubt that the answer will be that it was for the fun of it.

I’m willing to bet that most 360 gamers have played at least one game to within an inch of its life just to get all the Gamer Points. Did you enjoy the games more? No. The Gamer Point philosophy completely contradicts the main reason that video games were created in the first place.

What’s worse is that Sony are very definitely working toward some kind of Gamer Point system. This means that 2 of the big 3 players in video games think that Gamer Points are the way to go. And they are. For them anyway, because it means keeping gamers locked into their brand, and paying out their hard earned cash so they can slavishly continue feeding that insatiable points tally.

Will Nintendo follow suit? Now, you can say Nintendo can barely get online gaming up to a satisfactory level but that’s missing the point. Nintendo don’t offer any form of inter-gaming, inter-gamer one-upmanship. Nintendo make it much more personal. If you've completed Resident Evil 4 on the Wii then you’ll be beaming from ear to ear with self-satisfaction. Sure, you can go and tell your friends about how great it was and how you could look up Ashley's skirt but that information isn't plastered all over the internet. Thank goodness and yes I did. Ok, so gamers can still exaggerate about scores or the games they've completed but it isn't the same as trying desperately to prove you're the best because you did x, y and z in a game AND you have the achievements AND the points to prove it. Probably got the T shirt too! See what I did there?

Nintendo’s philosophy is clearly all about fun. It always has been. They leave it to the gamers to fully explore and experience games to a level where each individual gamer is happy. Microsoft, and soon Sony, place huge signposts with Gamer Points attached to entice you to do particular things and play the games the way they want you to.

Out of the big 3 video game companies it is Nintendo that are not considering Gamer Points. It is also Nintendo that have the gaming world at their feet. So, forget Bill, stand up for your own enjoyment and play the games for the reason that they were created in the first place, for fun. Oh, and I told you I wouldn’t mention the cheats.

To have Gamer Points or not to have Gamer Points? That is the question. Or is the answer somewhere in the middle? Tell us on the GAMEOV3R FORUM