I'm not what most would consider an "old-school" gamer. My first real console was the SNES, not the NES. Super Mario 64 is what defined my generation, not the original Mario Brothers. I'm more comfortable in a 3D Hyrule than I am in a 2D one (Which isn't to say I didn't love A Link to the Past, but that's another story).

Those things being said, I have a problem. Last Christmas, I received an Xbox 360. It was a great gift, because I'd been hearing so much about The Orange Box, and how my computer would never be able to run it. Today, the 360 is one of my favorite consoles; I play it more than any other that I currently own.

My problem is this: I think I get too much satisfaction out of achievements and being connected to the Internet. At first, they were just neat little distractions... Now they've become a bit of an obsession. Earning them is nearly half the fun of the game for me.

Now, this wouldn't be a problem on it's own, at least not for most people. The thing is, I find that my perception of gaming has now shifted. I get less enjoyment out of games that lack some kind of achievement system, or a method to connect to the Internet. Considering the fact that I have a huge PS1/PS2 library of games, I find this a little bit disturbing.

Example:
I owned the PS2 version of Bully before I owned the 360 version. I thought that the 360 version was inferior, due to the fact that it's graphics weren't all that much of an improvement, and it had framerate issues up the wazoo... And yet it was the version I finished first, mostly because I knew I was going to get achievements out of it. To this day, I have not finished the PS2 version of Bully.

Like I said, I'm not an old-school gamer in the strictest usage of the term... But I used to think I could get as much out of beating a game and being the only one to know it as I could beating a game and telling the whole world about it... In fact, that was one of my main arguments behind putting off buying a 360. And yet, here I sit, finding that I'll play a 360 game over a classic PS2 or PS1 title, simply because everyone else will know.

My question is this: Have any of you run into the same problem? Do you find yourself getting less out of games that don't have achievements or any way to go online?

I would like to say no, I don't have this problem, but that would be a huge lie. I love getting achievements and have racked up a nice and high gamerscore so far. Though I still replay games without the promise of achievements, at the time of writing I am on my fifth play through of Oblvion. Each a different type of player (mage is the most fun). I also plan on getting Fallout, even though I have heard nothing about if it has online and I really don't think so (someone tell me if I am wrong).
But for every game I get I will get all the achievements I can, no matter how tedious. As for the online play, I have found myself playing the single player a lot lately, only really playing Halo online for short stints.

I am pretty much in the same situation as you, only my first console was the sega master system. and yes, I find myself not really wanting to play games that dont have any achievements for me to aquire. Most pc games for example I find myself not wanting to play because there is no achievement system for them, sure games for windows allows you to link your xbox gamertag to it to get achievements on some games, but that is only a small amount.

Although personnaly im not worrying too much about it as it looks as if most consoles are currently going to some sort of achievement system, ps3 has gone for trophies, which leaves just the wii.

conqueror Kenny:
I would like to say no, I don't have this problem, but that would be a huge lie. I love getting achievements and have racked up a nice and high gamerscore so far. Though I still replay games without the promise of achievements, at the time of writing I am on my fifth play through of Oblvion. Each a different type of player (mage is the most fun). I also plan on getting Fallout, even though I have heard nothing about if it has online and I really don't think so (someone tell me if I am wrong).
But for every game I get I will get all the achievements I can, no matter how tedious. As for the online play, I have found myself playing the single player a lot lately, only really playing Halo online for short stints.

Wow, fifth? Must be as good as people say it is.. o.o;

But yeah, for online, I wasn't just talking about the ability to play online with others, though that's a huge part of it... It was also the whole angle of being able to do something difficult/momentous in a game, and then say to anyone else connected, "Hey, look at this thing I did in this game. It is a testament to my skill as a gamer."
I'd like to think we're not that conceited... But c'mon, you know it's a point of pride to have some of those really difficult achievements on your card.

Shamus O Lively:
I am pretty much in the same situation as you, only my first console was the sega master system. and yes, I find myself not really wanting to play games that dont have any achievements for me to aquire. Most pc games for example I find myself not wanting to play because there is no achievement system for them, sure games for windows allows you to link your xbox gamertag to it to get achievements on some games, but that is only a small amount.

Although personnaly im not worrying too much about it as it looks as if most consoles are currently going to some sort of achievement system, ps3 has gone for trophies, which leaves just the wii.

Yeah, that was pretty much my line of thought, too. It's not that I'm overly worried about it... I don't think it'll ever get to the point where achievements are valued COMPLETELY over fun gameplay... I just think it's really, really weird.

An online feature, for me, is an instant replay value adder. Without it, games with a mild storyline get old quite fast in my opinion. That isn't to say that I won't go near a game without an online play feature; I feel that the success of TES4: Oblivion shows that many other gamers feel the same way. Provided the game is done right (often with a sandbox feature so you aren't continually playing the same structured levels), you don't notice the absense of the feature.

And I feel that as far as achievements go, they are meant to be addictive. It's what drives you to find the flags. It's what drives you to run someone over in a Mongoose. It's what drives you to carry a garden gnome through a battlefield. Again, I rarely notice the difference, but I always like there to be some record of what I've done when I do something spectacular. There being achivements for all X360 games adds replay value as well, even making you attempt to clear a plane full of terrorists in sixty seconds.

I still play my back-compatable Xbox games on my 360, so I guess I haven't completely succumbed to Achievement Fever. I like Achievements, they feel rewarding and suggest a lot of nifty/weird/cool things to do in a game, but for me if Achievements is what tips the balance between which game to buy then the choices are pretty close to begin with.

-- Steve

I've simply not lost my enjoyment for video games, achievements or not it does not bother me. I've been a gamer all my life and i don't see that changing.

Force yourself to play your favorite RPG(s). If that doesn't work, you can just sell 'em.

I like it when achievements add something to the game. The orange box achievements stand out as particularly awesome. Other than that I'm largely not too bothered.

It's comforting to know that theres at least one who shares my infirmity. Except replace 'games with achievements' with 'video games, music and more video games'.
I continually promise myself that I would limit my time on the internet.

Now that I'm a trophy whore, I vowed to play the story first before even looking at the list of trophys. It's very satisfying to hear that little jingle that symbolizes you got a trophy, for what? FIND OUT!@!!!@# :D

Trophys/achievements give me a reason to go back and play a game. For example, with Warhawk I barely touched it for a coulple of months but now that there are trophys I'm back in the addiction and it's going to be hard to get out (escpecially now that I have the bundle).

I think it's reasonable that you would finish the Bully game on your 360 because of achievments, you get to raise your E-peen (wether you care or not is probably subconcious) while you don't get much from the PS2 version. However, if the situation turns to that you bought the game only because it had acheivments, that's where we have a problem.

This is why I will never buy a bad game or a game that doesn't interest me just because it has trophys, I'm better than that (or am I?).

I had a similar problem. I used to not mind the leveling in RPG's, until I played a MMORPG... after that, whenever I played a normal RPG, leveling felt soooo pointless compared to leveling in an online world...

maybe it's the spotlight person in all of us, that gets satisfied when it can say "look at me"

I am similarly hooked; I don't spend all my time playing for achievements, but when I have the choice between playing a game with achievements still to get and one without, I always go for the former.

I've actually downloaded the Achivement Unlocked sound, and play it on my mobile alongside a sarcastic comment when someone does/says something stupid.

When I play Smash Bros.Brawl on Wi-Fi, I force myself to play as Wolf so that people know I'm that good.