Whether you call them Trophies, Badges, Points, or whatever label a platform has chosen to try making the idea their own, Achievements have taken the industry by storm. The system-wide recognition of accomplishing certain goals within our favorite video games was popularized by Microsoft's Xbox 360 all the way back in 2005, and has since spread to numerous other platforms, from the rival PlayStation 3 to Steam, and even on down to Apple's iOS Game Center platform. Even playing Words With Friends on Facebook will prompt you to let the world know when you've played a particularly good move.

Nintendo the Under-Achiever

Oh My, Oh Miiverse

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A Personal Touch

To Achieve, or Not to Achieve?

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However, there has been one holdout throughout Achievement-mania, and that is Nintendo.Of course, that isn't to say Nintendo hasn't gotten in on the fun a little bit themselves. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Wii Sports Resort are two early examples from its library which incorporate them in their own fashion, but they are completely localized to the game. Similarly, Nintendo 3DS has its own built-in achievement system which only stretches so far as the Mii StreetPass Plaza, while titles such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf features their own internalized system as well.Despite these efforts, fans of Nintendo and Achievements alike have spent years hoping that the two would come together in a system-wide fashion not unlike their contemporaries. Generally speaking, the company has been outspoken against being a copycat, instead wishing to do things their own way, for better or for worse. And yet, while Nintendo has yet to budge from its position, they have already-- perhaps inadvertently-- introduced the seeds of a potential system which could satisfy "Achievers" and their sense of identity alike.With the release of Wii U in late 2012, Nintendo also introduced the world to the Miiverse. Part forum, part social network, part oekaki , the Miiverse is a way for fans of a particular game -- any game available on the console-- to gather and share their thoughts via messages with screenshots taken from key moments. But right now, one game in particular scratches the surface of what the Miiverse can do to satisfy the Achievement itch.In New Super Mario Bros. U, as with titles for the system, you're capable of performing the actions shown above at any time, or even leaving your own messages and drawings without even owning the game. As you play the game, though, you're informed of certain feats which you may have accomplished just by playing.For the most part, goals such as "You've completed the level without taking a hit!" and "You've finished the level without losing a life!" are fairly generic, and unlike more traditional Achievements, can pop up on any given stage. Others, such as "You've beaten the game!" are, of course, a bit more specific to certain given situations. Overall, this provides less of a bizarre laundry list of strange things to do in the game, instead rewarding you for simply playing well and succeeding in doing what you were going to do anyway.What makes it a little more interesting is how the game prompts you to write about certain things, such as sending a message to Bowser. You can opt to do so in text, or by drawing a picture -- something which numerous players have done to great and impressive effect.But what really makes this stand out is how personal you're allowed to make it. Everyone has the same basic set of standards to reach for, and on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, everyone who earns it has the same Achievement in the end. But with Miiverse messages and images, you're literally able to personalize your accomplishment and truly make it your own, whether it's making a (family friendly, of course) joke about Bowser Jr.'s mother or depicting Mario as some sort of musclebound flamethrower-wielding Rambo-type who is leaving a path of destruction on his way to Bowser's front door (I'm sure it's been done; if it hasn't, give it time), or just saying "I did it!"Better still, with the fairly recent rolling-out of the Miiverse website, these accomplishments can not only be personalized, but semi-tangible as well. Visitors can now save the images they've created, or if desired, print-screen a post they've made to share on other networks such a Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, their own blog, or even right here on IGN. It's cool, and nothing on any other platform (as of this writing) can touch it.Perhaps what's best of all, at least for those who don't even like such things, is that the prompts don't show up until after a stage has been completed. You can even turn them off, making them completely unobtrusive.But that brings us to the downside of the entire prospect: Nintendo isn't really doing anything with it. Unlike Achievements or Trophies, there is nothing system-wide about it, and even Nintendo's own homegrown titles outside of New Super Mario Bros. U aren't using this system (though we can cross our fingers and hope Super Mario 3D World does).Even if more titles were following Mario's lead, though, there would still need to be a better way of showing off what you've accomplished and made to commemorate it. As it stands, those posts marking a player's triumphs are dropped among all the other Miiverse posts they make, and those are swept even further downstream in the greater river of Miiverse messages.Nonetheless, it's difficult not to see what a little bit of fine-tuning, of refinement could do with a system that's already in place and just waiting for the opportunity to reach its full potential. Imagine conquering a beast in The Legend of Zelda without losing a single heart, or making it through a stage of Donkey Kong Country without losing a barrel-full of lives, then having the game allow you to proclaim your conquest to all around you with a victory speech of your own design. Imagine leaving your own personal mark on those which have fallen before you for all others to see.Right now, though, all we can do is hope that Nintendo will also see the chance to give Achievement-loving gamers what they want in a way that is clearly unique from all the rest... and perhaps encourage (however strongly is necessary) third parties to do so as well. With the Miiverse on the way to join the Wii U version on Nintendo 3DS , now certainly seems like a good time to begin examining such prospects.

David Oxford is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter