Nintendo Still Hates Achievements (Except When It Secretly Loves Them)

Nintendo says no to achievements on Switch 2… but Zelda Notes is a weird little exception.

Nintendo fans, buckle up. We've got another round of "Nintendo gonna Nintendo."

This week, we got confirmation from Bill Trinen, Nintendo’s VP of Player and Product Experience, that the Switch 2 will not have achievements.

When Polygon asked if they were finally giving in, Trinen gave a simple answer:

"Nope."

Absolutely iconic.

At this point, it’s safe to say it’s not just stubbornness or fashionably late decision-making. Nintendo’s been actively anti-achievement for almost 20 years now — basically since Xbox 360 made Gamerscore a thing. They’re not just skipping the party; they’re burning the invite.

Why Nintendo Doesn’t Want Achievements (Probably)

Nintendo’s never formally explained why they don’t do achievements. But the theory that floats around — and honestly feels pretty true — is that Nintendo sees them as anti-fun.

In the Nintendo philosophy, the game itself should be your motivation. You shouldn’t need shiny pop-ups or digital trophies telling you you’re doing a good job. It’s all about natural discovery, organic fun, and following your own curiosity instead of chasing little dopamine breadcrumbs.

There’s a kind of weird, old-school purism to it. Like they’re guarding video games from being turned into a gamified to-do list. Which... respect, honestly. Achievements can be great when they push you to explore new parts of a game, but they can also straight-up ruin experiences by checklist-ifying everything.

Nintendo’s whole thing is: "If you’re not having fun playing, no little badge is gonna fix that."

Zelda Notes Stats

Now here’s where it gets messy.

Despite repeatedly swearing off achievements, Nintendo is sliding a suspiciously achievement-looking system into the new Zelda Notes app for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

It’s called My Play Data, and it tracks your stats.

• How many enemies have you defeated
• How many treasure chests have you opened?
• How many rupees did you hoard?

Hit certain milestones and you earn medals. There’s even a Global Play Data tab where you can compare your stats with other players around the world.

Tell me that’s not extremely achievement-coded.

"I love that, despite being so busy and sprawling, these games are almost mindful," says Welsh. "They’re designed to encourage spontaneous, organic exploration, living and playing in the moment."

And that’s exactly why people were (rightfully) freaking out when they first heard about My Play Data. Would this retroactively shove Breath of the Wild and Tears into checklist hell?

Thankfully, no. The implementation is so bland and toothless it’s almost invisible. It’s not integrated into the games themselves. It’s tucked away in a companion app, where you basically have to go out of your way to care about it.

This isn’t Xbox Live or Steam popping up mid-game to give you a dopamine hit. It’s more like an optional scrapbook you can check if you’re curious... but it’s easy to forget it even exists.

Nintendo’s Achievement Hypocrisy, Explained

Look, Nintendo’s hypocrisy here isn’t super surprising. They’ve copied other systems before — when it made sense for them.

They finally embraced online multiplayer (barely), they finally added cloud saves (sort of), and now with GameChat on Switch 2, they’re basically reinventing Discord — but Nintendo-ified and sanitized for safety.

They’re willing to borrow ideas, but only when it serves their greater vision of what games should be. Achievements, at least how Xbox and PlayStation do them, still feel fundamentally against that vision.

My Play Data does not exist because Nintendo suddenly got achievement fever. It’s there to pad out the Zelda Switch 2 Editions. A little extra something for the fans to poke at. It’s almost like a loyalty reward system:

“Hey, you loved this game? Here’s a little badge for killing a bunch of Moblins.”

Low-stakes. No pressure. Extremely optional.

In that sense, Nintendo's heart is still firmly not in achievements. They're just putting up some light decorations because people expect it now.

Comparing Nintendo's Approach to Xbox and PlayStation

Microsoft treats achievements almost like a core platform feature. Gamerscore is social currency on Xbox Live. There’s a whole culture around it.

Sony's a bit more casual about it, but Platinum Trophies are still bragging rights, and some players chase 100% completion like it’s a full-time job.

Nintendo? Nintendo would rather die than turn a game into a series of checklist boxes.

Even in 2025, they’re still stubbornly sticking to the idea that the experience itself is the reward. And even when they half-heartedly slap on something achievement-like, they design it to be as non-invasive and ignorable as possible.

It’s kind of refreshing.

Day Advice: Achieve Grass Touch

Nintendo’s refusal to adopt achievements isn't laziness. It’s a genuine creative choice — even if it comes off as a little hypocritical when they sneak half-baked versions into apps like Zelda Notes.

My Play Data is harmless. It’s a quiet nod to modern gaming trends without ever betraying the spirit of Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom.

No dopamine traps, no forced grind, no obnoxious pop-ups. Just a casual little bonus for the curious. Would real achievements have ruined these games? Maybe not. But part of what makes Nintendo Nintendo is their willingness to leave that bait untouched.

They’re not here to turn your adventure into a spreadsheet. They’re here to make you climb a random mountain just because it looks cool at sunset.