Achievements - Has the way we play been changed forever?

I do believe mine has. I've always been a "dabbler". I'd pick up a game and continue to play it as long as it remained fun. If it got ridiculously frustrating, I'd move on to the next one with no remorse about not finishing it. The MS achievements have seemed to have somewhat of an impact on that. These days I find myself playing longer, and digging deeper and deeper into games just to gain those coveted gamer points. Why? What good are they other than "nerd cred"? Nothing that I can think of. It's simply another challenge to be met.

I've even noticed the effect lately when playing games on the Wii. I often find myself thinking, "Why am I wasting time on this when I could be knocking out achievements on my 360?" When you accomplish a feat on the Wii, you may get rewarded with a gold medal, but who can see it? You can't compare your medals with those of your friends.

When I noticed the achievement box pop up the first time, I had no clue what it was or what purpose it served. Now, a little over a year later, I'm addicted to the little suckers. If I spend an evening playing without gaining at least one, I feel like I must have been doing something seriously wrong. I'm not sure if they are a good thing or bad, but I know that they've added a layer of enjoyment and competition to my gaming. My guess is that the answer would be different for everyone.