Yes, you can get achievements for watching TV on Xbox One

Yes, you'll be able to unlock an achievement for watching TV with Xbox One.

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Yes, you'll be able to unlock an achievement for watching TV with Xbox One, by linking your cable box through the HDMI input. And that's not all. "We're going to have more achievements for media experiences in general," Xbox's Yusuf Mehdi told us. "You're going to see more of in a lot of different places."

In a new screenshot released by Microsoft today, you can see exactly how achievements in entertainment apps might work. In addition to the usual one-off achievements, there will be time-based "challenges" that can encourage you to watch a specific show. In the case of Amazon Video, it would be Betas.

Achievements in entertainment apps won't affect your Gamerscore, however. "Only games will give you Gamerscore," Major Nelson pointed out in the summer.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 8, 2013 5:00 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Yes, you can get achievements for watching TV on Xbox One.

    Yes, you'll be able to unlock an achievement for watching TV with Xbox One.

    • reply
      November 8, 2013 5:04 AM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        November 8, 2013 5:10 AM

        Acheivements have been around....been around a while, man!

    • reply
      November 8, 2013 5:04 AM

      Won't affect my gamerscore? DONNNNNNNNNNNNNN'T CAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRE

    • reply
      November 8, 2013 5:14 AM

      Seriously, who actually cares? It's actually insulting to a certain extent, 'Congratulations for watching TV!!' However, to those Uwe Boll fans out there, you deserve credit for watching those films.

      • reply
        November 8, 2013 5:44 AM

        I agree that it sounds vaguely insulting. It also sounds like the exact type of reason why I kind of hate MS right now because this smells like 100% nasty advertising cooked up by committee of money hungry suits. CW is going to pay them millions of dollars to give people achievements for watching Vampire Diaries or some shit. It just sounds so gross.

        • reply
          November 8, 2013 8:11 AM

          It won't mean you have to watch Vampire Diaries though. Hell it may even help you see that you have common interests with others on your Friends Feed.

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            November 8, 2013 8:31 AM

            If they want to do something like that then just build in a suggestions system which uses information collected from your friends. Making it an achievement just makes it feel like coaxing people into doing what they want in a very skeevy kind of way. I don't like it. It just comes across like offering kids candy to get into Microsoft's Pedo-Van. It's just... gross.

      • reply
        November 8, 2013 5:56 AM

        They've been trolling. We're more confident than last gen! was my favorite so far.

    • reply
      November 8, 2013 5:34 AM

      Didn't they talk about some of these challengers giving real rewards? I suppose MIGHT be interesting if Amazon would give you something in return.

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        November 8, 2013 5:37 AM

        That'd be awesome, but open to gaming the system, I'd think. Although they do have XBox Live Rewards now, so maybe they've figured it out. "Watch all ten new Amazon pilots, earn 250 points?" Sure, why not.

    • reply
      November 8, 2013 5:54 AM

      This is the lamest attempt at disguising advertising that I've seen in a long time.

      Wasn't there a whole bunch of websites around about five, ten years ago that tried this same thing? "Watch these videos to earn points", so on. I seem to recall they were almost invariably pyramid schemes or something similar, and now are out of business. So... Microsoft is taking business tips from pyramid schemes now. Great.

      Mind you, I get the achievements for using the XBO itself. A certain subset won't bother with certain features unless there's direct incentive. It's the achievements for watching specific shows and/or using specific third party services that just sound horribly lame.

    • reply
      November 8, 2013 6:05 AM

      [deleted]

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      November 8, 2013 6:20 AM

      If I buy an XB1 will they give me a retroactive achievement for making it through every episode of Dexter without killing myself?

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      November 8, 2013 7:30 AM

      Really? What douchebag thought of that?

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      November 8, 2013 8:14 AM

      [deleted]

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      November 8, 2013 8:27 AM

      haha YES!

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        November 8, 2013 9:04 AM

        can't wait to see people clicking "like" on people's feeds when they watch a tv episode (if there is a like button).

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      November 8, 2013 8:30 AM

      I thought achievements tended to require effort IRL? :/

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        November 8, 2013 10:00 AM

        They've gameified passive entertainment. They've literally created a game for people who can't be arsed to make any effort at all!


        Pretty smart, really.

    • Ziz legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
      reply
      November 8, 2013 8:31 AM

      So how does that work with cable? Do need to have the cable running through the Xbox One? But I've got a DVR to record shows and stuff.

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        November 8, 2013 8:36 AM

        It just runs as pass-through between your cable box and TV. It takes the signal from your cable box and overlays shit before it goes to your TV. The programming stuff etc it must get by knowing your cable provider and your area (probably something you need to enter when you setup your XBO the first time).

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      November 8, 2013 9:27 AM

      It might be kind of cool if the Achievements recognize some of the big Live TV programs of the year like the Superbowl(or any Pro-Football Game), the State of the Union, the Presidential Debates or Conventions, and the Oscars.

      I wouldn't mind some sort of "Political Junkie" Achievement, or "Football Fan" achievement. Might even be cool if it could recognize which team I watch every Sunday and I get a "Cowboys Fan" achievement.

      Who here hasn't been sitting at home watching Nature Documentaries or Science Documentaries about the Universe or How Stuff is Made and wished they could be recognized by their lessers/peers as the Superior Intellects they truly are?

    • reply
      November 8, 2013 9:54 AM

      They need to be backhanded compliments, like:

      Giant Lardass Achieved! 1,000 Hours of TV Watched
      Champion of Life Achieved! 40 Hours of TV Watched Every Week for a Year

    • reply
      November 8, 2013 3:17 PM

      Xxx_WeedSniper95_xxX has started watching BLACK POLES, TIGHT WHITE HOLES 4

      LIKE SHARE

    • reply
      November 8, 2013 4:42 PM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      November 9, 2013 4:30 AM

      ROFL now this is funny. They should add a prosthetic arm to the
      side so it can high five you for tying your shoes as well.

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