I know there are many Playstation owners who are PLATINUM HUNTERS, obsessed with obtaining all of the achievements in each game they play. I am not one of these people, but I still managed to grab two platinum trophies in my 25+ years of gaming (and these both happened within the last three years).

Playstation’s Platinum trophies became a thing during the PS3 era. I happened to own an XBox 360 back then. XBox had achievements for a while before Playstation even announced trophies, but they weren’t as sought after. Sure, there are also plenty of gamers going after the 100% on XBox as “achievement hunters.” However, saying, “I got that platinum!” just sounds better than, “I one hundred percented it!” Playstation’s Platinum Trophies were like the Oreo’s to Xbox’s Hydrox (if you don’t understand that reference that’s what googling is for).

I’ve always been baffled by the progress percentages in games. I’m sure it has something to do with how many trophies you’ve collected. Even after rolling credits on some games I’m still only at 20-30% completion (Rachet & Clank – 38%, The Last of Us Part II – 35%). How does that make any sense? Beating a game once should definitely always take you above the 50% threshold, at least.

Nintendo Switch doesn’t participate in trophies and achievements. Sure, some games have achievements, usually third-party games. Nintendo does something I like better though. Nintendo gives you your hours played in each game (after 10 days of playing). It’s a different kind of achievement or badge of honor to show off to your friends. Except for when you have 500 hours in Animal Crossing and you’re ashamed because everyone can see it.

The Nintendo “Hours Played” topic may need its own post, but for now I want to talk about my Playstation trophies. Mainly two of them. My two platinum trophies!

In my six or seven years of owning a PS4 I’ve earned many trophies, and a majority of those trophies are bronze. I’m sure that’s how it is for many Playstation owners. Bronze are the most common, they’re the easiest to get (usually accidentally), and games contain more bronze than silver and golds (by a large margin). Each game is only allowed one platinum, unless it’s some kind of collection of games (such as The Bioshock collection or the Nathan Drake collection).

My first ever Platinum trophy was in Marvel’s Spider-Man. Once I finished the main story of the game I realized I only had a few more small tasks left to achieve platinum status. So I went for it. Also, owning the Spider-Man edition PS4 Pro made me feel like I was obligated to get the Platinum for this game.

After achieving my first ever platinum I thought my hunt for platinum trophies was over — one and done. Platinum trophies usually aren’t this simple to get. And, my Platinum hunting days were done…

Until I beat another game and realized I was just a few short trophies away. That game was Ghost of Tsushima. I noticed that in about five more trophies (achievable trophies, with some help from the internet) I would be able to obtain that platinum too, so I did.

I don’t think I’ll ever become obsessed with acquiring platinum trophies. I have thought about going back to older games I beat (and loved) like God of War, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order just to see how much work I’d have to put in to reach the platinum in those. The answer is usually a whole lot of work.

I also believe that there are too many great games on the market at any given moment to be replaying games. There are a few exceptions. I replayed The Last of Us to get ready for The Last of Us Part II. I may replay the Picross games on Switch when I run out of Picross games to play. Also, I always feel like I can jump back into the Nathan Drake collection (The Uncharted series is definitely one of my favorites).

I don’t think I’ll ever become a “Platinum hunter,” but I do plan on getting some more platinum trophies in my lifetime. Maybe when I move into the next-generation with PS5. I just know any other platinum trophies I get will be more consequential than planned.