Short Thought: Trophy Hunting / Trophy Avoiding

It could never be said that I'm a Trophy or Achievement-hunter. I don't go out of my way to kill x amount of enemies, I've rarely collected every flashing object, and side quests get left on the sidelines all the time.

But I noticed something recently whilst playing the PS4 version of Saints Row IV. If you don't know, the PlayStation 4 tells you the percentage of people who have played the game and have each Trophy. It then gives it a rating from Common to Ultra Rare. So, imagine my surprise when I was browsing my Trophy's and noticed that only 94.4% of people have Zero Saints Thirty.

Since I've played and completed SRIV a few times on PS3, I of course knew exactly what gives you that Trophy. It's not parachuting from 10,000 feet, you don't have to nutshot eight hundred enemies, and the collectibles aren't even available then.

So what unlocks it? What have almost six percent of people, who have loaded up the game at least once, failed to do? Complete the first mission.

If you're completely unfamiliar with the Saints Row series, the last two numbered entries have given you a mission to do as soon as you start the game -- acting like the cold open of a Bond movie, a bunch of action to get you pumped. This means that you haven't even created a character by the point that you unlock that Trophy.

Who plays a game for less time than it takes to reach the opening credits? The cold open climaxes with The Boss (player character) leaping onto an ICBM and trying to disarm it mid-flight, in fact this is the entire opening mission -- did someone start it up, get partway through and say “Meh, I don't care where this is going.”?

I looked it up on Steam and only 66.0% have it (as of the middle of November), which is more understandable at least. As a purely digital platform, it doesn’t take into account the fact that people haven’t even installed it. It’s been in a couple of bundles, so anyone who has it registered to their account is counted.

As many as 99% of Xbox gamers have the achievement. That’s still not perfect, because my question still stands: “Who hasn't gotten this far?”

This isn't the first time I've seen a Trophy that has made me ask that, but it is the first that has left me gobsmacked. I've experienced the utter smugness of seeing an Ultra Rare Trophy pop up, though as I've said it's not something I chase. Seeing a Common that is so easy to get, not at 100%, is simply baffling.

Of course the figure may change between me spotting that, and writing this. I was playing Fallout 4 and got a Trophy for levelling up or something. I hit the PS button to check it out and saw 49.5%. Then it refreshed and hit 51.5%. So the figures are live, not updated weekly or anything.

Shortly after writing this, I began Sword Art Online: Lost Song. You do the tutorial and get a Trophy -- 97.1%. You then walk across the street, watch a cutscene followed by the opening credits -- 95.5%.

Is it possible that there are players that, unlike myself or Trophy Hunters, go out of their way to avoid achievements?