Why America's most popular gaming genre likely won't work on Nintendo's new console

When first-person shooters made the transition to consoles from PCs over a decade ago, they weren't very good. Or even just good. Despite being today's go-to genre for blockbuster console game franchises (Call of Duty or Halo ring any bells?), the first-person shooter got a rough start on consoles. Game developers -- used to the precision allowed by a mouse/keyboard setup -- had no idea how to design shooters with console gamers in mind. Early approximations like Nintendo 64's GoldenEye and Perfect Dark from Rare were held up as the gold standard for years, while PC gamers snickered and stuck with their superior control mechanics.

[LX-General-Kaos]

I believe shooters will be fine on the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system.

In the article it mentions that the PS3 has pressure sensitive triggers, but in reality most shooters on the PS3 make use of the R1 shoulder button to fire off shots. The only shooter I have played on PS3 that uses the triggers is Bioshock. So I believe this is one complaint against the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system that will be gracefully ignored. If you are one to actually switch the fire button to the R2 trigger on PS3 how does that work for you?

With that said, I have used the triggers of the Nintendo game pad on a demo unit. They seem to feel perfectly fine and I think they will work well for shooters. Not only that but the Nintendo game pad and pro controller both offer every standard button and function necessary to run any past and future released title. While the tablet like touch function will add a new realm to future gameplay experiences. Especially in shooters.

Rated E For Everyone

[Steven21]

If you didn't say rated E for everyone after all your posts, I could take you much more seriously. I do agree with what you said though. Borderlands also used the triggers for PS3

[Realplaya]

Why are you hating it's his signature deal with it.

[TripC50]

I agree with the Browns fan. It's a comment section of a video game website. Having a "signature" is unneeded. Just be normal.

[Deku-Johnny]

@TripC50, if everyone was 'normal' gaming probably wouldn't exist. The internet probably wouldn't either. In fact most of your favourite things in the world probably wouldn't either. Normality is the enemy of creativity.

[Wolfbiker]

that was default setting but i always used the alternate control method and really never saw a problem....the only genre i could see really suffering is the simulation racing genre which i don't think Nintendo has much claim in.

[rainslacker]

Firing in FPS with pressure sensitive triggers seems kind of silly. Real guns don't have them because your either pulling the trigger or your not. The bullet doesn't go slower because you squeeze the trigger less.

In any case any serious fan of FPS that wants to play them on the Wii would likely go for the Gamepad Pro, as it seems like it would be a lot more comfortable for that kind of gaming session. I like the touchpad controller well enough, and find it comfortable (something I was concerned about until I held it), but I'll likely use the pro controller for any game that doesn't utilize the touchpad's capabilities in a meaningful manner.

[Hufandpuf]

Guns have triggers. Controllers have triggers. Guns don't have buttons, so don't use buttons.

[darthv72]

but what about the magazine eject button or the cylinder release button?

[herbs]

I feel like this article would only make sense if it was in regards to racing games. The Wii U will be awesome for first person shooters, you will have the option of a second screen or the use of IR with the wiimotes which are a great for FPSs. I agree that it is pretty lame that the Gamepad and pro controller don't have analog triggers but to say that this will ruin FPSs is strait up stupidity. If you think triggers on a controller makes the experience of virtually shooting something more authentic than use a wiimote which forces you to aim and pull the trigger. This article is completely invalid and the writer = fail.

[CalvinKlein]

FPS on PC and console have always been my favorite types of games(SP FPS is my favorite type ever).

There were some good early FPS on consoles besides goldeneye and PD. PS1 example is Medal of Honor, those games were great for PS1 FPS. Turok dinosaur hunter and doom 64 wre really good too. I really think turok 1 is an amazing game and it is still one of the most unique FPS ive ever played. People may not like it as much as I did but it was an awesome jungle to explore and discover yourself, way back in 1997 when shooters were mostly just small levels connected by loading screens. Of course people didht like that it was hella hard to find everything and it wasnt just a corridor, but man as a FPS lover back then in my younger days there was nothing like it, and still isnt today.

I always thought Turok 1 was the beginning of the FPS landslide on consoles because it is the originator of modern console FPS controls and shortly after Goldeneye came out and everyone was playing FPS suddenly.

If you ever played Turok 1 you will notice how they used the C-buttons how modern games use the left stick, walking foward/backwards and strafe, while the stick was used to look around.

[N4g_null]

The n64 had the same trigger and we got golden eye.

[Gamer-Z]

I don't think it will be a problem especially with the Wii U pro controller and from what i hear feels a lot like the 360's.

[jmc8888]

The article shows the trigger button on the pro controller, and it's not like the 360's or the PS3.

True the PS3 tends to not use it for shooting on many games, but I tend to buy my FPS (those not exclusive) on 360 or PC.

It's not a deal breaker, but pressure sensitive triggers are a big plus for FPS. It's not just one press and dead, you can control the rate of fire.

You can do single shot, hold down for full burst, or pump it for small bursts. All these are still technically possible without a pressure trigger, but is harder to pull off while playing. Especially since you can vary it more than just those three ways. There's multiple variations on all of them. I'm actually shocked they didn't do it. For the other side (while not for me since I'm never a sniper), how far you pull the trigger down can also set what zoom you're at. So your sniper gun might have 2 or 3 zoom levels and depending on how far you're holding down the trigger will be what zoom level you're at. Still possible to replicate this with stick click, but not as fast and easy, as you can drop out of a zoom level and don't have to go click, click, click which always screws with your aim.

In essence much of the control is there, but not all of it, and it's not as intuitive.

Hopefully the guy is wrong, as he hasn't tried it out in a FPS. It does indeed look as if he's right, but perhaps there's a little give in them to accomplish the same thing, but doesn't look like it. We'll see.

Again not a deal breaker, but it does hinder FPS's.

[Gr81]

I'd say dual analogue controllers such as PS3/360 were the worst way to play FPS. They were the only way to play them until the Wii, and for me the Wii Remote was the best way to play FPS' I'm dreading going back to DA controls.

One of the reasons Black Ops 2 has my attention is that it allows Wiimote controls. If most/all fps in the future integrate Wii mote controls for the Wii U then I'd say the Wii U would be an ideal place for console fps. Second only to a PC Mouse.

Just my two cents.

[WiiUalpha]

While I normally agree with what you say your reasoning here just seems like BS to me. Everything you mentioned works just the same way when firing without pressure sensitive buttons.

Besides gun triggers on real guns do not work like a gas peddle in a car so your preference isnt really a realistic one.

FPS seem to work just fine in every way on the PC and my keyboard and mouse arent pressue sensitive.

[Gr81]

It's a preference of mine to play fps with the remote rather than 'standard controllers'

If you played Metroid prime trilogy on Wii, and try playing prime on the cube you feel hamstrung.

I'm not playing video games to learn how to shoot a real gun. I'm playing games to pass time, relieve stress and have fun. If I wanted to shoot a gun I'd buy a gun.

Call it bs if you want but it's just an opinion.

[N4g_null]

It's actually great for sniping. The gyro turns on while you are squeezing to register trigger pulling and steady hands. Turning sniping into a true skill again and not just a camping trope.

[Zodiac]

Press button, shoot bullet, kill dude. You don't need any fancy designs for this.

Trigger buttons for FPS are on/off anyway.

[AIndoria]

MGS says hi, although it's not a shooter per se :P

[Qrphe]

Well, MGS was one of those games that actually used the analog features of the PS2 controller. As far as I'm concerned, all but Home, L3, R3, Select and Start are analog on the DS3.

[MegaLagann]

Besides this being a poorly written article, this person clearly hasn't played ZombiU or Black Ops II on the Wii U yet. They work, plain and simple. I get the feeling we're trying to grasp at straws now trying to complain about the Wii U.

[showtimefolks]

let the system come out than we will see. there is the pro controller granted you have to spend extra money to buy it but its atleast an option. and from what we have seen/read its like a xbox360 controller

i do believe wii-u has a long way to go to win support from major 3rd party publishers but let's not hate on something that we haven't even tested in our hands.

[stragomccloud]

What a troll article. PS3 games always use L1/R1 for shooting.

[Qrphe]

How are analog triggers important for shooting again?

Oh wait, they're not.

Edit: Whether people may like it or not, the Move and Wiimote are FAR more accurate than analog sticks for precision (a position-tracking device such as mouse will always be better for position-tracking than a rate-tracking device such as an analog stick).

[millzy102]

this dude is obviously only an Xbox player and assumes Sony pressure triggers are for shooters the ps3 triger buttons are only good for racing games but still not essencial most shooters are on r1/l1 with grenade throwing on pressure buttons and the few which are on the r2/l2 setup don't play as well in my opinion.because of the concave and I have big hands finger slips of on rapid fire. I think click triggers work best for shooters. all scopes I've used use r3 button and not a trigger with x to set zoom there making a problem out of nothing. only Xbox primarily uses pressure trigerd but it doesn't add anything to gameplay like he thinks. he needs to do his research bloody half arsed journalism again.

[jc48573]

I've had enough of FPS games. It's time for JRPG to make a comeback.

[Hufandpuf]

Don't expect JRPGs to come back any time soon. With declining sales in Japan, a crippled economy, and being left behind in innovation by American and European developers, your better off playing the PS2 for you JRPG fix.

[Hicken]

Where are you getting your numbers from?

Sure, the sales may not be high on consoles, but there are more JRPGS selling more than ever on handhelds(which is why we don't see so many on consoles). If they've "gone" anywhere, it was to handhelds; their popularity hasn't waned in the slightest.

[Realplaya]

Is it me or for every positive WII U article there are 4 to 5 negative ones and there worse and worse. When i play a racing or shooter game i'm mashingg down that button. U don't know but the article writers are pathetic. But i do suspect when the new systems come out they will get some love because there microsoft and sony prodicts.

[Baka-akaB]

The most popular fps dont even use pressure sensitive trigger , at least not in a convincing way

[Neonridr]

Pressure triggers for FPS, oh god, really? Since when do you walk around the map just lightly pressing the button so you can pull of a single shot. Everyone I ever see runs in guns blazing all the time.

Even on racing games, who actually lightly hits the accelerator when they are puttering around the race track? It's mash gas, slam on brakes, rinse, repeat.

While it definitely has some uses, I would think that the FPS genre is one of the last to suffer from the absence of analog triggers.

[GuruStarr78]

What's new? Fps have never worked all that great on the ps3, either...imho

I always purchase fps games for my 360, unless its a resistance game, which are the best fps that the ps3 offers..

[Thepcz]

even in gt5 i just slam the trigger (accelerator) all the way down. never hindered my driving ability.

neither does slamming the trigger all the way down to fire a bullet hinder my ability to make it through a fps.

the article is just nitpicking

[mamotte]

If you half press the button, the bullet goes slower.

Ba-dum-tss!!

[kingPoS]

Hmm let me see... we have wiiU pro joystick& gamepad with digital buttons. On the Xbox 360 only the sticks & triggers are analog.

It's funny that some have forgotten that the only digital buttons on the dualshock 3 are select start L3 R3 and the ps button. I guess that makes DS3 king when it come to gameplay options.

Gotta give props to Nintendo for the SNES controller. Where would we be without that backbone design?

[ninjabake]

We have enough FPS games to begin with. I'm yearning for something new and unique. Back on topic, the controller is fine for shooting games pressure sensitivity is really only relevant in racing games

[Deku-Johnny]

The article makes a tiny mention about racing games at the bottom, why isn't the whole article about racing games? The only reason digital triggers matter is racing games. The triggers on the Wii U are actually more realistic for FPS games as no matter how much pressure you put on a gun trigger it's not going to shoot any more or any less bullets.

[Qrphe]

It's not more realistic but they are more convenient. I know many will defend the 360's triggers but in reality they are slower in general than the PS3's L1/R1 or Wii U's ZL/ZR due to whatever value the developer assigns to shooting being activated within all the analog ranges the buttons provide.

[1upgamer99]

Funny, Activisioin says the Wii U version "Has a clear advantage over the other versions, no matter what your console preference" that is a quote. So I guess we will see.