Why are FPS gamers against motion controls?

[boholikeu]

Just out of curiosity, why are so many first-person shooter fans against motion controls? It seems to me that if there is one hardcore genre that could actually benefit from them it'd be shooters.

After all, pointing at the screen obviously allows for more precision than an analog stick, and when combined with something like the Wii's nunchuck for movement/other commands you have an overall control scheme with as much complexity as traditional controllers.

It's just something that never really made sense to me. True the first FPS out on the Wii did suck, but later games improved very quickly after that. Heck the Conduit was even praised by most reviewers as having one of the best control schemes on a console FPS ever, and yet hardcore shooter fans still call motion controls a "gimmick".

Edit: Just for clarification here I'm talking about "pointing" motion controls over an analogue stick. I'm not talking about full on body controls such as "waggle to throw a grenade" etc. I agree that substituting a button for some motion is pretty silly, but pointing seems much more appropriate for the genre than basically using a miniature joystick (it's also the reason why most hardcore shooter fans prefer a mouse and keyboard over game controllers).

Edit2: Honestly, I can't believe that some of you are pulling the "I play games to relax" card. While I think that's a perfectly acceptable argument against some games being motion controlled, I can assure you that it's possible to play Wii shooters with the same level of exertion as a keyboard and mouse.

Edit3: "Motion controls require more effort" -- See edit #2. Play with the remote resting on your leg and you'll see that your wrist doesn't need to move much more than when using a mouse.

"Motion controls are less precise" While that may be the case for certain individual games, with the right hardware (IE not the original wii controller) and the right control setup (IE something similar to what's in Metroid or the Conduit), motion controls can be as accurate using a mouse.

See http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.206841-Why-are-FPS-gamers-against-motion-controls?page=5#9373739 for more in depth rebuttals to these common replies.

 

[Shameless]

I am not exactly a FPS gamer and I am against Motion control simply because it's too tedious

 

[Hat of Controversy]

I WOULDN'T mind them, except, well...

I still have nasty flashbacks of the night I decided to take on the FINAL final boss in No More Heroes on the hardest difficulty.

He had around 1300 hit points, and each button press and wii-mote waggle-enabled attack took away about 1 point of health, that along with having to do MORE button mashing and wii-mote waggling to dodge the boss' 1 Hit K.O. move and to initiate your wrestling moves, and you can see why this would lead to problems.

Screw lifting weights and steroids, man. Just grab your Wii and shake it around a bunch!

Though I will admit, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption may not have been anywhere near as much fun to play without the awesome controls the Wii gave it.

 

[mikecoulter]

I don't mind the look of Playstation Move. But I don't really like playing Call Of Duty games on the Wii, the lack of feel really makes it difficult for me. At least with the PS3 version of motion control I have the choice to use the controller instead.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

I dont think its just FPS fans, I think most people just hate it in general. But personaly, I dont see how motion controls can translate into a FPS without the game being a rail shooter (And I hate rail shooters).

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

This is why if you move too far to the right or left the motion sensor will go off screen and you will stop turning. Unless it is a rail shooter it will not work. It only works for games like Time Crisis and House of the Dead. Please keep motion controls away from games as they are awful. If you want precision on a FPS game get a keyboard and mouse as it is the best for fps games. Yes analog sticks may give greater movement freedom you won't need it in a fps as you will be dead with the mouse anyway.

 

[juliett_lima]

as a PC gamer, trying to shoot adequately on the console is tedious, never mind motion controls >_> . . . _>;

mainly due to the wireless controller latency and lack of sensitivity. the mouse frees up the action somewhat.

also, motion controls take away to ideal of minimum user-interface interaction. I want to be able to thow my grenades quickly and. . . well. . . actually throw them. rather than *nunchuck flail grenade throw*. . . *reloads instead*. . . *dies*

 

[juliett_lima]

I dont think its just FPS fans, I think most people just hate it in general. But personaly, I dont see how motion controls can translate into a FPS without the game being a rail shooter (And I hate rail shooters).

did you ever play Ghost Squad?? *swoons*

 

[Yagharek]

If motion controls worked perfectly it would not be that much of an issue. But till they do, it would just be another frustrating element in a FPS, the random chance that your controller wouldn't work.

Also, the controllers are precise enough. Say i'm trying to aim at someone whose far away on top of a building. I point my control at him. But the control is big(and even if they got it down to the size of your fingertip this would still be an issue, though not as large of one)-which part of where you're pointing does your character aim? After all, you're aiming for a small target. You can't aim effectively for a small target by using something larger than it.

It is easy to point at big things, because the shape of what you are pointing at encompasses the size of the control. But for small things, this makes the controls dodgy and innacurate.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

I dont think its just FPS fans, I think most people just hate it in general. But personaly, I dont see how motion controls can translate into a FPS without the game being a rail shooter (And I hate rail shooters).

did you ever play Ghost Squad?? *swoons*

I cant say I have. My guess is it is a motion control rail shooter. Would that be correct? If so I dont own a wii so that would be one reason.

 

[Pegghead]

Speaking as someone who enjoys first person shooters I have to say that above all else I prefer the traditional mouse and keyboard (Or controller if you're feeling romantic) for my gun-toting experiences to motion controls for things like the wii. It's by far not easier to point with, let's just say for point of argument, a wiimote than it is with a nice mouse or analog stick. I've tried games like Red Steel 2 and while they are fun I couldn't tell you how many times my aim went haywire due to sensors misreading signals even when I was pointing directly at the screen and it was incredibly uncanny-valley-esque having to balance the direction of the gun to the direction I'm facing.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

It's just too unwieldy for those precision headshots.

 

[fletch_talon]

Red Steel 2.
Its not a rail shooter, it is however, awesome.

And its also a game which could only really work with motion controls. Sure the shooting could work with mouse or analogues, but the swordplay couldn't. Even if you had a sword swipe assigned to a button (ignoring the fact that you would need different buttons for less/more powerful and horizontal/vertical swipes) it wouldn't be as fluid. With the Wii you point and shoot someone in the face and then thrust forward straight after to stab them.

My preferences for FPS would have mouse and motion tied, they do almost the same thing, its just that motion controls are more appropriate than mouse for gaming in front of the TV on the couch.
Analogue sticks work, but are too fiddly for me, mainly due to being used to mouse controls.

 

[Latinidiot]

it's tiring, and you can't frag for three hours if youhave to stand.

 

[juliett_lima]

I dont think its just FPS fans, I think most people just hate it in general. But personaly, I dont see how motion controls can translate into a FPS without the game being a rail shooter (And I hate rail shooters).

did you ever play Ghost Squad?? *swoons*

I cant say I have. My guess is it is a motion control rail shooter. Would that be correct? If so I dont own a wii so that would be one reason.

i was thinking the arcade version with teh lightguns. . . but yarr there is a wii one out now ^^

 

[Blackality]

In general, playing FPSs on the Wii (the later ones i mean) just feels better than the stiff analog sticks.
I love MP3, and if The Conduit came out in the PS3/Xbox360 it would be boring as hell.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Because when I play a game, I want to sit down on the couch or in front of my computer and eat potato chips. Waving my arms in front of the TV is about as immersive as it is replacing actual exercise. When I come home after a stressful day, I don't want to wave my arms in front of the TV, I want to relax. Sure, the Wii was fun when we first got it, but now no one uses it. Motion controls are a gimmick, and not even a lasting gimmick. The touch screen on the DS was a gimmick but I still use the DS. The Wii collects dust in the corner while I play my other systems. Honestly, if we had something like Tron where you would go inside of the game or at least had a full body interface, that would be great. But for right now, we've got Killzone 3 and while it probably will be cool aiming at the screen like that, the fun wears out very quickly. Anyone who played the Conduit would know that, especially when you need to turn around in the game and it won't register because you pointed too far.

Also, look at the games for it! It's obviously not targeted at FPS fans, but the scary thing is that Nintendo alienated its fanbase a couple years back so now it's Microsoft and Sony's turn. And if we get hung up on exercise games (which make no sense at all... Wii Fit costs about as much as a monthly gym membership and I highly doubt that it will give you the same results) there might be no turning back.

 

[Dana22]

Because its against nature.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

I dont think its just FPS fans, I think most people just hate it in general. But personaly, I dont see how motion controls can translate into a FPS without the game being a rail shooter (And I hate rail shooters).

did you ever play Ghost Squad?? *swoons*

I cant say I have. My guess is it is a motion control rail shooter. Would that be correct? If so I dont own a wii so that would be one reason.

i was thinking the arcade version with teh lightguns. . . but yarr there is a wii one out now ^^

I like arcade lightguns it just console rail shooters I hate, they just seem pointlessly outdated.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

I have nothing against it. I'm just broke, is all.