When Will FPS Games Stop Being So Popular?

[SOL BADGUY]

I guess theyve always been popular, but it seems theyve become even more popular the last 10 years to the point of over saturation. Will something else have to catch rapid fire, or will it just finally collapse under its own weight?

So, just for the record, Im not a fan. I love DOOM though, and would play Rage, I have played Borderlands, but didnt find it fun, and one of the characters voices annoyed the shit out of me. "I NEVER DIIIEEEEE!"

And I love bullet hell shooters, and other such space shooter or air plane ones.

[Tanooki]

Probably not any time soon. As long as there's a bunch of suckers willing to rebuy the same game every year with the same controls, same general physics, modes, and a new coat of paint any child could get good at with some time invested they'll keep catering to that market as its safe money.

[WCP]

Eventually, I think there will be a VR helmet thing that will become the new standard going forward. You look at the Occulus Rift, and it's getting rave reviews, even with the resolution so low, and the lag still a bit of a factor. In another ten years, the resolution will be much better, the headsets will be much more lightweight, and the lag will be nearly imperceptable. Instead of playing games like Fallout 3, you'll be "inside" games like Fallout 3.


So, basically, first person isn't going anywhere anytime soon. People want to be "in" the experience, and a first person viewpoint is the closest we can get right now.

[SOL BADGUY]

It also seems that its making game players meaner, or brought in meaner people. I wouldnt play Black Ops on multiplayer even if I liked the genre because of how pathetically bad those people are to each other.

[InsaneDavid]

It also seems that its making game players meaner, or brought in meaner people. I wouldnt play Black Ops on multiplayer even if I liked the genre because of how pathetically bad those people are to each other.

Video games have been about killing your opponent since the second widely known video game ever created, Spacewar!

[LimitedEditionMuseum]

Because its a bunch of 16 year olds who act hard and cuss away....long as parents aren't in the room.

[Ed Oscuro]

I can cuss up a storm just from being beaten in Bloons TD Battles. Neat little game by the way.

I hope FPSes never die, but I would like to see more games in the Uru: Ages Beyond Myst mold (and similar). I've looked at Second Life and even Active Worlds, and they're rather offputting for some reason.

[SOL BADGUY]

Video games have been about killing your opponent since the second widely known video game ever created, Spacewar!

Well you had to play in person, which means you had to treat people with respect because you were in public and if you had any sense of social skills you wouldnt yell out a 10th of what people call each other in their bed rooms while hooked up to Live.

[danawhitaker]

It also seems that its making game players meaner, or brought in meaner people. I wouldnt play Black Ops on multiplayer even if I liked the genre because of how pathetically bad those people are to each other.

World of Warcraft is full of mean, abusive players too. It's not remotely limited to FPS games. Heck, I've seen people get ridiculously angry over bingo (yes, I kid you not) on Club Pogo. Certain rooms in a couple Bingo games are designated "sharing" rooms, where it's considered proper etiquette to wait to call a bingo until you know other people have gotten one. There was a time where those rooms didn't exist, and a small group of people would spend their time whining at people who didn't "share". Now, they have their own rooms, and they still won't use them. You've not lived until you've been cussed out while trying to get a Bingo badge on Pogo that requires you to be the only one in the room to call Bingo x number of times in a week.

People seem meaner because anonymity and the internet depersonalizing people makes it very easy to forget there's another person on the other end of the keyboard or controller.

[SOL BADGUY]

Im not going to let this become a fight about why people fight with each other hahaha.

[bb_hood]

I guess theyve always been popular, but it seems theyve become even more popular the last 10 years to the point of over saturation. Will something else have to catch rapid fire, or will it just finally collapse under its own weight?

So, just for the record, Im not a fan. I love DOOM though, and would play Rage, I have played Borderlands, but didnt find it fun, and one of the characters voices annoyed the shit out of me. "I NEVER DIIIEEEEE!"

And I love bullet hell shooters, and other such space shooter or air plane ones.

I think they have been popular ever since the first James Bond game on N64. After being forced to play Bond multiplayer about a billion times I had quickly grown tired of the genre. I think they do appeal to a broad audience so I dont think they will stop making FPS games anytime soon. Im not a fan of FPS games, there are a few ones I like but most do not appeal to me at all. It seems to me that many people who own XBOX360 mainly own the system to play halo, which is understandable. I really dont like Halo but I can see why alot of people like it.

Also, I know its pretty obvious, but bullet hell shooters and other shmups type games are just in a totally different genre. These games I do like. It kinda pisses me off when people ask me 'what kind of video games do you like' and I respond with 'shooters, fighting games, rpgs,' and their response is always: 'oh you like shooters? You play halo?'

[YoshiM]

Today's FPS is yesterday's glut of 2-D platformers in the 90's just like the glut maze games and slide n' shoot games before that.

[Graham Mitchell]

There's a lot not to like about FPS's, but there are so many games being released today but I like them for a couple reasons.

First off, they tend to be pretty big on actual gameplay. I'm not going to get into specifics but I think we can all admit that many games released today are more movies than games, and they require time, not skill, to complete. But FPS's (at least the single-player ones) can have levels that really demand you to use your head and build some skills to complete. Some even reward some level of exploration as well. Games like FarCry 3, with an open world map, are sort of the action-RPG's of yesteryear, which I think is cool.

Also, some experiments on the forula have been really successful, and quite fun. Portal and Dishonored are two good examples of this.

But, for every Super Mario World there's a glut of Zool 2's, and the same is present today. Many of them are pretty disappointing when they're released, and I'm really not into the multiplayer component at all, for many reasons. As such, the good ones are getting hard to find.

[InsaneDavid]

Well you had to play in person, which means you had to treat people with respect because you were in public and if you had any sense of social skills you wouldnt yell out a 10th of what people call each other in their bed rooms while hooked up to Live.

That's the point in it of itself. Social skills are something people (especially a good chunk of youth, not all, but quite a lot) no longer possess. I guess that's bound to happen if your face is looking down at a smartphone 18 hours a day. I swear, I would have never expected that something designed to foster communication between people, the phone, would in turn create a society of introverts.

Back on topic, I agree with what YoshiM said. FPS games are just hot right now so there's a glut of them.

[bb_hood]

People seem meaner because anonymity and the internet depersonalizing people makes it very easy to forget there's another person on the other end of the keyboard or controller.

This is what I expected when I first started playing PS3 games online about a year and a half ago, and Ive had very few experiences of people being rude or assholes. Ive played Marvel v Capcom 3 alot online, and many times ive received compliments or friend requests after winning or losing both casual and ranked matches. Not everyone is an asshole online.

[Graham Mitchell]

This is what I expected when I first started playing PS3 games online about a year and a half ago, and Ive had very few experiences of people being rude or assholes. Ive played Marvel v Capcom 3 alot online, and many times ive received compliments or friend requests after winning or losing both casual and ranked matches. Not everyone is an asshole online.

I think the fighting game community is pretty cool right now. I think They tend to be older and more sportsman like. I actually enjoy playing online (or Ina viewlix linked cabinet at the local arcade!!). Plus, you aren't forced to interact with people. You fight, the round ends, move on.

I got yelled at and called a fag so much playing kill zone 2 that I'm done with fps's online.

[Ponyone]

Today's FPS is yesterday's glut of 2-D platformers in the 90's just like the glut maze games and slide n' shoot games before that.

This is what I was gonna say. Space shooters in the early 70's 80's. platforming and fighting (side scrolling and 2 player) in the 80's to 90's. 3d platformers in the late 90's early 2000's. you can pretty much apply this to all the 'pop' genres of their time

[Ponyone]

I think the fighting game community is pretty cool right now. I think They tend to be older and more sportsman like. I actually enjoy playing online (or Ina viewlix linked cabinet at the local arcade!!). Plus, you aren't forced to interact with people. You fight, the round ends, move on.

I got yelled at and called a fag so much playing kill zone 2 that I'm done with fps's online.

Again, this can be applied to any genre. I bought Virtua Fighter 5 for 360 at discount long after it was released. I play my first online match against someone whos been playing for a long time and got my ass handed to me. He then sent me a msg calling me names and how badly I sucked and what have you. Give a kid a sense of anonymity, he thinks he's a real hot dog.

[kupomogli]

An over abundance of platformers then and FPS now are completely different. Back then, platformers were the easiest genre to develop so that's why we saw so many. The FPS genre is popular because it's a casual type game. Easy to jump in with literally no thought process on playing other than shoot at anything that moves. I know a few people who own FPS games and nothing else, or FPS games and little else.

[Rob2600]

Today's FPS is yesterday's glut of 2-D platformers in the 90's just like the glut maze games and slide n' shoot games before that.

FPS games are just hot right now so there's a glut of them.

Space shooters in the early 70's 80's. platforming and fighting (side scrolling and 2 player) in the 80's to 90's. 3d platformers in the late 90's early 2000's. you can pretty much apply this to all the 'pop' genres of their time

Let's look at the numbers:

2D platformer games were the dominant genre from 1985-1996. That's 11 years.

Rhythm/music games were huge from maybe 1999-2010 (Dance Dance Revolution-the last Guitar Hero game and DJ Hero 2). That's 11 years.

One-on-one fighting games were a dominant genre from let's say 1991-2000 (Street Fighter II-Marvel vs. Capcom 2). That's 9 years.

Skateboard/BMX games were huge for maybe 5 years (1998-2003)?

"Slide & Shoot" Space Invaders type games were a dominant genre from 1978-1981. That's only 3 years.


Now let's compare those genres to FPS:

bb_hood posted that FPS games have been popular since Goldeneye 007 on the N64. That game came out in 1997! That means FPS games have been a dominant genre for 16 years (and still going). That's not even counting Doom, which came out in 1993 or Wolfenstein 3D, which came out in 1992!

Even if we get really crazy and say FPS didn't become a dominant genre until Halo, that's still 12+ years! (2001-present)


So yeah, no comparison. FPS games have definitely overstayed their welcome when compared to other huge genres throughout video game history.