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The Popularity of First-Person Shooter Games

Miss Doronjo

Gaiden
4,473
Posts
13
Years
I have a question for you all - Why do you think first person shooter and war games are so popular in this generation of video gaming?

I mean, this is probably just speaking from my overall perspective, but, in the 90s and early 2000s, we have many many popular video games from various genres such as RPG, Action, Sports, Racing and Strategy/Simulation. However, kids in North America nowadays seem to be mostly interested in first person shooter games such as the Halo games, the Call of Duty games, Project Snowblind, Black, Timesplitters, and so on, except for a minority of games from other genre such as Super Mario and Pokemon. Do you think that this is a good trend to keep?

How does first-person shooter games grab the interests of kids, rather than the other genres of video games? Do they have "something" more to them that are more fun, like the overall gameplay, the options available, and so on? Or, could there be something more to this? Any other thoughts? What do you personally think of these first-person shooter games?
 
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Captain Gizmo

Monkey King
4,843
Posts
11
Years
I think it's because most games consist of first person shooters now. Also a lot of older kids play FPS games and little kids always do whatever the grown ups do because they think it's cool, so they play the same games as them as well.

FPS games are good but it can get repetitive real quick imo, that's why I like when FPS games have a great replay value and always come out with new stuffs rather than just adding a few guns here and there.
 

machomuu

Stuck in Hot Girl Summer
10,507
Posts
15
Years
Oh, that's easy, because the masses and kids like big booms, guns, and things that are quick and easy to get into (online gaming, specifically). All of those describe most modern FPS. I don't really think that it started with gaming, the craze was bigger with movies and then translated over when the potential was noticed. Notably, FPS with more in-depth gameplay or more emphasis on story are usually less popular than those that don't, such as the ever popular Call of Duty.

Speaking of Call of Duty, that game is the most influential FPS of them, and as such, it sets an example for many, MANY FPS, gaming as a whole, and consumer interest, and the way they've been going about it with these annual releases and minimal changes is...bad. Heck, I wouldn't harp on CoD so much if it weren't so popular, but it's because of the influence it has that how it goes about its releases affects me as a gamer. Needless to say, when other games start to copy the Call of Duty formula, that's a sign of a bad trend. Hopefully it's just a fad that will pass.
 

Miss Doronjo

Gaiden
4,473
Posts
13
Years
Oh, that's easy, because the masses and kids like big booms, guns, and things that are quick and easy to get into (online gaming, specifically). All of those describe most modern FPS. I don't really think that it started with gaming, the craze was bigger with movies and then translated over when the potential was noticed. Notably, FPS with more in-depth gameplay or more emphasis on story are usually less popular than those that don't, such as the ever popular Call of Duty.

Speaking of Call of Duty, that game is the most influential FPS of them, and as such, it sets an example for many, MANY FPS, gaming as a whole, and consumer interest, and the way they've been going about it with these annual releases and minimal changes is...bad. Heck, I wouldn't harp on CoD so much if it weren't so popular, but it's because of the influence it has that how it goes about its releases affects me as a gamer. Needless to say, when other games start to copy the Call of Duty formula, that's a sign of a bad trend. Hopefully it's just a fad that will pass.

I'm not a person that's into games like Call of Duty, but, I've been often told that people like games like Call of Duty, because shooters really grabbed people when it came to the multiplayer aspect, especially when Goldeneye for the N64 came out, along with the other PC shooters of the era.

Hm, I'm just wondering, why do you think copying the style of Call of Duty is a bad trend? I mean, I'm not disagreeing with you, but, I'm just wondering - wouldn't coping the styles be a good thing, for continuous interest? Or... would that mean that they would be more stale?

/sorry if this sounded confusing btw; I've tried to word this the best I could.
 

Oryx

CoquettishCat
13,184
Posts
13
Years
  • Age 31
  • Seen Jan 30, 2015
I think you're forgetting a few variables in your analysis of the popularity of them. The kind of people that play FPSs to the exclusion of all else are not the kind of people that bought all those different kinds of games in the past. The audience for video games has vastly expanded, and I would argue that there's probably still around the same amount of people, if not more that like other genres. For example, in the 10 best selling games of 2012, 4 of them are FPSs - two CoD games, Halo 4, and Borderlands 2 (which doesn't quite fit into your war-type of FPS so it's questionable to being with). Outside of that, we have 3 sports games, 2 action games, and 1 rhythm game. There's certainly variety there.

As far as why FPSs are gripping, part of it is the skill involved and the ability to just pick it up and play. When you load into a game, you're the same as everyone else, and the only way to win is to be better. Not lucky or high level, just better. A lot of people see FPSs as the epitome of skill-based games. There's also the multiplayer; just like Facebook, if all your friends are playing this game and no other game and you want to play with them, you're going to pick it up too, right?
 

Pinkie-Dawn

Vampire Waifu
9,528
Posts
11
Years
There are some good FPS games like Doom and TF2, but the genre is being tarnished by Call of Duty, which stayed the same since the 4th installment, and Halo, for not bringing anything new to the genre and was simply Goldeneye with better graphics. Because of these two franchises, every game company tries to follow their fame with their own IPs (whether they are shooters themselves or not), including Capcom when they were developing Resident Evil 5. Some of the gaming community even want Nintendo to join the bandwagon in order to survive from going out of business because of the dominance of shooters in the western culture. The Game Overthinker said it himelf that the popularity of the FPS genre could eventually create a metaphorical black hole that's dragging the game industry to its downfall if we don't open our eyes. I also want to point out that Gears of War is not a FPS game; it is a third-person shooter.
 

machomuu

Stuck in Hot Girl Summer
10,507
Posts
15
Years
I'm not a person that's into games like Call of Duty, but, I've been often told that people like games like Call of Duty, because shooters really grabbed people when it came to the multiplayer aspect, especially when Goldeneye for the N64 came out, along with the other PC shooters of the era.

Hm, I'm just wondering, why do you think copying the style of Call of Duty is a bad trend? I mean, I'm not disagreeing with you, but, I'm just wondering - wouldn't coping the styles be a good thing, for continuous interest? Or... would that mean that they would be more stale?

/sorry if this sounded confusing btw; I've tried to word this the best I could.
Oh, I'm not saying that it's bad in moderation, nor am I saying that Call of Duty in and of itself is a bad game, but one thing that Call of Duty does that's bad for the industry, and some sports games do this as well, is that they create a new game annually with few changes in between. Now, again, this isn't a bad thing by itself (well, for the series it is, but not for the industry), but because of the prominence of Call of Duty specifically, it starts to influence other companies to do the same. The worst part about this is that the consumer becomes accustomed to it and buy into it. Then, as that happens, more companies (and not just those of FPS) take notice and do the same (not to mention the way they gobble up that expensive DLC), and that's why it's a bad thing.

For instance, right now we are on Call of Duty 9. Five years ago we were on Call of Duty 4. Call of Duty 4 is still playable, even today. You won't feel much jetlag, save for the graphics, but the gameplay is definitely something you could just jump into if you wanted to. Other companies start to notice, and then we start to get a lot of rehashes and clones in the industry, which starts to make the pool of variety in a genre (in this case, the FPS genre) more shallow as time goes on.

Then, of course (and this is a big one) there is story telling, and this is where it starts to affect me most as a gamer. Call of Duty has a story, but it emphasizes the multiplayer as that is generally all that the consumer cares about in the game. Here's the problem, though: it has a story. When a very popular game totes a very popular mode and carries around a lackluster fragment of what is in many cases a centerpiece in games and still sells well, people take notice. Fast. It gets to the point where the consumer actually starts to stop caring about stories in games and more about the multiplayer, and as with any sort of commercial work, if it catches on. Nowadays, you can meet people who say that they don't care about stories in games at all and they only care about multiplayer, and that legitimately scares me. Heck, more and more developers are even saying that they wanted to do away with single player in games, and that scares me even more. The thought that Western gaming is becoming more interested in multiplayer gaming and less in single player/story is a scary thought (I'd prefer a balance, really), and while I do love Eastern gaming, I don't want to be limited to that if I'm looking for a complex single player experience.

I think you're forgetting a few variables in your analysis of the popularity of them. The kind of people that play FPSs to the exclusion of all else are not the kind of people that bought all those different kinds of games in the past. The audience for video games has vastly expanded, and I would argue that there's probably still around the same amount of people, if not more that like other genres. For example, in the 10 best selling games of 2012, 4 of them are FPSs - two CoD games, Halo 4, and Borderlands 2 (which doesn't quite fit into your war-type of FPS so it's questionable to being with). Outside of that, we have 3 sports games, 2 action games, and 1 rhythm game. There's certainly variety there.

As far as why FPSs are gripping, part of it is the skill involved and the ability to just pick it up and play. When you load into a game, you're the same as everyone else, and the only way to win is to be better. Not lucky or high level, just better. A lot of people see FPSs as the epitome of skill-based games. There's also the multiplayer; just like Facebook, if all your friends are playing this game and no other game and you want to play with them, you're going to pick it up too, right?
Sorry, I was in a bit of a rush when I was writing that, I didn't have time to get out all my thoughts -.-

Well, I think that one thing to note is that there are other very good games out there that are only considered niche because they aren't realistic and don't have guns. This may sound a little shallow, but it can be hard to get an FPS Gamer/Casual Gamer, which is the biggest crowd in both in gaming and in FPS, to play something that doesn't have guns or a lot of excitement. I think people see FPS the way they do because they don't give the other genres a chance because they see them as niche or strange, and this is the case with, from my experience and point of view, a mass majority of the aforementioned party.

But I don't really see the expansion of gaming as a good thing, in that respect, if the Casual Gamers are going to flock to one genre and essentially bloat it. I mean, the expansion certainly is good, but the thing is that games that don't have blood or guns, not necessarily just FPS, are often given the shaft by the average gamer (the Casual Gamer). For instance, Assassin's Creed is one example. I mean, sure, it's a solid game, but what makes the consumer want that over something like, say, Mirror's Edge or something from the same publisher such as Prince of Persia. I think that the casual gamer has a fascination with blood, guns, and immediate gratification, all of which are present in Call of Duty, but can also be seen (in varying amounts) in games such as League of Legends (and most other MOBAs), Devil May Cry, and the Skyrim (specifically Skyrim with the introduction of Killmoves). I think the industry would be better off if the the casuals were freed from the burdens of the big names and would instead look at the other genres, because when you think about it and look at the popularity of other genres with critically or cult lauded games, you start to realize how much appreciation that they really don't have, and in truth, there isn't that much variety among the most popular games in gaming at any given time (though this is a seventh and currently eighth generation characteristic, it wasn't so big in the sixth generation backwards, for obvious reasons).
 

Oryx

CoquettishCat
13,184
Posts
13
Years
  • Age 31
  • Seen Jan 30, 2015
I find the term "freed from the burdens of the big names" to be a bit weird. I mean, aren't these people rational consumers just like you? They choose their games for a reason - maybe they don't have time for a time-consuming RPG, or don't want to put forth the effort to research a lot of titles to find out which is good so they pick up a series they know is good.

In addition, Mirror's Edge sold over 2 million copies. About the same as the original Assassin's Creed (2.5 million) and more than Assassin's Creed II (1.9 million). It's not exactly being ignored. These numbers are still much, much higher than older games, because the fanbase was smaller. This is why I feel there's not enough consideration of fanbase expansion; in the end, if there are 2 million people enjoying a game (probably more considering used sales), can you really complain that it's not popular enough? I feel like arguing that FPSs are too popular is another way that "real" gamers try to marginalize those that don't play as much. Filthy casuals and all that.
 

machomuu

Stuck in Hot Girl Summer
10,507
Posts
15
Years
I find the term "freed from the burdens of the big names" to be a bit weird. I mean, aren't these people rational consumers just like you? They choose their games for a reason - maybe they don't have time for a time-consuming RPG, or don't want to put forth the effort to research a lot of titles to find out which is good so they pick up a series they know is good.
I don't know if they really have the choice. I mean, I grew up with a variety of games, so as I got more into gaming, I learned to broaden by searches and to make more experienced choices on how I would go about looking for games and the like. Not everyone can do that, especially if they're casual. Casuals are practically forced to rely on what they see, often via commercials or case-shopping or media like Game Informer and IGN because they don't really have much other choice. Heck, this is how most people start out, and since media like IGN and Game Informer often put major focus on the aforementioned big names, they get the most casual attention. I don't think it has anything to do with them being irrational, nor does it have anything to do with them just wanting to do what's popular, but I think it's a matter of them often not knowing what to look for save for what's given to them. Well, that, and there's the fact that, going along with one of your examples, Casual Gamers (Core gamers is another term I use to fit them it, I couldn't remember it at the time of my initial post, but it works well since it hits the same mark) don't always want to delve more into the gaming industry than they already are. Maybe they do want to just play quick and easy games; maybe they don't want to research more and invest time that they could otherwise use on other things.

In addition, Mirror's Edge sold over 2 million copies. About the same as the original Assassin's Creed (2.5 million) and more than Assassin's Creed II (1.9 million). It's not exactly being ignored. These numbers are still much, much higher than older games, because the fanbase was smaller. This is why I feel there's not enough consideration of fanbase expansion; in the end, if there are 2 million people enjoying a game (probably more considering used sales), can you really complain that it's not popular enough? I feel like arguing that FPSs are too popular is another way that "real" gamers try to marginalize those that don't play as much. Filthy casuals and all that.
I won't go the elitist route. I may think that Casual's can have an adverse effect on the industry, but I think that, conversely, they can also have a positive impact on it as well, and I'll be darned if I belittle them or call them "Fake Gamers". While I do think there are different traits among the different types gamers, I won't go as far as to say that one is better than the other because one plays more games than the other. Really, I guess Mirror's Edge was a bad example, but that doesn't matter at this point. The thing is, I'd be perfectly fine if the FPS genre was popular among Casuals if it weren't in the same way that it is, but when it threatens the industry, that's when I start to take notice.

The thing is, I don't completely blame the Casuals for the way things are, nor do I think that Casuals as a whole are even to blame. This all started because companies started to take advantage of how the Core Gamer (the biggest crowd of gamers which, in this day and age, are both the Casuals and the FPS Gamers) spends money. Specifically, the Core Gamer will continually by these annual releases and DLC regardless of the content, and this is most evident in the Sports industry as well as the Call of Duty series (though the DLC deal is widespread). I indeed think that it is the Publishers' fault for the expand and increasing demand of such practices, as their continuing to practice them only promotes the desire for more in the consumer. However, I will say that the blame is a two-way street, as the continuing to buy such annual releases and DLC without any naysaying promotes the behavior in the Pubs/Devs as well. It's a mutual relationship in that sense.
 

TRIFORCE89

Guide of Darkness
8,123
Posts
19
Years
"Casual" refers to the FPS class of gamers now? Not Wii-waggle folks? Wasn't FPS like the "hardcore" thing for forever?

As for the popularity of it... I'm not sure. I've grown up through the NES onwards and while there were a couple of FPS hits along the way like Doom or GoldenEye, I don't really recall the genre becoming the be-all-end-all until Halo.

I just really don't understand the saturation
 

machomuu

Stuck in Hot Girl Summer
10,507
Posts
15
Years
"Casual" refers to the FPS class of gamers now? Not Wii-waggle folks? Wasn't FPS like the "hardcore" thing for forever?
Not all FPS gamers, but the majority of FPS gamers tend to be Casual (as well as Core), so I generally lump them in with each other (though I don't lump Casuals in with FPS, that's a no-no). They generally consider themselves "Hardcore" but...no. Though, I originally meant to say Core rather than Casual when lumping the two together, but I couldn't think of the correct term at the time.
 
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959
Posts
11
Years
I think FPS games, especially Call of Duty, are very popular these days because of their multiplayer capabilities. There are a ton of game modes that will keep you busy. Add to that the incredibly wide variety of weapons/attachments.

FPSs also play a huge part in Social Gaming. In every different game, you are always meeting and learning about different types of people (wether they're trolls, tryhards, etc.) and occasionally even making new friends.

Different people have different play-styles as well, so every game in Multiplayer is never the same, adding replay value after you finish the Campaign.
 

TRIFORCE89

Guide of Darkness
8,123
Posts
19
Years
I'd like games to bring local multiplayer back. Too much is multiplayer only. I'd like to play against my brother who lives in the same house without having to buy a second console and game
 
5,983
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15
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Haha I play fps mainly for the storyline and wool graphics. Except for squad based fps in which case I try to apply what I've learned about infantry combat and provide intel + bark orders at people.


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Lugia's Shadow

Guardian of the Sea
24
Posts
10
Years
It's usually for the team-like thing. Playing a Domination game on CoD is kind of like capture the flag with your mates, except more co-ordinated. Play with mates online, get on the mic and give orders. Also, the huge multiplayer aspect is probably why most play them (myself included). Also, every gamemode isn't the exact same, like Rush on Battlefield, where you have to plant the bomb in a fast-paced environment, while you and your 3 squadmates go around,flank the enemy and win. It's not like Mario, where you kind of do the same thing, time and time again.
 
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