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I have been thinking about this for a while but if you look back at previous generations, the genre that was the most popular at that time eventually faded away. Not to say that it went away completely but it certainly had taken a back seat to the next big thing.

First and second Generation (Odyssey, Atari, Intellivision & Colecovision) had mostly, high score/Arcade games that spilled over to the next gen but was soon taken over by the 2D platformer.

Third and Forth generation (NES, Sega Master System, SNES, Sega Genesis & NEO Geo) Platformers ruled these two generations to the point where people were tired and ready to move on.

Fifth and Sixth Generation (PSX, N64, PS2, Xbox & Gamecube) had the 3D Action Platformer that started to slow down mid way through the sixth generation due to FPS games taking shape and gaining popularity, especially with online capability. One could argue that fighting games were just as popular as the 3D platformer in this generation but I feel they were more popular in the Arcades, which ended up dying off in the early 2000's.

Seventh and current generation (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS4, Xboxone & WiiU) First and Third person shooters have had a strangle hold up until now. I included the Wii & WiiU but Nintendo seems to be going off on it's own.

Also wanted to mention on the PC side, that Adventure games, Flight Sims and RTS games were all over the place on PC until the mid to late 90's, until games like Quake & Half Life gained popularity and FPS took off on the PC side.

Am I the only one seeing a trend?

 

[Slixshot]

I have played 1 FPS this year (Wolfenstein) and I'll be playing just one more (Destiny) by years end. I don't think it's over saturated anymore, to be honest. So many indies these days that there's a plethora of different genres.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

I feel like FPSes have been replaced by MOBAs and Third-person Shooters as the genre du jour for a good number of years now.

 

[meptrep]

I think FPS games might be replaced by the cinematic adventure style games, which are still third person shooters, but whatever. Stuff like Uncharted, TLOU, Tomb Raider are pretty big on consoles it seems, that might be the next big genre.

As for PC games, though, there's still plenty of adventure games, more simulators than ever, and tons of other stuff that's extremely unique, you just have to look for it.

 

[Guevara]

I feel like FPSs are the easier way to make your game and tell a story. It's the new default.

 

[SuperEpicGuy]

I hope so. I miss platformers.

 

[Goodacre0081]

I think we've seen a shift already. shootybangs don't seem to have the same presence they did a few years ago and the indie push is probably why.

 

[Kuroyume]

No. They're too much fun and killing always appeals to people.

 

[Iva Demilcol]

I really hope developers do something different soon... just hope it's not minecraft or more zombie games...

 

[Bergerac]

FPS complaining always cracks me up.

Swords. Armour. Magic. Medieval. Dragons.

That's the real bloat.

 

[AlfredX1990]

Ever since DOOM everybody has claimed over saturation of FPS games yet here we are

 

[ChipotIe]

If you think there ever was a time in the last 25 years when it didn't have a very high showing then you're wrong.

 

[SMattera]

FPS has a long history spanning back to 1993's Doom. PC gaming in and of itself didn't really see mass popularity until the mid 90s (remember, most Americans didn't own a PC until the late 90s. In 1997, only 37% of American households had a PC.)

Goldeneye, Halo: Combat Evolved, Quake II, Unreal Tournament -- it isn't like FPS exploded onto the scene in 2007. It's been there since the beginning.

I think the current idea that FPS is dominating is more imagined than factual. Yeah, CoD reliably sells millions every year, but Assassin's Creed, Grand Theft Auto, Madden, etc. are right up there with it.

 

[Kamina]

For some reason i thought this thread is about vibrant colours in FPS games.

 

[deadeyekiwi]

I think there is probably a higher saturation of cinematic third person games that will continue more into the current generation.

 

[Predwolf]

With VR headsets coming out now, FPS games are going to explode. What we've seen for the past decade could be considered the teenage years of the genre, with the infancy being Doom/Wolfenstien.

Where it goes from there, who knows. Maybe AR, which I can't wait to become more mainstream.

 

[we.are.the.armada]

I hope not! I'm thinking that we've yet to see what the genre is capable of. There might be a shift toward more third-person segments, trajectory, etc. But to fade away, I hope not.

 

[Hellshingu]

FPS games will always have a place in gaming. They have been around forever and won't go anywhere anytime soon. If you mean FPS games that are arcadey like CoD, then yes I see their popularity and the amount of copycats to start waning.

 

[jeffers]

Played spec ops the line last week and the gameplay in that was so mediocre and boring. But then I'd take Crysis (1) and FC3 again.

Guess its mainly when you mix cover shooting, heavy reliance on cutscene narrative and hugely linear games (corridor shooters).

 

[BGMNTS]

The only FPS i've played in the recent years is Deus Ex and Payday, and Deus Ex was more of a stealth game. I don't think its over saturated the market at all. I'd probably say its the 2D platformer which has seen most love recently.

 

[Portugeezer]

I hope so. I miss platformers.

If FPS's fade away developers will go back to making platformers.

That's genius.

 

[biteren]

it does seem that FPS games are declining but also is making a return to the old ways of FPS games, which i dont mind.

 

[espher]

FPS complaining always cracks me up.

Swords. Armour. Magic. Medieval. Dragons.

That's the real bloat.

Is there a database somewhere that has a full list of games and tags? Like you could add genre tags, feature tags, cliche tags, developer tags, whatever, and then run a query against that?

Show me all games from Nintendo on Nintendo DS with Swords and Platforming without Magic and Damsels-in-Distress, etc.

 

[Leafhopper]

Played spec ops the line last week and the gameplay in that was so mediocre and boring. But then I'd take Crysis (1) and FC3 again.

Guess its mainly when you mix cover shooting, heavy reliance on cutscene narrative and hugely linear games (corridor shooters).

Sounds like you have a problem with 3rd person cover shooters rather than FPS games though.

 

[SMattera]

But I will say, OP, that your point about popular genres shifting over time is valid and important.

That's why it's so important that console creators continue to innovate, pushing the hardware forward and aiming for higher specs. New technologies allow for new and innovative forms of gameplay -- 2D fighers were popular in the 80s and 90s because it was the best form of gameplay for an arcade setting. 2D platformers and JRPS dominated the SNES because it's technology and control-scheme allowed for them. The N64 and PSX gave us 3D platforms and action games.

 

[mkenyon]

There's a lot of everything. The OP seems mistaken.

In any case, there does seem to be some kind of resurgence of the arena shooter, with a number of titles being announced. Then you have might-as-well-be-fps stuff like Gearbox's moba.

Shooters aren't going anywhere.

If you think there ever was a time in the last 25 years when it didn't have a very high showing then you're wrong.

Doom was released in 1993, 21 years ago. So the four years before that were pretty sparse.

 

[BigDug13]

Keep in mind that the first person character perspective is pretty much the only perspective that makes sense with Oculus Rift/Morpheus. The fact is that properly done first person perspectives in games are the most immersive viewpoint in a game.

Expect a greater number of first person perspective games this gen.

 

[Bergerac]

Even if it was an oversaturation, you can't complain about a gameplay genre so long as people treat it differently. In other words, the rise of FPS only coincided with improvements to its mechanics and realisation. 'Faux Military shooters' on the other hand is a different matter, for the past 6 years.

Complain about style genre (I.e. God damned Medieval knights and mages dragon fantasy - which military FPS ian't a patch on), not a broad gameplay genre that is, truthfully, interpreted many ways. Otherwise you're throwing Bioshock, Deus Ex HR and Portal to the same lion you're not so inconspicuously throwing COD.

 

[zeorhymer]

I doubt it. But now is the time of the PARKOUR!

 

[DeFiBkIlLeR]

Problem with the FPS genre is that the scenery may change but the journey is always the same.

I just have an overbearing sense of 'seen that, done that' when I play one.

 

[mkenyon]

Keep in mind that the first person character perspective is pretty much the only perspective that makes sense with Oculus Rift/Morpheus when deciding whether or not we will see fewer FPS games. The fact is that properly done first person perspectives in games are the most immersive viewpoint in a game.

This begs the question.

In Star Citizen, you have a first person view. You shoot things. FPS?

Problem with the FPS genre is that the scenery may change but the journey is always the same.

I just have an overbearing sense of 'seen that, done that' when I play one.

You're conflating FPS games with single player games that are narrative driven.

I don't think the journey in Q3 is quite the same as CoD.

 

[jeffers]

Sounds like you have a problem with 3rd person cover shooters rather than FPS games though.

yeah, though mainly since thats the last one I played But yeah probably somewhat misplaced comments. Think fps is a little bit more engaging due to not seeing the same animations in every game everytime you hide to cover or vault it.

Though have some gripes with fps too. Bioshock infinite as an example, from reveal the shooting/combat looked boring as hell.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

I think they've already hit saturation point to be honest, they are moving into an age of decline.

 

[Phediuk]

The whole action-platformer point is contrived. Platformers were significant on the PS1, but hardly dominant, while they were completely overshadowed by the GTA series and its derivatives on PS2.

 

[Canis lupus]

The industry is slowly moving away from them. You don't see tons of shooters coming out from the smaller studios like in the last gen anymore.

 

[Bergerac]

Problem with the FPS genre is that the scenery may change but the journey is always the same.

I just have an overbearing sense of 'seen that, done that' when I play one.

Like with racing games, sports games, fighting games, RPGs, hack n slash etc... ?

You can't crticise a gameplay genre for being what it is.

 

[TheSpoiler]

The whole action-platformer point is contrived. Platformers were significant on the PS1, but hardly dominant, while they were completely overshadowed by the GTA series and its derivatives on PS2.

No, they were far more dominant in the SNES/NES era, where thousands of clones of Mario existed, and movie games almost always went in that genre's direction, no matter how good or bad they attempted to be.

I'd say that platformers weren't the problem of the PS1 era - it was the overpopulation of RPGs.

 

[Currygan]

it already faded away for me unless it's a proper James Bond or RTCW 2

 

[mkenyon]

The industry is slowly moving away from them. You don't see tons of shooters coming out from the smaller studios like in the last gen anymore.

Not sure about that.

UT, Cliff's newest project, Gearbox's moba, Toxikk, Doom 4, Prey 2, Primal Carnage, They, Furious 4, Halo 5, Space Hulk, the new Rainbow Six, Evolve, tons more.

 

[Orayn]

Asking when it will fade away is the wrong way of looking at it. It's more a question of when something else will capture the attention of gamers and developers alike and exert a huge influence that shifts public attention.

 

[Phediuk]

No, they were far more dominant in the SNES/NES era, where thousands of clones of Mario existed, and movie games almost always went in that genre's direction, no matter how good or bad they attempted to be.

I'd say that platformers weren't the problem of the PS1 era - it was the overpopulation of RPGs.

Yeah, I know, that's exactly what I said. Did you read the text you bolded there?

And RPGs were not really saturated on the PS1 except in Japan. Final Fantasy 7 was the best-selling RPG on the console, yet there were a fair few games that outsold it in the West.

 

[KDC720]

I think MOBA's are gonna be the next big thing this gen.

However, this gen I think were going to see less of shooters trying to emulate CoD, and instead try and do their own thing. Look at Titanfall, Destiny, Wolfenstein, DOOM, and Evolve for example. Halo 5 is supposedly going to try and get back to basics, and even CoD is trying to mix it up this year.

 

[BouncyFrag]

On one hand I wouldn't mourn the end of the fps era but on the other I decided to give Borderlands 2 a go after the Destiny beta got my looting game itch exposed and I'm having about as much fun as I can have with a game and can't wait to play Wolfenstein when I pick up one of the new consoles. Long story short, I'll take a high quality game over hoping it will be or not be a particular genre.

 

[Dante Morgan]

If the genre doesn't innovate, I'm sure its market share will slowly start to shrink, but I don't ever see FPS dying out completely.

Though looking at COD in particular, if COD game number 35 is still mostly the same as COD game number 21 with the only major difference being new maps and some new gimmicks, I can see this franchise quickly losing sales until it's either radically radically revamped, or stuck in the freezer for a couple of years.

 

[GamingIsDead]

I think the bigger problem is the lack of identity that differentiate them. The top three Bf4 titanfall cod have identical mindless run and gun playstyles.

Halo at least feels different but even that is being homogenized with sprinting and unlocks.

Insurgency needs some love though.

 

[maniac-kun]

Asking when it will fade away is the wrong way of looking at it. It's more a question of when something else will capture the attention of gamers and developers alike and exert a huge influence that shifts public attention.

You mean moba?

 

[TheSpoiler]

Yeah, I know, that's exactly what I said. Did you read the text you bolded there?

And RPGs were not really saturated on the PS1 except in Japan. Final Fantasy 7 was the best-selling RPG on the console, yet there were a fair few games that outsold it in the West.

Right, I'm agreeing with that point.

Also, in regards to RPGs, it's obvious we are talking about the amount here and not the notoriety. Japanese RPGs came to the US in droves, so that still applies worldwide.

 

[Orayn]

You mean moba?

Mayb-a? The genre is definitely experiencing a boom on PC, but time will tell whether or not it'll become a real generation-defining thing on consoles as well.

 

[MrCunningham]

I can see FPS's dying, .the genre really took off when Doom hit back in 1994, and 20 years later it is still very strong. It's older than 20 years old, and it may regress into a smaller state, but I don't think they will ever disappear. Playing a game in a first person perspective still has many advantages over third person and therefore will still find its uses.

 

[The_Almighty_Swan]

I personally doubt FPS's ever go away.