Gyro aiming was of course not invented by the Nintendo Switch but in under a year we've had a significant amount of titles make use of the feature from both first and third parties.
Nintendo have been using gyro controls since the 3DS's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. This exact control scheme would then be implemented into Majora's Mask 3D, The Wind Waker HD, Twilight Princess HD and Breath of the Wild. In Zelda, gyro isn't a crucial input for general movement but rather a crutch that supplements traditional analog aiming. This is the case with almost all of Nintendo's use of gyro but it became a lot more prominent in 2015 with the release of Splatoon.
While Zelda certainly made a case for gyro enhancing the controls, Splatoon took it a step further by having them as a key pillar of the control scheme. This is where players really started to take notice of the possibilities of motion aiming and the benefits of mixing it with traditional analog movement. Nintendo would go on to implement forms of gyro controls into the vast majority of their in house 3D titles and it's here with the Switch that we not only see this becoming a norm for Nintendo, but also with some third parties.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Super Mario Odyssey
Splatoon 2
DOOM
Resident Evil Revelations 1+2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
LA Noire
These all use gyro controls and every single one of these examples are high profile releases from major first and third party publishers.
What started off as a small addition to Ocarina of Time has become somewhat of a standard for major Switch releases and I believe this will only continue going forward. With the positivity surrounding DOOM's gyro controls it's only natural that Wolfenstein 2 will feature the very same mechanics and Capcom could very well implement their Revelations control scheme into other Resident Evil ports.
With gyro becoming a key component for shooters on Switch, it begs the question of when will this spread to other platforms? Many PC games of course support the feature with the Steam controller but what about the Dualshock 4 with its gyro sensor? Aiming with the typing interface feels great but why can't I use it for Uncharted 4 like I could in the Vita's Golden Abyss? Heck, why doesn't DOOM on PS4 support gyro when the Switch version does?
Well there are possible reasons; parity from third parties with the Xbox One controller which doesn't have a gyro sensor, added development time or perhaps the most possible, consumer perception of the feature.
It took Splatoon from Nintendo for players to truly believe in gyro controls and how they can benefit the shooter genre but the PlayStation 4 doesn't really have a game that pushes the feature, especially not one as high profile as a first party shooter. If gyro controls are to be found on other systems then a large franchise is going to need to push it for it to become the norm.
So while I have very little doubt that gyro is here to stay on Switch, its future on other platforms is uncertain. Maybe exposure on Switch is enough to push it elsewhere? I'm frankly not sure but I would love to hear your thoughts on the future of gyro aiming.
Nintendo have been using gyro controls since the 3DS's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. This exact control scheme would then be implemented into Majora's Mask 3D, The Wind Waker HD, Twilight Princess HD and Breath of the Wild. In Zelda, gyro isn't a crucial input for general movement but rather a crutch that supplements traditional analog aiming. This is the case with almost all of Nintendo's use of gyro but it became a lot more prominent in 2015 with the release of Splatoon.
While Zelda certainly made a case for gyro enhancing the controls, Splatoon took it a step further by having them as a key pillar of the control scheme. This is where players really started to take notice of the possibilities of motion aiming and the benefits of mixing it with traditional analog movement. Nintendo would go on to implement forms of gyro controls into the vast majority of their in house 3D titles and it's here with the Switch that we not only see this becoming a norm for Nintendo, but also with some third parties.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Super Mario Odyssey
Splatoon 2
DOOM
Resident Evil Revelations 1+2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
LA Noire
These all use gyro controls and every single one of these examples are high profile releases from major first and third party publishers.
What started off as a small addition to Ocarina of Time has become somewhat of a standard for major Switch releases and I believe this will only continue going forward. With the positivity surrounding DOOM's gyro controls it's only natural that Wolfenstein 2 will feature the very same mechanics and Capcom could very well implement their Revelations control scheme into other Resident Evil ports.
With gyro becoming a key component for shooters on Switch, it begs the question of when will this spread to other platforms? Many PC games of course support the feature with the Steam controller but what about the Dualshock 4 with its gyro sensor? Aiming with the typing interface feels great but why can't I use it for Uncharted 4 like I could in the Vita's Golden Abyss? Heck, why doesn't DOOM on PS4 support gyro when the Switch version does?
Well there are possible reasons; parity from third parties with the Xbox One controller which doesn't have a gyro sensor, added development time or perhaps the most possible, consumer perception of the feature.
It took Splatoon from Nintendo for players to truly believe in gyro controls and how they can benefit the shooter genre but the PlayStation 4 doesn't really have a game that pushes the feature, especially not one as high profile as a first party shooter. If gyro controls are to be found on other systems then a large franchise is going to need to push it for it to become the norm.
So while I have very little doubt that gyro is here to stay on Switch, its future on other platforms is uncertain. Maybe exposure on Switch is enough to push it elsewhere? I'm frankly not sure but I would love to hear your thoughts on the future of gyro aiming.
