Gamers are no strangers to accessories. From the NES Zapper to the Kinect, they have been around and relevant since video games themselves. Many times they can just be considered gimmicks, while other times are true innovation, having a lasting impact on gaming. What I'm here to do today is put together a list of different accessories and label them gimmick or innovation.
Light guns:
The first thing on my list is light guns. The Zapper for NES is the earliest one I'm aware of. There were several others, like the Menacer for Sega Genesis (Master System). There was another on the SNES, called the Super Scope. There aren't really any modern examples, and the latest I know of was on the Dreamcast. It appears they have died out.
Final verdict: Gimmick. It was and still is cool, but as there aren't any modern versions outside of arcades, it clearly didn't have a lasting impact, making it a gimmick.
Motion control:
To my knowledge, the earliest form of home console motion control was the Power Glove. Sure, it sucked, but it was still motion control nonetheless. The next time I am aware of motion control resurfacing is when the Playstation 2 Eyetoy came out in 2003. Next the Wii popularized it, and Playstation made a new Playstation Eye, and Xbox released the Kinect. Now the Xbox One has it built in, and the PS4 has the potential to use it, though as of right now it is hardly used.
Final verdict: Innovation. Most people say it's gimmicky, but now with it being hugely integrated into the Xbox One and the PS4 having a camera it's hard to ignore it. It clearly had an impact on gaming, so that makes me see it as an innovation.
Wireless controllers:
These don't seem like an accessory now, but when the NES and Atari 2600 were relevant wireless controllers were a neat concept. The Atari had wireless controllers, and while I have never personally used them, they supposedly worked well. The NES had some wireless controllers, but I don't believe any really caught on. Now all of the consoles have wireless controllers as their basic controllers.
Final verdict: Innovation. As I stated earlier, now every console is packaged with a wireless controller, a clear sign of their impact.
Rumble features:
Like wireless controllers, this is less of an accessory now than a standard. There was a time though, with the Nintendo 64 where it was an optional accessory. It's impact is easy to see because all three current-gen consoles include it.
Final verdict: Innovation. As I said above, it is standard in controllers now, meaning it was innovative and had an impact.
Touch pads:
This isn't quite an accessory, but it is a sort of trend in gaming you could say. Both the PS4 an Wii U have touchpads. The Wii U's is superior in my opinion as it actually shows stuff on a screen, but they both can have the same basic purpose: to add a few extra buttons to the controller.
Final verdict: Too early to tell. It appears to be going down the gimmick road though, because both the Wii U's screen and the PS4's touchpad aren't used often. We'll see in the next few years if developers prove it's worth or not.
That's all I have for now. I'd just like to state those are purely my opinions. What do you think? Is there anything major I missed? Tell me in the comments.