Not many people liked the control scheme with Coded Arms, and early reports are already stating that the forthcoming Katamari Damacy game for PSP will use the face buttons as a secondary directional pad. While we're not one to complain vehemently about game developers attempting new control schemes for the PSP, at some point the expectation of having players control direction using the four buttons on the right does seem more than a bit excessive. Having to manipulate a game in that way can be quite a clunky experience, which is one that I don't particularly look forward to doing for the duration of the game's lifespan.
I admit that there's always room for a person's ability to adapt to these types of control layouts. It may even give some sense of accomplishment to players that they were able to beat a game despite the wonky controls. But how many gamers out there are actually willing to take the time to adjust to a new control mechanism just for the heck of mastering yet another obscure talent? In that regard, seeing as First-Person Shooters these days almost require that the controls for lateral movement be separated from the "look" ability, do you think that the FPS genre has a chance to ever reach maturity on the PSP?
