Topic: Are you a stylus or a button gamer?

I was wondering the other day why it is that nowadays game tend to be operated mostly by buttons, while in the beginning of the DS we had some awesome stylus features. I wonder why, and which do you prefer?

I'm a big puzzle gamer and I write games (especially puzzlers) for a number of platforms - pc, Android, iOS, GP2X, Pandora, Wiz, DS etc. and most of my games are touchscreen specific or preferred. I feel that touchscreen for the majority of games I write is more immediate - clicking on a square on a grid, or dragging from one spot to another is definitely quicker on a touchscreen with a stylus than using dpad and buttons.

Of course, other games are better with proper controls, so it depends on the genre and type of game. Eg I wouldn't dream of playing or writing a platform type game using touchscreen controls if the machine had a dpad/stick and proper buttons, as they are the logical choice for that particular genre and game.

Some games can use either control method, while old and retro games (like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem) use(d) control pad as touchscreen wasn't available at the time of release, but I'd hope that if written now they would have offered that control method as an option.

So, all in all it depends I'd say.

I'm defintely a button type. Unlike touch controls, pressing a button gives me much better feedback. I feel the buttons I press, while the touchscreen is... well that, a screen. There's no change in either the surface of the screen or the stylus, so I'm never sure if the tochscreen command is doing what I was trying to achieve.
Touchscreens have much more possibilities, since they're not restricted by specific setups or anything, so they have the value of variety - but it never feels like I'm directly in control.
Also, I'm not much of a fan of touch-controlled games, anyway. A handful of games do it very well (The World Ends With You is a prime example), but they're the exception for me. I prefer arcade games for the most part, and many of my favourites rely on frame-perfect controls, which a touchscreen couldn't quite deliver.

I wasn't aware the 3DS had any stylus-focused games that weren't puzzle games.

Buttons all the.Though touch inputs are favourable in some games that deal with tactical, Puzzles etc. But for most cases buttons give precisions in most genres which touch cannot.

I must say that the one thing that really got my interest in gaming on the DS was the use of a stylus! Before that I wasn't really into gaming, but now there was no need to remember all the variations of uses for the A, B, X and Y buttons. No need to remember all the complex combinations of buttons when you wanted to make a move. All that I needed to do was to move my stylus over the screen. And before long, back then, games were released that used the stylus in the most innovative ways. Games like Pokémon Ranger, where you caught the Pokemon by drawing circles around them. Or Animal Crossing Wild World, where you didn’t need any buttons at all to play it. Big Brain Academy and Brain Trainer, where you could exercise your brain using only the stylus. Scribblenaut of course, and Yoshi’s island, where you had to draw bridges and lines for Yoshi to walk on. Other games took stylus use even further, like Zelda Phantom Hourglass, utilizing all the features the DS could offer. Remember drawing which route to sail on the screen? Or to draw the flight of the boomerang? Or prioritize which levers to pull by drawing numbers on the screen? Of course there are a lot of puzzle stylus games, like Professor Layton and the Curious Village.

I just think it's a pity that the focus on the stylus seems to be gone these days!

Stylus/touch controls are very limited. They're close useless compared to buttons controls in many genre's, so the topic title seems an odd choice. For puzzle games like Candy Crush a stylus is better than buttons because it's easier to just put your finger on the block you want to move. But in a puzzle game like Tetris I prefer buttons because you don't need to touch a specific point on the screen, just control the block's left, right and orientation, which works better with buttons.

Touch options are always welcomed as an option but is not for everyone. I for one cannot play intensive games or long sessions games with touch controls because it does not give precision in controls or it is totally uncomfortable or tiresome. Games like Wario ware : Touched was awesome and felt totally home with touch controls, Scribblenauts totally feels at home with touch scheme etc but I skipped LOZ : Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks halfway due to the touch scheme because though implemented well I was totally not comfortable with it same with Wii I totally skipped it due to all the forced motion controls and now this gen I'm totally in love with Wii U cuz it gives me the option of all the control schemes. I can use touch schemes for games that are well fitting for it or motion controls or a solid Button feel.

Generally I prefer button controls, since it's simpler to just hold the console instead of holding a stylus as well. I find that's it's quicker and more accurate to use buttons instead of the stylus. However, certain games are better with the stylus, such as puzzle games and point and click games like Professor Layton, and making maps on Etrian Odyssey works really well with a stylus.

Button controls all the way. Stylus controls are okay for puzzle games (or strategy games where reflexes are not particularly important), but buttons are just more accurate for more other titles. As anyone who's ever played the giant battles in the Mario & Luigi series or half of the mini games in Bowser's Inside Story will be able to tell you; they're fun when they're work, but they often don't work well because of the inaccuracy of the control scheme.

Stylus as a control system is poor in my view, if Nintendo used touch and capacitive screens I think it would work much better so I'm a button guy.

I prefer buttons. Stylus controls, the vast majority of the time, appeal more towards casual gaming, to keep things easy for people who aren't necessarily gamers. That's why the DS attracted such a huge casual following.

Don't get me wrong, I like touch controls sometimes. Mainly for menu or inventory navigating, I can't think of any specific example right now but I'm sure I've enjoyed a few games with Touch controls. But on the whole, buttons feel more comfortable and provide more immediate feedback.

@CanisWolfred Kid Icarus: Uprising (Just thought of that). They were ok overall, I didn't have many troubles with the touch controls, but lots of people don't like it.

Stylus controls are fine when they work and are good for puzzles as many have said already; the only sole puzzle games that I play are the M vs. DK games. Otherwise, given the option; I'm all for buttons since that's typically the more responsive control method. Kid Icarus: Uprising and to an extent Zelda: Spirit Tracks being the exceptions in my case.

@DreamyViridi Oh that's right, the DS Zelda games used touch controls, I forgot! I liked Phantom Hourglass and loved Spirit Tracks.

It really have to come down to how the game is designed. I'm just going to take a look at one hybrid, RPGs. Circle pad is always need as direction yet the touch screen is always good for inventory systems. What this tells me is that standard buttons are always preferred for static items but when you need a button that changes Function and label on the fly then touch screen is better.
The best way to understand is really to look at the pros and cons of each type. Even in the physical button world there is a difference. The circle pad and d-pad is a good example of this as well. A game Like Xenoblade on the 3ds works well with circle pad for movement in the 3d environment. Meanwhile in Pokemon X/Y I seem to prefer the d-pad for more precise movement.

Certain games lend themselves better to certain controls especially Since touch screen is still limited on its multi-touch. I cannot see Mario Kart working on a touch screen. Turning, drifting, gas, dragging items. I cannot hold that many styluses. But with touch screens being a multi-purpose button it has allows smart phone users to have virtual joysticks allowing you to move your avatar without blocking the screen with your hand to see where you are going. The 3DS does not need this as it has physical buttons.

Anything involving a player in control of moving an object is always better with buttons. This why tetris as a puzzle games is still better without a stylus as you control direction and you need to see where you are putting the object. Pokemon Shuffle is better with stylus due to stationary objects.

Really I am a button and stylus user depending on the game I'm playing.

Yeah, I saw Spirit Tracks and was initially disappointed in the lack of button controls but gave the stylus controls a chance and enjoyed the whole game.

Well, the gimmicks are still around, there's just less of them.

This fight, while incredibly well animated, is not as tight as the normal fights in the game. The commands are all very forgiving because the touch controls are imprecise, while buttons are precise.

In most instances button controls > gyro controls > touch controls > motion controls in terms of responsiveness and melding the player with the game world.

For menus I use the stylus, but for everything else I use buttons.

Whether it's touch, buttons, or motion controls, I'm just happy to have different ways to play. If Nintendo makes some wacko controller for their next home console like they did with the Wii U, I'll just eat it up

I am a button gamer. Even in games where I have an option to play with a Stylus(Fire Emblem on the DS and 3DS), I still favor using buttons. I even use buttons to move through system and game menus.

That's a major reason why I have never gotten into games on tablets. Touch controls will never be a accurate as buttons.