Topic: FPS aren't popular on handhelds for 3 reasons

1. Those soft little thumb sticks on the Vita aren't that great
2, Nobody wants to use touch screen only aiming
3. The 3DS lacks a well placed 2nd thumb stick

So who is going to be the first one to take advantage of this situation?

Even though the 3DS is doing good, I don't believe it Nintendo should take too long for it's successor. The hardware limitations are clear now, and the lack of much 3rd party support is puzzling, but telling. We are and will be missing out on countless games due to it;s limitations and the progress of phone graphic chips. I played Call of Duty on Wii U and I loved it on the Gamepad only. Here's to NIntendo being the first to make must have handheld FPS.

I think the reasons why handhelds aren't working for FPS is because

1. The control scheme is just not suitable.
2. FPS games are usually more graphical so handheld technology might limit this factor.
3. No game has encouraged other devs to make more games for FPS.

A touch screen is much more accurate than analog sticks for aiming. Using thumb sticks for FPS is intentionally handicapping yourself.

Probably because there aren't many great FPS for the handheld in the 1st place.

Another reason is that FPSs are suited for long periods of play (online matches can be long and you usually play more than one at a time, and single-player levels are usually quite big), which doesn't really fit the "pick-up and play" process of handhelds

1. handhelds are not as comfortable as conrtollers
2. handhelds need better shoulder buttons for the shooting
3. you need two circlepads/thumbsticks (vita has two and therefore already more fps than the 3DS will ever have)

btw fps don't need superb HD visuals. it just has to look clean. counter strike, anybody?

all this applies to 3rd person shooters aswell.

Graphics: look up screenshots for KillZone: Meercenary
Controls Uncharted worked fairly well on Vita, thr gyro helped a bit too. Unit 13 works great with analog sticks, doesn't even need gyro. Proves a shooter can work with Vita analog sticks, both are TPSs, but prove aiming isn't too much of a issue anyways.
Part of the reason Metoid Primes controls worked, is because it was First-Person Adventure, but and FPS.

Your reasons are my exact reasons for wanting the 3DS to have a first person shooter. I love Metroid Prime Hunters, for shorter bursts and long play sessions, and have felt comfortable playing in the right-handed stylus mode. That's probably due to the fact that I support the system I'm using with both hands, rather than have one hand manage all the weight. I never understood why others play the game like that. It's been wonderful for over 1,400 hours for me with both hands.

@I-U
Oh right, is that the one where the face buttons become the aiming? In which case, yes that was most definitely more comfortable, but I don't think I was able to get the speed or accuracy with that. Maybe if I'd stuck with that one, I could have mastered it. The downside of control options, you may choose the wrong one!

Uhhhh... Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater AND Resident Evil: Revelations played really well for me for 3DS...

three reasons...
1. Nintendo fanboys HATEEEEEEEEEE FPS
2. parents HATTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEE FPS(what eliminates both parents and children)
3. people that get hand cramps HAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE shooters on 3DS

those 3 are probably 80% of the simulated market for Nintendo... so from a certain point of view the FPS genre is DOOOMED on the 3DS(it isn't really doomed, that's just a wrong prediction made by executives or so I guess)

Oh no, I'm talking about the control scheme where the touch screen is used for aiming, the control pad for moving and the L button for shooting. I'm with you on Dual Hand Mode. I've used it a few times, but with that lack of speed and accuracy I never really got into those controls.

@I-U
Oh, well in that case, isn't that the scheme I was talking about initially. Holding the DS with left hand, finger on shoulder button to shoot, thumb on dpad to move, right hand using stylus to aim on touchscreen. How can you still hold the console in both hands? Ha, sorry, I realize this conversation is like so 2006...

@I-U how do you hold a DS with both hands and aim with the stylus???
pics or it didnt happen !

even games where you only use the stylus give me problems after 15 minutes of playtime. i dont even want to imagine having to press L or use the circlepad/d-pad

I just kind of press against the system with my right hand while holding the stylus. It's not supported from the back, but it's still holding with both hands. It also means I can press the R button with my pinky, which came in very handy for zooming in with the Imperialist in Hunters.

As for the main topic, I'd say the main reason there aren't any shooters on the 3DS is because FPS developers are busy on other platforms. Not a one is really loyal to Nintendo anymore besides Retro, and those that would make a Nintendo FPS would rather focus on a system that does HD. Shame really, because a 3DS FPS would be really cool.

Those are not FPS games.

@turtlelink ................ Why not?

because they don't have duty in the name

now seriously, they're TPS(Third Person Shooters truly positive sales) and not FPS(first person shooters frames per second)

They're not First person, for one thing....

And Metal Gear Solid is a stealth game. If you're playing it as a shooter...you're doing it wrong.

They sell well on IOS and Tablet if I remember correctly (if those are handhelds), Modern Combat 4 zero hour is a well selling multiplayer FPS, Cod WaW/black ops zombies is a big hit on IOS and Tablets that is a FPS zombie game along with Dead Trigger.