I also have to say, I feel like many people don’t realize how much dexterity and skill it takes to constantly crank that camera.

The twin-stick camera controls are a terrible solution, even if they may be the best we have. They are a major barrier for entry IMHO. With 2D games, you could hand a controller to someone, who doesn’t play games very much and they’d still typically be able to play along. But with 3D games, that’s so much harder, because now you have to press buttons and move the camera at the same time.

So, I imagine, even when the hardware became available, that various studios still tried to find simpler solutions.