What is a gimmick? Are gimmicks really negative to the industry?

[teigaga]

Gimmicks aren't inherently bad, but the norm is to call a good gimmick innovative, whereas a bad one simply remains a gimmick.The negative sentiment comes from something being shallow, devoid of substance, its grabs attention but offers no real value I.e Vita's back touch pad is said to be a gimmick instead of being called innovative. It doesn't offer much to most games and normally isn't a reliable form of input. Not to say its never useful, just that it mostly isn't.