Personal AoEs are often not ideal. One of the main advantages spellcasters and archers have is that they don't have to stand next to something to use their attacks, and that would remove that advantage for all AoE abilities.

Fair warning, this post contains an idea that is in use in World of Warcraft.

In WoW most area attacks just give you a big old circle where you can click the ground and then the spell casts right there. You see visually exactly where things will be when you cast the spell, and can try and include or exclude whatever targets you wish. I think that's pretty much the ideal targeting system, and along with actually telling us when we're in range for attacks are about the two biggest things I want playing a ranged class/job.

Another game series that uses targeting circles, but isn't an MMO, is "Tales of." If you cast an area spell and don't move, it casts on the current target, and you can use the directional buttons to select that target. If you instead move the stick, you get the big targeting circle you can try to get more targets in. Using the analog stick for this seems like a viable solution for controller players to me.