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What is the most influential game from 2000 and onwards?
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OP
OP
If it turns out to be influential, it will be years before we know.
Minecraft is the reason why hundreds of popular sandbox and survival games exist nowadays, not to mention it's reached the mainstream in a way that dwarves all other popular games. It's the game of a generation. Even its aesthetic has been hugely influential.
WoW and LoL would probably be next in line, but it's not close either. Outside of those three, only GTA3 in your list should be even entertained as an option.
From an overall perspective it is Wow. From a console perspective it is Halo 1/2. The first popularised the FPS genre being feasible on the console.The second took it to the next level and made online gaming a staple for nearly every console game going forward. GTA 3 is in a bit of an off situation. Yes is pioneered open worlds but we did not really start seeing these large open world games until around the end of that decade whereas the other games mentioned pretty much had clones immediately. COD4 was big but I would say everything about it that people loved was already being done elsewhere apart from the progression system.
From the list, World of Warcraft. For a few years, it seemed like every company was producing their own WoW clone MMO.
The real answer though is Minecraft. It spawned numerous (mostly poor) imitators, brought in a pretty large group of non-traditional gamers (including younger kids), and had an unreal amount of real-world marketability - there was tons of Minecraft-related shit flying off the shelves for a long time.
The real answer though is Minecraft. It spawned numerous (mostly poor) imitators, brought in a pretty large group of non-traditional gamers (including younger kids), and had an unreal amount of real-world marketability - there was tons of Minecraft-related shit flying off the shelves for a long time.
It isn't COD4 or Skyrim as games of their ilk were inevitable, Online first person shooters and open world RPGs were not going anywhere and one will always stand above the rest.
Honestly I'd say it has to be World of Warcraft, it popularized not only MMORPGs but a LOT of gaming trends. I'd even credit World of Warcraft as the game that brought core RPG mechanics like leveling and gear into the public dialogue outside of people who play games, and it also changed how people who don't game perceive what the hobby is, for better or for worse.
Honestly I'd say it has to be World of Warcraft, it popularized not only MMORPGs but a LOT of gaming trends. I'd even credit World of Warcraft as the game that brought core RPG mechanics like leveling and gear into the public dialogue outside of people who play games, and it also changed how people who don't game perceive what the hobby is, for better or for worse.
Oooh, that's a tough one. I voted for GTA3, since the genre is still shackled by its template and conventions to this day, but I can see a good case being made for many of these. Minecraft is missing from the list, but that's another pretty big deal.
Unless you want to get super specific, Gears came out of RE4's trail and TLOU?
Can't see how TLOU is the most influential game of the 2000s for the videogames industry, what did it even pioneer? I absolutely ADORE tlou but when you get to the basics it's still a child of RE4.
GTA3 and RE4 have been equally influential.
I could have voted either.
Are there even any other AAA game that follows Elder Scrolls/Fallout Open World design ?
Feels like majority of Open World game follows Ubisoft design (AssCreed/Far Cry) which follow GTA design.
PUBG just "copied" H1Z1, which just "copied" the ARMA 2 PUBG mod, which was heavily inspired by DayZ, which was also a ARMA 2 mod. They got the guy who made the mod, like Bluehole did.
ARMA 2 should probably be on this list though, wouldn't say it's the most influencial game by any means, but it spawned some very influencial stuff.
Feels like it's the GTA series but I wouldn't single out GTA3 but the sustained success and constant improvements of the series during the era. GTA3 is the Demon's Souls of the GTA series. It was the seed but clones didn't arrive until after its improved sequels.
Dark Souls is certainly up there. Basically every indie game has "Its like Dark Souls but..." in the description. It is crazy influential to game developers.
Moreso than "Its like Minecraft but..." ? Every indie game does early access which was part of Minecraft's big success
I think Naugthy Dog and Kojima Productions have been fundamental, in the development of the modern video game. There could be a debate, in terms of design, but their storytelling merits are the mirror on which most of the industry have been looking itself, for a decade or longer. Sons of Liberty, Uncharted 2 or TLOU could and should perfectly be there.
Among the ones in the list, I'd go with GTA or Modern Warfare. Though somehow, it seems the COD effect has faded away, back in 2010 it permeated almost everything.
Among the ones in the list, I'd go with GTA or Modern Warfare. Though somehow, it seems the COD effect has faded away, back in 2010 it permeated almost everything.
Minecraft is more influential than just about every game on this list.
In terms of a business model, you're 100% right. My reply was more objecting to your post seeming to single out Dark Souls as a silly answer.
I mean devs are still churning out what are more-or-less mega-glorified GTA III spins these days, so that seems like the obvious answer to me.
CoD4:MW is probably a close second, but I feel like the wave on that one has crested a bit whereas the open-world trend has never really died down.
CoD4:MW is probably a close second, but I feel like the wave on that one has crested a bit whereas the open-world trend has never really died down.
Both of whose main influence can be traced straight back to Resi 4.
One of the most influential games might actually be Arma 2.
It spawned DayZ which at the very least helped the "Survival" genre and it spawned Battlegrounds which lead to the Battle Royale hype we see today.
That's pretty massive. Tho I'm not really sure if that counts
It spawned DayZ which at the very least helped the "Survival" genre and it spawned Battlegrounds which lead to the Battle Royale hype we see today.
That's pretty massive. Tho I'm not really sure if that counts
It wasn't (and isn't) just console FPS games though. That's just where Halo CE had the most visible and most immediate impact. Its influence extends well into other genres, with mechanics like regenerating health, weapon systems that aren't just a ramp-up from crap starter to cooler better later weapons, and smooth transition between locations and transport modes.
It might be weird to think about this now, but the ability to move from indoors to outdoors without a loading screen and then get into a vehicle and drive around was kind of astounding in 2001. Lots of earlier games had different bits and pieces of what Halo did, and to a large extent Halo's influence is because it picked the best combination of existing genre mechanics, but by getting so many things right it set standards that still persist today, and not just in FPS games.
That's not entirely true - the first True Crime game was 2003, Saints Row was 2006, Driver 3 was heavily influenced by GTA III and appeared in 2004 (and earlier Driver games were influenced by the 2D GTA games to some extent as well), The Getaway was in 2002 (though it's questionable how much GTA III influenced it since it was in development before GTA III released). There were also games like The Simpsons Road Rage and Destroy All Humans that took some level of influence from GTA III, plus the post-GTA III tendency for games in other genres (particularly platformers) to start introducing large open worlds. Games like Haven and Jak II clearly took lessons from GTA III, in Jak II's case, to the point where it was noticeably tonally and mechanically different from the original.
It did take a while before anyone came up with a game that really replicated what GTA III did, and a lot of games influenced by it within a few years of its release were indeed still only doing subsets of what GTA III did, but I think very quickly become an influential game.
Halo : CE
Why? Only being able to carry 2 weapons which you switch between with a single button. Most console FPS games beforehand tried to mimic PC gaming where you could hold upwards of 10 weapons (0-9 keys) and so you had to have multiple weapon switch buttons. That simple change has been mimic'd by an endless array of FPS since.*
* and I'm probably wrong about it being the first, but I always felt like Halo was the beginning of console FPS's having really tight control schemes that didn't feel like bad mouse emulation
Why? Only being able to carry 2 weapons which you switch between with a single button. Most console FPS games beforehand tried to mimic PC gaming where you could hold upwards of 10 weapons (0-9 keys) and so you had to have multiple weapon switch buttons. That simple change has been mimic'd by an endless array of FPS since.*
* and I'm probably wrong about it being the first, but I always felt like Halo was the beginning of console FPS's having really tight control schemes that didn't feel like bad mouse emulation
Sorry i did mean to say where open world was essnetially the default state of any new game as it seems to have been for the last three or four years.
Ah, yes, indeed this is a relatively recent trend. Ultimately I think it can still be tracked back to GTA III, but I think that influence is now heavily mixed with Oblivion, Fallout, Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and a few others.
Thats a good point. The EGS/Fallout games are a good shout aswell.
Voted for GTA 3. It both spawned countless imitations and continues to dominate the industry itself. WoW's biggest influence might be making a bunch of companies go bankrupt trying to copy them. I'm probably biased against Minecraft because I don't care about early access games or sandbox/procedural stuff.
does it have the influence? i don't think something "being first" is what qualifies what is "most influential".
for example, which is more influential: Pac-Land or Super Mario Bros.? Tower of Druaga or The Legend of Zelda?
My initial thought was Assassin's Creed since most open-world games follow that formula to the point that many use the phrase "Ubisoft style open-world" but I guess that AC is a derivative of GTA III in design so GTA III.
Warcraft 3 is the real answer. It spawned 2 of the biggest games in the world, then due to its success was followed up with an ambitious MMO that is still running and was copied a hundred times over with limited success.
Even square enix best game from the current millennium is influenced by wow (ff14)
Warcraft 3 is the answer
Even square enix best game from the current millennium is influenced by wow (ff14)
Warcraft 3 is the answer
No Smash Bros
Animal Crossing
Pokemon Crystal
Metroid Prime
Mario Galaxy
Wii Sports
Mario Kart Wii
Breath of the Wild?
I know many probably tend to think of nintendo as a secondary afterthought... but when nintendo shifts the industry follows.
I nominate Wii Sports
That game showed what motion controls could be... It ultimately was the perfect demonstration, selling the concept of wii and motion controls to the masses. I don't think we'd have modern VR without that game paving the way.
edit: even from a non nintendo standpoint something like overwatch should be considered as well...
Animal Crossing
Pokemon Crystal
Metroid Prime
Mario Galaxy
Wii Sports
Mario Kart Wii
Breath of the Wild?
I know many probably tend to think of nintendo as a secondary afterthought... but when nintendo shifts the industry follows.
I nominate Wii Sports
That game showed what motion controls could be... It ultimately was the perfect demonstration, selling the concept of wii and motion controls to the masses. I don't think we'd have modern VR without that game paving the way.
edit: even from a non nintendo standpoint something like overwatch should be considered as well...
Warcraft 3 spawned WoW(biggest mmo), Dota and later Dota 2 and League of Legends(biggest mobas).
Modern VR was influenced by VR from the 80s and 90s. The ideas were already conceived well before the technology caught up and allowed it to happen.
Overwatch, while wildly popular (less so now), was hardly influential.
As for influential Nintendo games since 2000, the GCN and Wii era of Nintendo weren't as influential as current Nintendo. Ocarina of Time just misses the cut by a few years, but that is what would very clearly be on this list if anything.