The gaming world was once very different from how most players experience it today. That is because, when a new game or console is released that completely changes the market. However, sometimes these changes to the gaming industry are so subtle that the average player doesn’t even notice them occurring. Instead of releasing a huge new set of hardware, some developers make tiny changes to their genre and other games take influence from these titles. Over time, these small changes become the norm. As such, here are some examples of video games that completely changed their genre.
GTA 3
It is hard to imagine a time when every new crime game didn’t include a fully open world to explore; however, that was exactly what the gaming market was like before 2001. The first two Grand Theft Auto games were open-world, but they were played from a top-down perspective on handheld consoles. These games were popular, but they mainly found fame among a niche group of video game fans Then, video game developers Rockstar Games completely changed the genre when they released Grand Theft Auto III in October of that year.
This much-anticipated sequel was released on the PS2 and included a linear story campaign like all other games in the crime genre. However, it was the fully open-world city that most fans were drawn to. This fully explorable 3D world allowed the player to jump into any car on the map, engage in a series of mini-games, lead the police on high-speed chases, and generally make life unpleasant for the surrounding NPCs. Since this game’s release, it is rare to encounter a new triple-A title that does not feature an open world to explore. It seems that linear story modes are out, and huge sandbox games are in, and we owe it all to Grand Theft 3.
Halo
First-person shooters were once point-and-click adventures mainly released for the PC. Games like Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake had the player running around a pixelated series of corridors where the aim was to gun down as many enemies as possible.
That all changed when the first Halo game was released on the Xbox in 2000. This new game took players to fully 3D environments that were less linear than their previous counterparts. Players could roam around the surface of alien planets while still battling waves of unfriendly enemies on foot or in a series of vehicles. This approach was so successful that even the new Doom games are following the exact setting and structure of the first Halo game. The key to this series’ success is variety, and that is why the first-person shooter genre is still alive today.
Bonanza Megaways
Look through any online casino guides and you will notice that almost every new slot title is followed by the word Megaways. Just look at Online casino guides from places like Online Casino Review for confirmation of this. The term Megaways refers to the number of possible pay lines that a slot game features. In a Megaways slot, the symbols are not fixed to the reels, which means that they can line up in a bunch of new formations. This design method means that most Megaways slot games can include up to 117,649 ways to win.
These games weren’t always the norm, and they didn’t exist at all until Big Time Gaming released Bonanza Megaways in 2016. Now, almost all online slots are released with the Megaways title or developers will release a separate Megaways version of the same game later down the line.
FIFA 98
Browse through any gaming store, and you will notice that there are shelves stacked with FIFA games, each one defined by the year it was released. EA Sports have made billions of their football games, and they release one every year to coincide with current teams and tournaments.
To an outsider, it may not look like the developers change much between each year’s new release. However, look back at the first FIFA game released on the PS1 back in 1998, and you will see just how much this genre has changed over the years and console generations. This initial release only featured the basic tournament modes and simple two-player modes. Now, the series allows players to meet up and play online, create new players, and become a football managers once the initial career mode has ended. This gradual change to the formula has influenced all other sports titles, and even other genres have started to release yearly titles like this. The main examples of this include the Call Of Duty and Assassin’s Creed franchises.
Summary
It is hard to imagine what the current gaming landscape would look like without the games listed above. We can only assume that it would be much worse, so you can be sure that every modern gamer is thankful for every video game mentioned in this article.
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