Smokes, sorry but, I don't see how CoD has affected the industry all that much. I understand this game is mega-popular and there's been some games that have tired to be better at CoD's game than CoD itself (Battlefield, MoH, Homefront, all include CoD-style bits in one shape or form). But compare that to something like Minecraft (just as an example). Have you seen Xbox indie games littered with clones? Not clones of cube builders like infiniminer, but full on clones of minecraft. It's uncanny. CoD got popular and had a hell of a lot of people playing. It doesn't spawn that many clones or inspired games, because every fucker's playing CoD itself.

Four words: Fifteen dollar map packs. Sure, map packs weren't new to the industry when COD introduced their version, but look at the way things are now. It's heinous, but all sorts of games have followed COD's lead with this.

And I'm not being critical of Minecraft here, but honestly, how difficult would it be to make a clone of that game? Not really much of a technical accomplishment, is it? People will make clones of anything that works and is reasonably easy to make.

Map packs are just DLC. Yeah they're more expensive and there's more of a demand for them but map backs have been around since like, the second halo or something. It's only the same as extra race tracks and extra levels, but specifically for this genre. I don't see innovation or a big leap. I just see what everyone else was doing, only in the way that would suit CoD.

What he's saying is that before COD map packs were reasonably priced, but when COD came along and offered you a map (that was included in the previous game) for $15 and got away with it, thats when everyone else followed suit.

I don't have immediate access to a US PSN account, but I'd check out the Battlefield games, MOH, Killzone 2 and 3, maybe Rainbow 6 or whatever it is. Anyone fancy getting prices?

FIFA has pretty much always been into it.

Better than two old maps and nothing else for a tenner.

Gonna have to call you on including MAG and Warhawk, which didn't just have maps, but whole new game modes and in the case of MAG, new weapons and armour.

Okay, I consider myself to be one of those COD-bashing hipsters, but looking at things objectively, COD: MW completely changed the way FPS games are done, and that influence has spread to other genres throughout the industry. Now, EVERYONE does killstreaks. Now, EVERYONE uses the perks system that COD introduced, sometimes without changing a goddamn word in the title of a perk. Now, fucking EVERYONE puts a zombie mode in their game. Now, EVERYONE that releases a game with a heavy emphasis on multiplayer releases map packs that are often mostly rehashed maps from previous iterations of that franchise. Now, many game developers are forgoing game length for popcorn gameplay, jumping from setpiece to bigger setpiece to even bigger setpiece, with little to no downtime in between for pacing. Why is this? Well, it worked for COD, so why wouldn't it work elsewhere? Even COD's biggest rivals in the genre, MoH and Battlefield, games that were touted for providing a different experience than COD, took their cues from COD with their latest installments.

SF may have changed the way fighting games are done, but if you're seriously gonna sit there and tell me that SF has had more of an effect on the gaming industry than COD, you are mentally ill.