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00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays, and unfortunately, not every video game can have a positive impact
00:10on the industry, as you'll see in the list ahead.
00:13We're not saying these games are bad in any way, just that publishers and developers
00:18learn the wrong lessons from their impact.
00:45This was probably the beginning of the end for single-player games being marked safe
00:50from the dreaded microtransactions of the industry.
00:53For $2.50, players could buy armor for their horse, a cosmetic that added absolutely nothing
00:59to the experience, and wasn't even something that could be shown off as, once again, Oblivion
01:05is a single-player game.
01:07While relatively harmless compared to what we suffer through today, players nonetheless
01:11balked at the price tag for a simple cosmetic item.
01:15Bethesda followed this up with many more substantial updates that were well worth the
01:18asking price, but the damage had already been done, and now we are inundated with endless
01:24streams of cosmetics, armor sets, color palettes, and grossly overpriced DLC packs.
01:30Thanks Bethesda, you managed to glitch the entire industry!
01:42The Last of Us Naughty Dog have understandably become one
01:49of Sony's premier developers, with the likes of Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, and Uncharted
01:54becoming icons of PlayStation.
01:57However, it was with the PS3's Swan Song that everything within Sony's internal development
02:02began to change.
02:03There's no denying that The Last of Us is a masterpiece of writing, characters, and
02:08acting, and rightfully deserves all the praise and awards it has received.
02:13However, once Sony got a taste of this critical acclaim, nearly every single release out of
02:18Sony's first-party developers began to take on a similar tone and aesthetic.
02:23Gone were the days of experimental and original games, replaced by numerous cinematic and
02:28mature crevice-crawlers.
02:30This shift in tone and development has undoubtedly led to some incredible games, but the impact
02:35of The Last of Us was so big, it changed not only Sony's output going forward, but
02:41the entire single-player industry.
02:48Overwatch It cannot be overstated what a big deal Overwatch
02:59was when it released back in 2016.
03:01The first new franchise from Blizzard in years, Overwatch gave players a twist on the
03:06competitive multiplayer genre, focusing on individual heroes and their unique abilities
03:11working in tandem.
03:13After Overwatch's unprecedented success, suddenly every major multiplayer game started
03:18introducing heroes to their shooters, beginning an endless wave of copycat clones desperate
03:23for some of that Overwatch attention and sales.
03:26However, not even Overwatch is what Overwatch used to be anymore.
03:31With its sequel, nothing more than a 1.1 update on the original, and every subsequent
03:36clone has ended in miserable failure.
03:39Yeah, I'm talking about you, Concord.
03:41Even almost a decade later, developers are still wasting time, money, and resources chasing
03:47that Overwatch clout that not even Blizzard themselves could replicate.
04:00The Sims SimCity proved to be a surprise hit with
04:03its city-building infrastructure and maintenance gameplay, but no one could have predicted
04:09just how big its spinoff focused on the people who lived in those cities would become.
04:13An overnight success, millions became enamored with raising their little Sim families and
04:18maintaining their day-to-day lives.
04:21With the ability to customize everything about your Sim and their lives, the possibilities
04:25of this second-life Sim were almost endless.
04:29And EA, not wanting to let a good thing go to waste, set about releasing endless waves
04:34of expansions full of cosmetics, seasonal events, and even pets, giving EA an almost
04:39unending stream of revenue.
04:41And the industry took notice.
04:44Now content drops have become a regular and costly event with varying results of absurdity.
04:49The DOA series will never be the same.
04:52And sadly, it is something that we've just come to accept as the new normal in gaming.
04:58FIFA 09
05:03EA strikes again, and this is arguably a much more egregious offense.
05:08The FIFA series alongside Madden are some of EA's most profitable franchises, but with
05:13FIFA 09, EA decided they weren't making enough already.
05:18With the game's ultimate team mode, players could build their ideal team composed of their
05:22favorite players using card packs that could be purchased for in-game or real-world money.
05:28Here's the thing though.
05:30Players have no idea which cards they would get in these blind packs, incentivizing them
05:35to continue to purchase more to create their ultimate fantasy team.
05:39This practice was so successful, EA began implementing it in so many games to such a
05:45degree that the government had to get involved as the practice bordered on gambling.
05:50This repercussion, of course, hasn't stopped other publishers from incorporating equally
05:54scummy practices into their games, and loot boxes today have unfortunately become as common
06:00as microtransactions.
06:01We're all daylight between the two sides because of that goal.
06:05Well, they've just been unstoppable today.
06:07GTA Online
06:14Speaking of egregious, we move on to GTA Online.
06:18Originally just an extra multiplayer mode for GTA V, GTA Online took on a life of its
06:24own and not only killed any plans for single player DLC for the main game, but also took
06:30so many resources from the once prolific developer that we've only received one brand new game
06:36in a decade, along with numerous re-releases of GTA V.
06:41The addition of shark card microtransactions has made GTA Online one of the most profitable
06:46online services of all time.
06:49While we can't fault Rockstar as the developer has updated GTA Online with a constant rollout
06:54of patches, updates, and events to keep their millions of players happy and entertained,
06:59the death of what was once one of the most consistently solid single player developers
07:03makes the wait for GTA 6 and potentially anything new from the studio an agonizingly long one.
07:16Far Cry 3
07:29While it wouldn't be difficult to point to the original Assassin's Creed for birthing
07:33the patented Ubisoft formula, it was Far Cry 3 that perfected it and made it the standard
07:39for all Ubisoft games going forward.
07:42This adaptation of using towers to clear the map along with endless icons populating
07:47these maps spread like a disease and effectively killed any and all creativity within the company.
07:53And yet, despite outcry and mockery from the gaming community, this formula has managed
07:59to permeate its way into almost every open world game since Far Cry 3 in one form or
08:04another.
08:05Thankfully, many devs, including Ubisoft itself, have finally begun moving away from the dreaded
08:11Ubisoft formula, but gamers have had to suffer through over a decade until some fresh innovation
08:17was introduced to the open world sandbox.
08:20I've found my place.
08:22It's here, on this island.
08:26Jason, are you serious?
08:29Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
08:31We're on our way out!
08:33Grab the brave soldier!
08:34We are here!
08:36Where developers once strived to develop the Halo killer, the release of Call of Duty 4
08:41Modern Warfare completely changed not only the multiplayer landscape, but publisher Activision
08:45as well.
08:46The unexpected success of Infinity Ward leaving the World War II setting behind prompted a
08:51slew of other gritty modern day militaristic shooters and the financial windfall made COD
08:57one of Activision's biggest IPs.
09:00So much so, that no other project seemed to have the same priority moving forward.
09:06While Activision would still publish more titles in the years after Modern Warfare's
09:10release, the creative output slowed significantly as Activision continuously either closed studios
09:16under their umbrella or shifted them to work on the Call of Duty machine.
09:20To date, it would be hard to pinpoint a bigger creative vacuum in the industry than after
09:25Activision went all in on Call of Duty and gaming has only suffered because of it.
09:33Everyone hang on!
09:36Destiny
09:51Ah, we've finally reached it, the birthplace of the much derided live service game we're
09:57endlessly subjected to.
09:59After leaving the world of Halo behind, Bungie set out on a bold new venture that would have
10:04dire ramifications for the entire industry.
10:07Once championed as an innovative new approach to gaming, it was once again latched onto
10:11and tainted by greedy publishers looking for ways to maintain a continuous revenue stream.
10:17And so began the deluge of live service titles, oftentimes filled to the brim with egregious
10:23microtransactions just to add fuel to the fire.
10:26Despite millions of dollars spent trying to replicate Destiny's initial success, most
10:31of these endeavors have not only failed to find audiences, but also lost their companies
10:36millions more.
10:38Even Destiny itself can't recapture that initial spark that started the wildfire, and Destiny,
10:44as well as Bungie itself, could be living on borrowed time.
10:47There is no shame in running away, Guardian.
10:51Apart from the cowardice and failure of it, it's an excellent strategy.
10:56Fortnite
11:02And just as bad as the live service model, we have Fortnite, whose success can be attributed
11:09to aping someone else's idea.
11:12Originally a tower defense game, no one much cared about Fortnite until they adopted their
11:17building mechanics into the Battle Royale formula, after the success of PUBG.
11:23Not only responsible for the influx of Battle Royale games, Fortnite also popularized the
11:28Battle Pass, as well as seasons in which the game would be updated with new mechanics,
11:32cosmetics, and changes to the arena.
11:35Fortnite's success was so profound it even influenced Call of Duty, and led Activision
11:40to create Warzone, adopting many of Fortnite's mechanics, complete with celebrity cross-promotions
11:45that made little to no sense.
11:48Another genre that thankfully seems to have run its course, but as Fortnite continues
11:52to evolve to remain relevant, it likely won't be long before we see more of their ideas
11:57appear throughout the industry.
12:01Which video game do you feel negatively affected all of gaming?
12:11Share your picks in the comments below.