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FIFA almost certainly did 10 years ago. It’s been a massive franchise for decades. The others obviously couldn’t as they didn’t exist! But games generally were
by meheleventyone 8y ago
FIFA almost certainly did 10 years ago. It’s been a massive franchise for decades. The others obviously couldn’t as they didn’t exist! But games generally were absolutely mainstream in 2008. So rather than there being different levels of mainstream I think we’re seeing new facets emerging from games and becoming mainstream themselves.
What we’re seeing that’s new is the confluence of a few things that have led to game playing becoming a mainstream career and the existence of game players that are celebrities as a result.
The other trend I see is that more ubiquitous access to the internet means more kids hang out with their friends in games as a means to socialise. But this was by no means a niche thing in 2008 there was just a higher barrier to entry. For example XBox Live debuted in 2002.