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Neodegenerate said:
Aeolus451 said:

I disagree with every bit of that. A movie or book or show for example could be cultural phenomenon. It only needs to have widespread popularity to really fit the definition of it. I'm not debating like the other guy which IP is a bigger cultural phenomenon but GTA is definitely a cultural phenomenon. Gaming is popular worldwide and GTA is one of the most popular IPs in gaming. An entire genre was born just to mimic it. I've seen news reports about how a cop learned a car chase move to knock a getaway car off the road from a gta game. Most americans know of that game series and most people in any country where gaming is a popular know of GTA. 

And the fact that you have a pre-requisite like this shows that it isn't a cultural phenomenon.

Superman, was a cultural phenomenon.  He transcended comic books and became a symbol known by virtually everyone on the planet regardless of where they lived or how they consumed entertainment.

Pokemon Go, even if you don't have a smartphone, even if you have NEVER owned a video game system, is something that you have most likely heard of at length in the past week.  That is a cultural phenomenon.

GTA is mostly known outside of video game circles as that game with prostitutes and cursing that those kids play on those console things.  That's all.  It's a 24 hour news cycle item when it comes out because of minor controversy.  That is not a cultural phenomenon.

Also, your whole spawning a genre argument means that something like League of Legends or whatever the first MOBA was is a cultural phenomenon, which again, it isn't.

Nothing you said is a cultural phenomenon. The internet and cell phones are cultural phenoms because everyone uses them. Superman is not a cultural phenomenon just because he is a known animated character. That is all he is ...known. Do everyone that knows of Superman buy Superman products? No. It is the same with Pokemon. To have a cultural impact means to be apart of a communities everyday life. Neither Superman or Pokemon Go falls into that category as does no game including GTA. Facebook and twitter are cultural phenomenons that impact styles, trends, business and communication. You all are wrong.