Can one game still make a difference?

[couchmonkey]

This definitely happens and BOTW is the most recent example. Others include Halo, Wii Sports, GTA III, Super Mario Bros. and Tetris (Game Boy).

I think it might be too late for Xbox One, though. Pokémon is the most dramatic example of a "rebirth", but Game Boy already had prior success - it had credibility. We've seen major attempts to "fix" ailing consoles before, and I don't think it can be done.  My favourite example would be Resident Evil 4 on GameCube.

I see people saying it won't happen anymore. Why not? There are examples everywhere in entertainment:

- Game of Thrones incited 2 million new HBO subscriptions in 2013.
- Harry Potter forced the NY Times to create a "Children's best sellers" so it would stop dominating the best sellers list.
- Iron Man set the stage for something like 15 more Marvel movies with interconnected storylines. (Not saying Iron Man did it alone, but can you imagine that outcome without the Robert Downey Jr. movies? Can you imagine Deadpool or Doctor Strange getting movies without The Avengers?)