Yeah I was wondering what the FH and BRO stand for..Thanks.

After 20 votes things are little less even, with COD 4 being a high quality game having 40% of the vote, and the controversial setting of COD 4 hasn't even gotten 1 of the last 15 votes.

I think all of those factors contribute somewhat. I voted for the genre getting bigger option, because I think that while Call of Duty 4 was a high quality games, the first 3 were all well received also, even if not quite as well as Call of Duty 4. But I do think other big console FPSs especially Halo opened the way for other franchises to do huge numbers as well.

I think it is simply because Modern Warfare tried to push the War genre pass what it had been on consoles since Medal of Honor: Frontline. Up until then most games were essentially clones of that game. Modern Warfare really changed that by not only changing the setting and time but really turning it into something more than just a war shooter with a sub par storyline. Even further, it made large advances in the online territory for the genre by actually giving it a fair amount of death.

So really I don't think it has to do with timing or generation differences but simply CoD took the war brand with Call of Duty 2 on 360 and PC and then changed it forever with Modern Warfare to make it a more cinematic experience with great multi player.

I don't adore Modern Warfare in anyway (I do like it) but I do think it was an influential game release this generation.

Interesting post Zucas, I have to admit FPSs aren't my favorite genre, in fact the only ones I ever played for more than a few minutes were Goldeneye, Halo, and Call of Duty 4. So I didn't really understand why everyone was complaining about the WWII setting in games being repetitive. But it sounds like a lot FPSs last gen had that setting, and that's why Call of Duty 4's setting was refreshing.

Bumping this thread because I would like to get a few more votes/comments. Call of Duty is a huge franchise, there has to be more people who have an opinion on why it grew so much?

Yeah, I think you are right about the Halo effect. That series has certainly wowed a lot of people, and it probably helped bump other FPS's like CoD up for Xbox owners. So when CoD 4 came out, not only did it blow the top off of the previous CoD sales, but it also competed with the big daddy, Halo 3. Now there seems to be a divide between Halo fans and CoD fans, but yeah, it's pretty amazing at how well FPS's do on the 360.

@ themanwithnoname

Yeah, I do think the huge success of Halo, plus the large 360 install base accounts for why the games sell quite a bit better on the 360. Not to say they do badly on the PS3, because they do well too, just not quite as impressive as on the 360.