@Azur_Fenix @Nepiant CoD and Minecraft, while big, were definitely not the patient zero that caused the current state of games. That was the iPhone's release and subsequent domination of the world. Smartphone gaming at some point in the early 2010s had already grown a larger market share than any console ever had, and it's not stopped growing. Yes, this is an entirely different landscape and market. The problem is that companies never recognized that. They have never stopped assuming that the smartphone general audience can be brought to the major games market. Thanks to that and porting Minecraft/GTA to phones, they got proven somewhat right about profits.
There's also the fact that pop culture started harping on video games to an obnoxious point. The Big Bang Theory was a show that consistently was in the top ratings and most watched shows in America for a decent chunk of runtime for example.