This is a good point in general, some comercial releases were directed towards a large market because of interest demostrated by modders. Battlefield 2 was pretty much a direct follow on from the Desert Combat mod for 1942.

Games like Global Operations were counter strike clones (this one failed but that was a pretty good game apart from some of the no-hit bugs).

There are quite a few mods for half-life that resembel L4D (svencoop is the primary one).

If there is a good game released today there is a good chance some PC user has already played a less polished, but fun, version of it for free.

did you lose a bet?

Hell, I still play a modded Homeworld.

You don't need any money at all to do whatever you want, unless what you want to do requires money. This is a silly question. First ask what you want to do, and then see if it costs anything. If it does, then that is how much you need before you can do whatever you want.

And besides, some things that you might want to do require something other than money. True love, for instance, requires that you be a good and desirable person. Or, becoming a successful CEO requires hard work, determination, and the development of numerous complicated skills and abilities.

If all you want to do is mod, then you didn't really have to do much at all

I am looking into my crystal ball...and see...the future.....