>>717741804The VN was exceptionally popular for the genre, a breakout hit for the industry. Its following adaptions were (at the time) well received and found popularity globally.
From there it got spin off manga (Prisma), several smaller spinoffs including an Arcade fighting game, and by 2010 /Extra released as a proper, self-contained RPG for PSP, which got a full localization at the time too.
It was a success before FGO, it was an ongoing franchise with multiple regular new releases and while globally had a fanbase, was still mostly popular in Japan. Grand Order just made it a mega-hit franchise, as in "top 100 grossing IPs of all time" level big, which is why it feels distinctly different in popularity.