I'll end my thoughts on TF2 vs OW with this final post:
As a person who has been playing QWTF since 1996, I can say OW is very refreshing, and no, not just the females (though as everyone knows, they did add a lot of new FPS fans- I already know several females who agree, hehe). TF2 felt like a step down to me from Day 1, biggest reason- because it removed grenades and other skill based gameplay. QWTF is still my favorite shooter of all time and always will be. Only quit because there was no more servers haha. Main gripe was all the damn cheaters it had. :/
I did some years of ETF (Enemy Team Fortress) to fill the void for a bit, but it also was shut down. TF2 never filled that hole, but OW did. Not to say I didn't enjoy TF2 for a good while, however. Once all the cash shop crap and hat mania came along I got bored. I think the Demoman vs Soldier contest was the height of my TF2 days. I'm glad OW came around to save my FPS thirst (and MOBA too, good bye LoL) I needed a new FPS with more characters to enjoy. TF2 just didn't do it for me. I would love a TF3, but that won't be for a looooong time. Valve kind of lost my respect after the HL2 Episode 3 debacle.
TF2 is still a different beast than OW, in my opinion. There's no Reinhart. There's no DVA. There's no flying Medic. There's no giant monkey. There's no Zarya. There's no high tech bard. There's no Buddah bot. There's no ninja. You don't have to kill yourself with a rocket to get height, you have a jet pack. Wow! All new, all fun. There is a class for everyone in OW. I'm just glad things are
finally moving on from the TF2 era. After 9 years, man...I needed something new. That Orange Box is going to remain a my collectable shelf forever though.
No one will deny that Overwatch was
inspired by Team Fortress and MANY other things though. I've already seen some Borderlands, Portal, S4 League, CoD, Clint Eastwood (lol) etc. in the mix. Blizzard is just doing what they do best - using the best to make something better. They did the same with WoW when they dethroned Everquest. Everquest still has loyal players though, and so will TF2.
LONG LIVE OVERWATCH AND BLIZZARD!!!