NCSoft ranks 62 in game studio study - Guild Wars Guru archive powered by Guild Wars Legacy

Falling Petal

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2009

11 May 2009 at 12:26 - 1

Guess who number one is ^^

Quote:

Develop 100 ranks the world's most bankable games development studios based on a variety of key criteria including sales data, critical success and industry standing.

develop100.com

Quite a few UK studios in there too, gogo UK!

Fril Estelin

So Serious...

Join Date: Jan 2007

London

Nerfs Are [WHAK]

E/

11 May 2009 at 12:27 - 2

NCsoft is not a studio but a distributor? Arenanet is a studio.

Killed u man

Forge Runner

Join Date: Feb 2006

11 May 2009 at 12:31 - 3

Rockstar on 3, rock on!

Yeah, Blizzard on 1, no surprise there... When will all those WoW geeks realize they're paying insane amounts of money for just an, imo, average game...

Zahr Dalsk

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Aug 2007

Canada

11 May 2009 at 12:32 - 4

>BioWare at 77

I lol'ed.

Arduin

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: May 2005

The Netherlands

Limburgse Jagers [LJ]

R/

11 May 2009 at 12:32 - 5

Nintendo, you disappoint me.

pumpkin pie

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jul 2006

behind you

bumble bee

E/

11 May 2009 at 12:37 - 6

Hah! Blizzard, I thought it would be EA Games.

refer

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2009

US

11 May 2009 at 13:04 - 7

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arduinna

Nintendo, you disappoint me.

They already did me. Mario [anything or clone of older games but on new console] or Party 2423589532. Mario Party DS even has this cheesy line where when you land on a "you and friend +5 coins space" that says somethign like "Wow, you and [other player] are such good friends!" Could you get any more G rated? *puke*

tasha

Auctions Mod

Join Date: Jan 2006

UK

Mystic Spiral [MYST]

11 May 2009 at 13:09 - 8

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fril Estelin

NCsoft is not a studio but a distributor? Arenanet is a studio.

NCSoft has its own studio as well (if you go on the NCSoft website and look at their games, you can see that the studio and publisher for Aion is NCSoft. Guild Wars has NCSoft Arena Net as the studio). The e-booklet that goes along with the list shows they've cited Lineage as their main title, founded in 1997.

Excellent list for those looking at getting into the games industry.

Professor K

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jan 2009

Mo/A

11 May 2009 at 13:12 - 9

67 Rare

Remember when Rare used to make GOOD games?

Abedeus

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Jan 2007

Niflheim

R/

11 May 2009 at 13:12 - 10

Why I don't know, like, 70% of the developers on the list?

AMUSEMENT VISION?

Or how something like Volition (¿que?) is better than TEAM 17? They created the freakin' Worms series!

Professor K

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jan 2009

Mo/A

11 May 2009 at 13:13 - 11

I'd like to note Sega shouldn't even be on that list. Sega hasn't made anything remotely good in years.

Apollo Smile

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2008

[LORE]

E/Mo

11 May 2009 at 13:16 - 12

Surprised Valve isn't higher up on the list. Especially with the popularity of Steam.

ImDReaperslash

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2009

11 May 2009 at 13:16 - 13

Lol Nexon ranks way better than NCsoft, what a shame XD

Apollo Smile

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2008

[LORE]

E/Mo

11 May 2009 at 13:18 - 14

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImDReaperslash

Lol Nexon ranks way better than NCsoft, what a shame XD

Easier to market free to play than pay to play.

Sarevok Thordin

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2006

Scotland

W/N

11 May 2009 at 13:26 - 15

HAHAHAHAHAH

TREYARCH AT 7, BIOWARE AT 77

Oh man this list is so credible!

Orange Milk

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2006

Ganking, USA

Retired

R/

11 May 2009 at 13:28 - 16

Nintendo is terrible.

They have never caught up to the rest of the world in graphics and continue to promote "cartoonish" figures and happy scenery over realism. I guess the Wii has brought them back to life.

I figured EA sports for the tops as more people play/buy console games over PC games it looks like EA is all split up into several Studios though. But I guess with the monthly fees as income Blizzard easily takes the top spot. I had hoped ANet would be higher up the food chain though, I suppose Tabula Rusa, or whatever it was, had a little something to do with it.

Sega is doing better than I expected.

Apollo Smile

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2008

[LORE]

E/Mo

11 May 2009 at 13:32 - 17

I think alot of people are missing how these are ranked...

"Develop 100 ranks the world's most bankable games development studios based on a variety of key criteria including sales data, critical success and industry standing."

Looking at the top developers it makes perfect sense.
Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Mario, Pokemon, Grand Theft Auto, Madden; these games are recognizable to just about anyone.

pinguinius

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2008

11 May 2009 at 13:32 - 18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killed u man

Yeah, Blizzard on 1, no surprise there... When will all those WoW geeks realize they're paying insane amounts of money for just an, imo, average game...

Blizzard does more than WoW, though not in a while. All of their games have been of good quality. Hopefully they use the "insane amounts of money" people are paying (really, only 50 cents a day, less than my cable bill) to make Diablo III and Starcraft II awesome.

Professor K

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jan 2009

Mo/A

11 May 2009 at 13:35 - 19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orange Milk

Nintendo is terrible.

They have never caught up to the rest of the world in graphics and continue to promote "cartoonish" figures and happy scenery over realism. I guess the Wii has brought them back to life.

God forbid children play video games!

Overall, the list looks pretty good. Don't forget Activision is lumped in with Blizzard, so the Guitar Hero + WoW combo is pretty brutal!

refer

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2009

US

11 May 2009 at 13:39 - 20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orange Milk

Nintendo is terrible.

They have never caught up to the rest of the world in graphics and continue to promote "cartoonish" figures and happy scenery over realism. I guess the Wii has brought them back to life.

I figured EA sports for the tops as more people play/buy console games over PC games it looks like EA is all split up into several Studios though. But I guess with the monthly fees as income Blizzard easily takes the top spot. I had hoped ANet would be higher up the food chain though, I suppose Tabula Rusa, or whatever it was, had a little something to do with it.

Sega is doing better than I expected.

Graphics or realism aren't that important I think (and here I am playing Guild Wars on all low settings since I have to for playable FPS... even then Nightfall is almost impossible though

). If Mario was not a cartoon too it wouldn't be the same. Mario as realism? No please. The Wii I think is kind of gimmicky. Motion activated games and nonstandard controllers were around for a while but never had the backing like Nintendo. Plus I don't like their no legacy thing they have going on. Yes I know virtual console and such but buying games again and having to redo them is not appealing. I still think the Wii is doing good because it's cheap, tries to please everybody, is more casual, and they don't have the Red Ring of death problem Xbox problem or Sony's pricetag and karma (karma from screwing with the dreamcast by launching that "don't buy a dreamcast, wait for us!" campaign). I should have tried Sega, I think I would have liked them.

Professor K

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jan 2009

Mo/A

11 May 2009 at 13:42 - 21

You can say what you want about the Wii, but I dare sare the DS is the finest system released this gen.

Bubba

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Nov 2006

Netherlands

port sledge snow cones [COLD]

11 May 2009 at 13:46 - 22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apollo Smile

Surprised Valve isn't higher up on the list. Especially with the popularity of Steam.

part of the criteria is sales and Valve never makes the sales through Steam public (at least not in numbers) if I remember correctly.

I'm not sure how much of an impact it is, but I wouldn't be surprised if this actually bumps them at least a few places down in the list.

Apollo Smile

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2008

[LORE]

E/Mo

11 May 2009 at 13:48 - 23

Quote:

Originally Posted by refer

hahahaha not really. I don't care about being cool, but Nintendo is too one dimensional. They recycle too much. They could benefit from branching out, non Mario universe characters.

Graphics or realism aren't that important I think (and here I am playing Guild Wars on all low settings since I have to for playable FPS... even then Nightfall is almost impossible though

). If Mario was not a cartoon too it wouldn't be the same. Mario as realism? No please. The Wii I think is kind of gimmicky. Motion activated games and nonstandard controllers were around for a while but never had the backing like Nintendo. Plus I don't like their no legacy thing they have going on. Yes I know virtual console and such but buying games again and having to redo them is not appealing. I still think the Wii is doing good because it's cheap, tries to please everybody, is more casual, and they don't have the Red Ring of death problem Xbox problem or Sony's pricetag and karma (karma from screwing with the dreamcast by launching that "don't buy a dreamcast, wait for us!" campaign). I should have tried Sega, I think I would have liked them.

The Dreamcast was awesome and way ahead of its time. Some of my favorite games were Soul Calibur, Space Channel 5, Skies of Arcadia, and Phantasy Star Online. Too bad it got completely slaughtered by the PS2.

If I were to personally rate this gens game systems it would be as follows:

1. Nintendo DS
2. Xbox 360
3. Wii
4. Playstation Portable
5. PS3

refer

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2009

US

11 May 2009 at 13:55 - 24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apollo Smile

The Dreamcast was awesome and way ahead of its time.[Some of my favorite games were Soul Calibur, Space Channel 5, Skies of Arcadia, and Phantasy Star Online. Too bad it got completely slaughtered by the PS2.

Yes, I think it was way ahead of it's time too, and I still kill myself for not getting one. But then again I was only 9 and an idiot. Wait, that's no excuse. I think if they didn't lose the huge hit of money from the Genesis they would have survived. That and if Playstation never existed they'd have less competition (I believe Playstation got popular with developers because they weren't as demanding as Nintendo was. They once tried to license the disc technology too but Nintendo turned them down).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apollo Smile

If I were to personally rate this gens game systems it would be as follows:

1. Nintendo DS
2. Xbox 360
3. Wii
4. Playstation Portable
5. PS3

lol PS3 in last. I agree though. It has really good technology but it's price comes at a horrible time and I still believe the karma.

Orange Milk

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2006

Ganking, USA

Retired

R/

11 May 2009 at 14:06 - 25

Quote:

Originally Posted by refer
Graphics or realism aren't that important I think (and here I am playing Guild Wars on all low settings since I have to for playable FPS... even then Nightfall is almost impossible though ). If Mario was not a cartoon too it wouldn't be the same. Mario as realism? No please.

Let the kids play cartoons then, I'm down for something more visually appealing, hence the reason the Playstation target age group is 18-35 year old Men, well "Men" being defined by age, not maturity level. If you notice the advertising Nintendo is including more and more adults in their Wii marketing, including the two Asian fellas that come knocking on the door despite games geared for a lesser age group.

Dzjudz

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

gwpvx.com/user:dzjudz

11 May 2009 at 14:09 - 26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professor K

67 Rare

Remember when Rare used to make GOOD games?

Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day, those were the days!

Riot Narita

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2007

11 May 2009 at 14:14 - 27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orange Milk

Nintendo is terrible.

They have never caught up to the rest of the world in graphics and continue to promote "cartoonish" figures and happy scenery over realism. I guess the Wii has brought them back to life.

I suspect that's actually the reason for their amazing success - instead of joining in the Sony/MS spec-wars, they went for a different spin on controllers/interaction, and different markets. They went for more "fun", instead of more expensive hardware (aka more "realism"). And it's been an outstanding success.

I don't play on consoles these days. The Sony and MS offerings hold little appeal to me, because the type of games I'm mostly interested in, are available for my PC - and frequently ONLY available on PC. Even if there are console versions of a game, the PC versions are either as good or better. A console might start out better spec'd than a PC, but it is quickly overtaken. I laughed at the "Nintendo recycles too much" comment above - what do we see when Sony/MS rolls out their latest consoles? The same tired franchises being wheeled out yet again, but with fancier graphics. They're no better than Nintendo.

But the Wii is different... even I am tempted. It offers gameplay that looks like ripping good fun, at a comparitively low price, and with no equivelents available on PC. A Wii doesn't have the grunt of a Playstation/XBox/PC... so graphics do not have the same "realism". Realism is initially impressive, but it's not necessarily a measure of how much fun you ultimately get from a game... and judging from Nintendo's sales figures, they've more than made up for the "realism" deficit.

And by the way, look at WoW. A "modestly successful" game, populated by grown ups (many of whom may be extremely butch), angst-ridden teenagers in playing in darkened rooms (because that makes them "dark gamers" LOL)... And yet WoW's graphics are "childishly cartooney" and "Disney". Realism clearly not required for success.

Abedeus

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Jan 2007

Niflheim

R/

11 May 2009 at 14:16 - 28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bubba

part of the criteria is sales and Valve never makes the sales through Steam public (at least not in numbers) if I remember correctly.

I'm not sure how much of an impact it is, but I wouldn't be surprised if this actually bumps them at least a few places down in the list.

I don't think they would be that great in Europe. I mean, what's the point? D2D is much cheaper and offers download-able content too. Or GOG for older games.

Magikarp

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Nov 2007

[HAWK]

11 May 2009 at 14:22 - 29

Nintendo makes pure garbage, and wtf, Bethesda at 10? Knock Epic, Ubisoft, and Nintendo's junk down a few pegs. Also, Valve, Bioware, and Codemasters could all come up drastically. This was a pretty lame list..

Apollo Smile

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2008

[LORE]

E/Mo

11 May 2009 at 14:22 - 30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dzjudz

Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day, those were the days!

Also Goldeneye, Donkey Kong Country, and Jet Force Gemini... Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magikarp

Nintendo makes pure garbage, and wtf, Bethesda at 10? Knock Epic, Ubisoft, and Nintendo's junk down a few pegs. Also, Valve, Bioware, and Codemasters could all come up drastically. This was a pretty lame list..

They also opened up the industry to females and people of all age groups. Something, none of those companies you listed have. Growth of the gaming industry is beneficial to anyone who loves games.

Back then

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Apr 2009

11 May 2009 at 14:40 - 31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killed u man

Rockstar on 3, rock on!

Yeah, Blizzard on 1, no surprise there... When will all those WoW geeks realize they're paying insane amounts of money for just an, imo, average game...

I guarantee the average WoW player has a lot more friends than you do. GW players are the worst kinds of nerds I've ever seen, everyone on here think's they're some kind of deep intellectual because they can theorycraft about a game....

I find it funny that Anet didn't even make the list. Looks bad for GW2.

kupp

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Feb 2008

The Shiverpeaks

[KISS]

W/

11 May 2009 at 14:44 - 32

Would think that Valve would be amongst the top 10, there are some developer studios above it that I've never even heard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Back then

I find it funny that Anet didn't even make the list. Looks bad for GW2.

Why in the world would a study about this mean anything bad for GW2?

Bubba

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Nov 2006

Netherlands

port sledge snow cones [COLD]

11 May 2009 at 14:47 - 33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abedeus

I don't think they would be that great in Europe. I mean, what's the point? D2D is much cheaper and offers download-able content too. Or GOG for older games.

I'm not talking third party games, but purely Valve's own games

EPO Bot

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Aug 2006

Mo/N

11 May 2009 at 14:47 - 34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professor K

You can say what you want about the Wii, but I dare sare the DS is the finest system released this gen.

I think it is! Because it truely caters to casuals AND hardcores.

Professor K

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jan 2009

Mo/A

11 May 2009 at 14:52 - 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Back then

I guarantee the average WoW player has a lot more friends than you do. GW players are the worst kinds of nerds I've ever seen, everyone on here think's they're some kind of deep intellectual because they can theorycraft about a game....

I find it funny that Anet didn't even make the list. Looks bad for GW2.

Pretty sure NCSoft is counting ArenaNet. Just like the already mentioned Activision/Blizzard.

Riot Narita

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2007

11 May 2009 at 14:52 - 36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Back then

I find it funny that Anet didn't even make the list. Looks bad for GW2.

Does A-net not fall under NCsoft (which did make the list)?

Leek

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2009

W/

11 May 2009 at 14:55 - 37

I lol'd so hard that Sony online Entertainment didnt even make the list, after the butchery that they did to Star Wars Galaxies and planetside they dont even deserve to still be trading.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professor K

/snip so the Guitar Hero + WoW combo is pretty brutal!

blizzard did this as an april fools joke a couple of years ago, read Bard class:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Bard_(hero_class)

Apollo Smile

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2008

[LORE]

E/Mo

11 May 2009 at 14:57 - 38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leek

I lol'd so hard that Sony online Entertainment didnt even make the list, after the butchery that they did to Star Wars Galaxies and planetside they dont even deserve to still be trading.

blizzard did this as an april fools joke a couple of years ago, read Bard class:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Bard_(hero_class)

Yeah! That was awesome. This year's "Dance PvP" joke was pretty funny too.

Back then

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Apr 2009

11 May 2009 at 14:59 - 39

If you actually looked, NCsoft SOUTH KOREA made the list, not NCSoft west. And as was already mentioned, NCsoft is only a distributor.

Arduin

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: May 2005

The Netherlands

Limburgse Jagers [LJ]

R/

11 May 2009 at 15:16 - 40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magikarp

Nintendo makes pure garbage,

Nice Avatar. Nice Forum name.