NCSoft ranks 62 in game studio study

Again, this has what to do with Guild Wars 2?

Volition is better than Team 17 because of Descent: FreeSpace - The Great War & FreeSpace 2

FreeSpace > Worms

Nintendo caters to children. Solely. Basically post-SNES, Nintendo has come out with only a handful of original, innovative games. They limit themselves crazily with the systems they design, and more importantly, the image they try to create. As for opening the industry to females.. what???

oh, and Codemasters, Valve, and Ubisoft all make tons of kids/E games.. idk what you're talking about. Ubisoft became famous primarily for their kids games.

And I'll debate till I'm blue in the face that Nintendo made a handful of good games, and all of them were pre-Gamecube. The SNES is and always will be one of my favorite systems ever. It's that ever since Gamecube and beyond, Nintendo has done nothing but the same old tricks, a few gimmicks, and markets the same characters nearly 20 years after they were made.

VALVE? You mean like where they make games you can blow your enemies to bloody pieces, or vomit at them/constrict with a tongue/beat to a small pulp?

When was the last time they made a kid-friendly game? Oo

lol club penguin a few a way

29 = JAGEX ...AM I RIGHT IN SAYING THIS IS THE RunESCAPE PEOPLEEEE AHH
Also Nintendo has a cartoonish nature ...why u recon they do well though? big ninty fan here dont mind the other consoles that much though.

BTW Where would Sega come under?...or wouldn't they of made the cut. MADWORLD is nintendo/sega and that im tellin you people is not a kiddy game

DS had a 53% female user base. Wii had a 51% female user base, two years ago. Its probably even higher now. Also, a game being made for everyone doesn't equal kids only. Only people who grew up in the Playstation era would say otherwise.

Blizzard still owns all, no surprise there to be honest. The Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo series together with Battlenet brought the company at the top. The perfect timing of making their first mmo (even though I passed on WoW) prooved to be a succes too. At the time people were saying: 'they're working on an mmo wtf'.

Now they're preparing for their next gen of RTS and hack & slash. 'It is good to be the king' : Mel Brooks.

You see the same style in Arenanet, I never liked the link with NCSoft though.

Bioware at 77 ? Are they insane ? Who makes up these numbers......

The only thing i agree with is blizzard as number one and capcom as number ~five

Nintendo owns Pretty much only the Wii and the DS have games that are truly different this gen, the other consoles pretty much have the same old shooters/RPG/sports formula with an extra high price tag just for the graphics.

Its the same reason I like Blizzard and Anet, game companies that put out truly fun games without over the top graphics that caters to rich peeps.

Well, other then Biowares position, is there anything wrong with the rest?

Well, yea, where exactly are Firaxis Games?

Dont see them anywhere.

Huh media Molecule beat Lionhead Oo

and level 5, quite odd for a newish company. Still they have done amazing work.

Annyone else feel this this is a geeky FHM's 100 sexiest women? :P

Ya Epic Games at 9! No real surprises to me in the top couple.

You knoiw whats even worse than Bioware being at 77? Being beaten by "The Cooking Mama Company"

I'm amazed that anybody would treat this report as anything realistic or believable. There doesn't seem to be any statistical backing for the rankings other than some editor's personal gut feeling.

If you read the article itself, Treyarch is ranked at #7, but Infinity Ward is ranked at #8. This is totally ridiculous.

The justification for Treyarch's ranking is because they released Call of Duty: World at War last year, which is the latest CoD game and it sold a lot of copies last year based on its name alone. Even the article mentions that neither Call of Duty: World at War nor Quantum of Solace were all that good of games. But because CoD's game sales were huge, they got this ranking.

Infinity Ward, who made the best Call of Duty games out there got bumped to #8. The reason: They didn't release a game in 2008. That's it. Doesn't matter that CoD4 is the greatest selling game in 2007 or quite possibly the most popular FPS game ever made.

So despite that you own a franchise and you have millions of fans and made tons of money, if you don't make a game one year then you are somehow not as "bankable". Not to mention that Infinity Ward has already announced that they are making Modern Warfare 2.

Thisthisthisthisthisthis!!

(I'm sorry; I just *had* to jump in the Nintendo subject, as that was my childhood. The SNES is still my favorite console ever!)

Ever since the Gamecube came out, I've been disgusted by Nintendo. Although the Wii looks enticing, I refuse to buy it for the sole reason I don't want to spend another few hundred dollars on a console where I'll probably only end up with one or two perhaps even moderate games, and the rest will be the same "a five-year old can beat this game in two seconds" superhappyfun gimmicky repeat games that Nintendo is now known for.

I was all into Super Mario and the Legend of Zelda back during the SNES (that was my first console), and even all the crappy spinoffs like Mario Party 56 (or whatever number they have now), Kart, and Tennis. I also liked Pokemon, too (and do NOT get me started on talking about that devolving series, LOL!). But man, does it get old, which is why I no longer care about nearly anything Nintendo puts out anymore.

Twilight Princess a few years ago renewed my faith in Nintendo just a little, but even then it was still the same "here, hit this boss 3 times over and over again with absolutely no challenge/not hard in the least"-game that I hate (I still think that game is just a reworked Ocarina of Time/maybe even LttP with the layout going on). Whatever happened to those creepy, hard bosses you would see on the SNES that took bloody ages to beat? The temples that were mazes that had you running around in circles? The compelling storylines that drove you never to put the game down (or games that were just simply fun platformers!)? I can't find anything charming about Nintendo anymore. It's always the same driveling plots and "wash rinse repeat" gimmicks, if they even bother to put out something serious that isn't some stupid racing, dancing, or sports game.

I am considering getting a DS though, but I'm *very* hesitant because I'm not sure what games are out for it other than those cruddy Pokemon games, rehashes from the N64/Gamecube, and games like, "Barbie Dressup 3" and "Deal or No Deal". The only reason why I really want it is because I want "Partners in Time" for Mario.

Sorry, talks about Nintendo always get me excited. I'm happy I found someone else who feels the same way.

You realize the entire industry is one rehash after the other?

Street Fighter, Madden, The Sims, Guitar Hero, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, Soul Calibur, Grand Theft Auto, Rock Band, Dynasty Warriors, Call of Duty, Sonic, and every other series would like word with you.

*And Mega Man, how the Hell did I forget him...

Ryssul, you need a DS. Warning incoming huge list of my DS games.

Rhythm Heaven
Pokemon Platinum Version
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
Retro Game Challenge
Chrono Trigger
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Final Fantasy IV
Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
The World Ends with You
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Sonic Rush Adventure
Planet Puzzle League
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
New Super Mario Bros.
Metroid Prime: Hunters
Tetris DS
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Mario Kart DS
Sonic Rush
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Meteos
Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Super Mario 64 DS
Kirby Superstar Ultra

Not to sound rude, but the DS is the worst gaming system ever made imo. Money-hungry Nintendo and it's junk updates to their crazy-expensive handhelds makes me sick. The worst part? The Gameboy Advance=easily (along with the PSP and Turbo graphics color) was one of the best handhelds ever... ESPECIALLY with the addition of the GBMicro.. which I own 2 of to this day. The games were pretty good on average (I'd give about 35% good games.. which isn't.. bad) and the quality was.. well.. Nintendo. The DS? Lowest percentage of good games ever in history for any system. I read somewhere that it's less than 8%. EIGHT PERCENT making more than and 8/10 or 4/5? Sad. It's like 1,000 titles, and over 900 of them being total trash. Oh, and $150+ dollars? AND a new version of itself coming out every 4-6 months? For nearly NO new features?? Wow. Gj Nintendo. That's why the Wii is failing now that people realize that the PS3 and 360 are far superior and not crippled by some gimmick, like a handheld with two cameras and no backwards compatibility, or a system with retarded remote controls for an input device.

And you just lost any credibility you could have had.
Good day, to you sir.

Looks like Magicarp is mad because he got no good moves in Pokemon. Either that or Nintendo murdered his family.

I haven't played most of those games, but with the few that I have, the thing is that they are able to keep the greatness going on, despite the fact that some things are the same. Final Fantasy may be as old as dirt, but they continue to pump out games with intriguing and evolving storylines that are different from the past ones, new battle systems, characters and enemies, etc. Same with Megaman. The games have the same format, but the levels are always different, new bosses to battle, new storylines. In the Sims, they are always adding in new functions, [story] modes, furniture and skins, objectives... That's why they're so popular still. I certainly wouldn't buy the Sims 3 if it was exactly the same as the Sims 2 only it had 10 new furniture pieces! They're adding in so much more cool new stuff that it's a big improvement on the past game! Nintendo, I find, no longer does this, or if they do, they don't do it well!

How many times can you rework Mario Party? Maybe infinitely, but it seems Nintendo doesn't even try to make them interesting anymore. Four was the last one I got and I couldn't freaking take it. It was stale from the opening cutscene! It's like they didn't even try to think of a storyline, like in the previous three; instead this Party Cube comes out of *nowhere* (literally. it comes out of the freaking sky. Randomly. While Mario and friends are just standing out in the grass one day sniffing their butts or something; who knows?) and they go inside and play minigames on rehashed maps! Yay! I mean, I could understand if they brought something new in, but it's the same old maps and games, only with a new coat of paint on it. A coat of lead paint! Oh look! Another tropical beach map! Don't try change it up or anything, like give us a map inside of a giant cheep-cheep's belly, or one in the middle of Dark Land or something. Even the minigames were the same things over and over again only the settings were different (don't skateboard away from lava! Let's just change the elements around and let's ski away from an avalanche! YEAH!). Nothing innovative.

Same with both the Zelda games (Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess). Here. Go collect these three gems (make sure they're of the elements of earth, fire, and water!) and then go collect seven of these next gems and then go fight Ganon. Yawn. Same format in every game. We've been seeing this since Link to the Past. If you want to make a new Zelda game, fine! But at least change it up a little bit, like in Majora's Mask! In that, we simply had to do four temples, but it was in 72 hours or else the world would be destroyed. Big break! I loved that game because the mechanics were so different, plus the storyline was changed as well to something never seen before. Darker, totally different bosses and lore...

I haven't played any of the Mario platforming games past SM64, so I can't comment. Same with Pokemon. The last one I got was Sapphire, but the storyline is completely weird to me as well (Still the same repeat, nothing new "go catch Pokemon and then defeat the gym leaders/Elite Four" plot, but throw in some random bad guys who want to raise the ocean and cause a worldwide flood! Here is an example of newness not done well. A contrived, horrible, and STUPID storyline just so we can get a new legendary!).

The 3095930853 Pokemon they keep fartin' out have lost their charm and sense to me as well. Again, this is an example of new, but not well done (IMO)! A psychic rock?! Are they just mixing types up now? At least things like ground/rock types made sense. And why do they all look like robots and have form(e)s? Pokemon gods?! (That being said, I am still interested in trying out Platinum...)

But it's kind of like Guild Wars. Same rehashed you're-our-only-hope-Obi, save-the-world plots, but the games are significantly different which each campaign. Change of pace, storyline, characters, and some mechanics that make each game new and exciting. With Nintendo, I just haven't seen too much of that, and too much of that that has been relatively well done. That's why I too switched over to the Playstation console after the N64/during the GC era, because I swear, Nintendo is just churnin' out the same cut-and-paste crap with only a new title and graphics tacked on to it. And I also can't afford them coming up with new consoles every five seconds, only to find out they're still spewing out the same gimmicks in every game. It makes me sad, because I'm still a fan of some of their big namemakers, but they completely bore me now because Ninty refuses to do anything new with them. At least the crappy next-gen Sonic games give you significantly new settings, plotlines, mechanics in every game (we went from runnin' around gettin' rings to hedgehogs packin' heat, ladies and gentlemen).

Do I make tl;dr posts? I really don't mean to; I'mma chatty person, I will admit, and have problems cutting things out. And thank you for the DS list, Apollo! I will definitely check it out! I am excited to get one, but just equally as nervous!

Okay, I will try to refrain from the offtopic posts again.

How did Treyarch beat out Infinity Ward... CoD3... enough said.

Infinity Ward developed 3 games sofar, Treyarch developed 20. Do the math.
Quality isn't the only standard on the list...

It should be...

If this is the case, then ArenaNet's Guild Wars, with three separate games plus one expansion, should be twice as high of a rating over Blizzard's World of Warcraft which is just a single game with two expansions.

There is an obvious bias toward certain developers on the list, as the list was certainly not arranged on statistics like revenue generated, games sold, or hours played. I am amazed that this group somehow gets so much attention when they do not list the methods that they used to determine how they arranged the companies or defined "bankable" companies.

Personally, I would bank a lot more on Infinity Ward than Treyarch, as Treyarch has been responsible for some of the worst games out there. I mean, how bad do you have to mess up a franchise that after you make Call of Duty 3, people go back and play the older Call of Duty 2 (by Infinity Ward) because your game is so bad.

I'll beat you or anyone else on this forum in a Pokemon battle online any day. All authentic, non-cheat Pokemon, no legendary or overused garbage either

Also, Shigeru Miyamoto stabbed my dad.

LOL @ the joke list, cod5 beats cod2 and cod4? nice joke. + cod3 was shit

CoD4 for lyfe.

LOL shootan games

The list is a joke (right?), Jagex is in there and above many, many, many, better studios.

I totally agree about Mario Party. 1 was the really good, 2 was also excellent as well, but once 3 came out, forget it. It has lost it's charm, something that Pokemon has as well I think. I have Diamond, but never finished it since I got bored less than half way through. That and I feel they're making too complicated... EVs/IVs/new physical and special types separation/the sheer amount of Pokemon to begin with. It was so much more fun when there was only 1 or 2 games and you had to work within that, now I feel it's too big.

Pokemon Emerald was honestly the best Pokemon game ever imo. It had tons of playtime, strategical measures and styles, pokemon themselves, and advanced graphics for being a Nintendo handheld game. It was also the first to really separate a lot of the mechanics that the more adult crowd was looking for in an RPG. That's just me though. Oh and I totally agree with Sylverhart on Mario Parties 1-3,231,231. Same with.. oh I don't know..

Zelda
Mario World
Mario Kart
Mario Sports anything
Mario
Metroid
Kirby
Pokemon
Donkey Kong
Star Fox
F-Zero
Anything "Smash" related (are these even really "fighting" games??)


If Nintendo wants to cater to a kid-friendly crowd, fine, that's more than fine.. but make some games that are one: challenging for adults.. and two: have more than some button mashing and random selections to complete something. Do us all a favor and port us Mother 1,2, and 3 like we've been asking for for nearly 10 years now too.

And to the Dreamcast discussion... yes! Yes, it was heavily underrated but I loved it nonetheless. It's still sat at home. :')

You do realise that sales of the Wii have been unsustainably high for a ridiculous amount of time, and a dip in sales (while still selling strong) might also mean that many people already have one, so don't need to buy another? There is a lot of Nintendo QQ bullshit in this thread. Why? From what I've read, because Nintendo isn't producing games to the exact specification of a couple of "adults".

As a side point, there is nothing even remotely scary on the SNES. Nostalgia's all well and good, but not when it clouds your judgment.

You have obviously never played F-Zero GX... That games difficulty could bring a grown man to tears.

The Wii, first off, is obviously Nintendo's flagship, which is a shoe-in for "old school" gamers (people that played any of Nintendo's other products from the past that think playing Mario Bros makes them a "gamer"). It's high sales are a rouse when in comparison to what people actually play, like, and buy. The Wii's game suffer from it's awful compatibility issues, and surely is hit with that dumb controller. It's user friendliness is only paired with it's redundancy, and to make matters worse, it's games fall into an abysmal category of horrid failures. It has something astonishing like a 12% approval ratio of good-to-bad games. That's awful. Look at a review site.. look at really anything beside Nintendo Power and you'll see this instantly. Nintendo's own die-hards are even tired of the super shatty games they been pushing. Madworld? TERRIBLE. SSBB? Button-mashing garbage. Zelda TTP? Snoozefest. All part of their flagship games too? Wow.. lame. PS3, PC, and XBox all have extremely open studios and game acceptances, allowing them to be WAY more diverse and feed a little to almost every crowd. Their graphics are at least from this decade, and the general amount of technology involved is at least deserving of the steeper price tags of today's economy. Not like the overhyped, overpriced fun box with it's $50 controllers, $20 add-ons for said controller, $20 "classic" controller, and so on.



I'm not saying that any game I listed or that has come out isn't "hard" or anything, but being brainlessly difficult isn't the answer either. Strategy and tactical thinking is something most Nintendo games flat out don't offer. Golden Sun, Advanced Wars, yeah, stuff like that take some thought, but that's some diamond in the rough example when it comes to Nintendo.

^ Metroid and Fire Emblem come to mind as well. The Metroid Prime games have so many puzzles in em' they can barely be called a FPS.

Though Bethesda Softworks would have been higher, haven't even heard of some of the ones that are ahead of it lol.

Agreed. Others to note: Earthbound, Paper Mario, and Super Mario RPG. Mario/Luigi Super Saga was good too.

but 15 dorrars is probably more than his allowance, so you can't really blame him for calling it an insane amount of money.