Top Five Tuesday | Current Favorite Developers

So I will say it like this, who are your Top Five Current Favorite Developers. Of course, their resume of games/history comes into play and you can consider as far back as you'd like with that. But let's also take into account what they have done for you lately too. I don't know it is a pretty loose topic, you can weigh these aspects yourself. Try not to just say a publisher. Just saying Nintendo is cheating. Give me a team or studio within them. The internet should tell you which did Mario Galaxy and so on.

In terms of "what have they done for me lately":

1. Nintendo EAD - Shigeru Miyamoto's group (Zelda, Mario, etc).
2. Sega WOW - for Valkyria Chronicles, Sakura Wars, Skies of Arcadia, and many others.
3. Level-5 - Dragon Quest VIII and IX, Ni no Kuni, Rogue Galaxy, Jeanne d'Arc. They also did Professor Layton, but I'm not into puzzlers. I should try one.
4. Namco Tales Studio - Guess what they make?
5. Bethesda Game Studios - for Fallout 3 and New Vegas, although I think from a gameplay stance New Vegas is better and Obsidian deserves most of the credit for that one. I give the nod to Bethesda because of the hand they had in both games.

Honorable mentions: Platinum Games, AM2, Sega's Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (Yakuza), Monoliftsoft (Xenoblade), Mistwalker (The Last Story, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon), Netherrealm Studios (Mortal Kombat), Firaxis (XCOM), Grasshopper Manufacture.

However, my favorite developer of all time, beyond this current generation, is, and will probably always be Square. True, FFXIII didn't go quite as I'd hoped it would, and Square hasn't been as prolific as I'd like this gen, but the Final Fantasy series is still my favorite game series of all time, not to mention Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, Parasite Eve, Kingdom Hearts, and so many other games, and at least Square still makes sure you can play its back catalog on pretty much any system. So there's that.

I suggest Favorite Publisher as a Top 5 in the future.

1. Blizzard Entertainment - Sure it helps to have a game like WoW that allows them to spend years and years tweaking games until they are perfect... but they did something right with WoW to get to that point. So far I've loved every game they've put out. Yay, Blizzard.
2. Game Freak - The only series besides Starcraft and Warcraft I've been playing regularly since I was in grade school is Pokemon. So yeah. Gotta have this on here.
3. Kojima Productions - Metal Gear!?!
4. Rare - This is mainly pre-Microsoft. They made some of the my favorite games growing up.
5. Bioware- Mass Effect was so freaking cool. It completely consumed my life for three straight months as I played 1, 2 and 3 when 3 came out. Dragon Age Origins was sweet too... and I enjoyed playing KOTOR and Baldur's Gate back in the day. Gotta give some love to western RPG guys.

I want to take this time to recognize Free Radical Design. It would have been double dipping to put them in my top-5 with Rare up there (Goldeneye, Perfect Dark), but I would kill for a Timesplitters 4 or even an HD remake.

Last year this would have been easy. This year though...

1. Bioware- I almost didn't want to put them up here because of how much bullshit they've pulled lately. That still doesn't change that they made my favorite series and half of my ten favorite games are made by them. Overpriced DLC, online passes, and Dragon Age 2 aside, they're still my favorite developer.

2. Nintendo EAD- Take a look at their wiki page and see what they've made.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_Analysis_and_Development
That is fucking incredible. Not just the number of amazing games they made, but just how much variety between games they've had. Personal preferences aside, they're probably the best developer ever.

3. Game Freak- I'm a Pokefreak. Plain and simple. I love the formula so much that I've been fine playing basically the same game the past fifteen years. Drill Dozer was pretty sweet too.

4. Obsidian- These guys look to be the new Bioware. They have the bug reputation, but they didn't have enough time to finish Kotor 2 (which was still a fucking masterpiece, though a flawed one) or were dealing with Bethesda's buggy engine. I get the feeling South Park and Project Eternity are going to put them on the map.

5. Naughty Dog- So hit or miss, but when they hit it's so fucking good. I'll put up with Crash 1, Jak 2, and Uncharted 1/3 if it means we get more Crash 2/3's, Jak 1/3's, and Uncharted 2's. The Last of Us looks so good too.

Honorable mentions- Valve, Bungie, Kojima Productions, Sonic Team

Tie: Nintendo EAD/Retro Studios: this is to be expected from me. I've yet to play a bad Nintendo game from either.

Game Freak: have yet to grow tired of the formula and they deserve their own spot on this list. Pokemon X&Y!!!

WayForward: They make some pretty sweet 2D games, like Mighty Switch Force and Contra 4. I want to see a 2D Metroid and Mega Man from them.

Sumo Digital: These guys are just amazing, they know fan service and nostalgia right, while still delivering a great game. They are like Sega's Retro Studios.

Naughty Dog: While I haven't played all their games, I love the Uncharted games. Still waiting on that Uncharted kart racer.

Honorable mentions: Sega, Namco, Rare, Bethesda.

Naughty Dog: Uncharted is great, The Last of Us looks great... yeah

Valve: All of their games are great, and they're just too easy to like

Criterion: They make fun, if overly simple, arcade racers. And the best online multiplayer in racing games

From Software: even if Dark Souls is annoying online, it's awesome. And they have a fun, quirky sense of humor (the unstoppable beast they unleashed before Dark Souls' launch, everything in 3D Dot Game Heroes)

Nintendo EAD: obvious reasons

These are probably the only developers I'd buy from based on name alone since Bioware makes Dragon Age (bleh) Bethesda makes new Fallout games (meh) and Kojima never releases anything but Metal Gear

I feel like I'm the guy who likes mainstream radio, and all the Hipsters give me that look through their fake, shocking blue, horn-rimmed glasses...

Rockstar: I have been a longtime devotee of Rockstar Games. I care not if you do not like GTA, but they make some of the best games out there - both in technical prowess and in story and characters. Max Payne 3 is a fucking classic.

Visceral: They're primarily the Dead Space folks, but I also really enjoyed Dante's Inferno (It's on the list for my new Platinum Questing...), God of War clone or not. I'm curious to see how they handle Army of Two. DS3's co-op is actually pretty great (Got it on 360? Let's play!), so I think AoT will be strong on that groundwork...

Insomniac: Sure, Resistance lost some of the mojo that should have made it a truly great series (Having R2 mirror Halo and ditch the weapon wheel of the first was a HUGE mistake), but the studio that Ratchet built still makes some of the strongest, most enjoyable, and probably best-written games out there. FUSE has me scratching my head, but I'll give it a shot.

Naughty Dog: Uncharted - nuff said. I mean, aside from all the great games they've made, and how incredible Last of Us looks, I give them endless cred for Elena, which is probably one of the best female characters in modern gaming.

Nintendo EAD: The track record kind of speaks for itself.

1. Blizzard Entertainment: Pretty much the same reasons Matt said. Also, really great customer support and feedback.
2. Nintendo EAD
3. Bungie: I loved the Halo series since college and it remains my favorite FPS shooter series. I look forward to Destiny and whatever else they will put out.
4. Valve: Half-LIfe 2, the Portal series. I just recently obught Left 4 Dead 2 and I haven't played Team Fortress 2 but what I've played so far are some of the best gaming experiences I've had in the past 6 years.
5. Kojima Productions: !

Platinum Games would have definitely made my top 5 if there weren't all those others that stepped up. They're the best makers of pure action out there right now as far as I'm concerned.

I totally forgot Tokyo and Kyoto were both technically the same studio. So it still feels like cheating... haha. No other studio can match that amount of teams and output. It is what it is though.

Insomniac I am not sure where to slot. They were easily number 2 last gen, but they haven't been as great recently.

A Crack In Time is an instant classic, and even the first Resistance is pretty awesome. The second one wasn't so great, and I never got around to the third one.

...also, they need to stop with the weird Ratchet off-shoots (All4One, Full Frontal Assault). FUSE will kind of show where they are this generation. I, for one, am not a fan of the redesigned art style. The cartoony look of Overstrike 9 caught my eye way more than the been-there look of FUSE. But, it is Insomniac, and I do love them, so I'll give it a shot...

Oh I love A Crack in Time and I actually like Resistance 3 quite a bit (1 I liked too and 2 I did not, but I was more thinking recently), but yeah between the Ratchet spinoff type games (which are okay to good, but not great) and Fuse which doesn't look terribly interesting and if this is the gameplay that would have been in Oversrtike, I'm not sure the more cartoony look would help much. They'll still be in my five somewhere, but I feel like they have dropped a bit.

TripOpt55 wrote:Oh I love A Crack in Time and I actually like Resistance 3 quite a bit (1 I liked too and 2 I did not, but I was more thinking recently), but yeah between the Ratchet spinoff type games (which are okay to good, but not great) and Fuse which doesn't look terribly interesting and if this is the gameplay that would have been in Oversrtike, I'm not sure the more cartoony look would help much. They'll still be in my five somewhere, but I feel like they have dropped a bit.

A lot of companies seem to have declined in their quest to tap into the elusive "dudebro" market and become the next Call of Duty blockbuster. I was actually mildly interested in Overstrike, even though I'm not a fan of Insomniac, because it looked interesting. Fuse, not so much.

I'm having a really difficult time with this one. Lately it seems that most of my favorite developers have really let me down. Square being the most obvious, they've been a disorganized mess this generation. While I've still enjoyed a lot of their games the quality is not where it used to be. I've also lost a lot of faith in Bioware, I'm really disappointed in the direction they appear to be going. I just need to think about this more (´･_･`)

There was always a nagging doubt in my mind that Fuse's gameplay would be like this when it was still Overstrike, but the trailer pointed to a more chaotic game that balanced melee and gunplay which excited me. Last time I get excited over a trailer. I only see myself getting Fuse out of the bargain bin if other people here get it cheap or if I get a review copy.

What is it? What is with this generation's oddly balanced catalogs, and the closing of so many developers?

Behind the scenes, the economics of games must be hell. There's no other way to explain why every game is slowly moving in the same direction, how to justify certain design ideas (Season Passes, various DLC, and "micro-transactions - which, by the way, are not quite as evil as the internets would have you believe), and how same-y everything has become.

Risk/Reward doesn't seem like it quite has a place this gen. I wonder if it'll improve or get worse with the next round...

1. Level-5: DQVIII, Jeanne D'Arc, Ni no Kuni, Dark Cloud and several others I'd like to try.
2. Bungie: Mostly Halo, but I'm looking forward to what's next.
3. Naughty Dog: Uncharted and Last of Us looks pretty exciting.
4. Kojima Productions: MGS and I want to try Lords of Shadow and Zone of the Enders.
5. Team ICO: Ico, SoTC and, hopefully, Last Guardian.

Team Ninja and Square Product Development Division 4 (FFTactics, FFXII) would have topped that list until certain figures left those companies and now nothing they do has my attention.

Going to give this a try:

1. Naughty Dog: Made some of my favorite games and series ever.
2. Nintendo EAD: So good.
3. Crystal Dynamics: Really loved their work for a while now.
4. Insomniac Games: I'm still going to put them in here. Still made A Crack in Time and some other good games this gen. They've been a little meh lately though I feel. I need a new exciting game from them.
5. Media Molecule: Really loved the LittleBigPlanet games and Tearaway is looking good. This could swap for one of the below though. I have no conviction in this final choice.

Honorable Mentions: Klei: Absolutely loved Mark of the Ninja and enjoyed both Shank games. Me and my friend played an absurd amount of Shank 2 co-op as well.
Valve: I like their games.
Sucker Punch: Loved the Sly games, but Infamous didn't hit me the same way.
Ubisoft Montreal: Lots of great stuff, but too many stinkers too. But still: AC2, the PoP titles, Far Cry 3, SC: Conviction. Some good ones in there still.
HouseMarque: Super Stardust and Outland were pretty great.

5. Bioware - no matter what people think EA has done to them they still release great games.
4. Blizzard - really cant argue against the quality of their games. Well I guess Diablo 3 hasnt had the greatest reception but I haven't played it yet.
3. Bethesda - could be a contender for number one if they ever figure out how to not release buggy ass games.
2. Naughty Dog - The Uncharted series has moved them way up my list.
1. Kojima Productions - surprise, surprise. The MGS series alone is enough to make them my number one.

Honorable Mention: Polyphony Digital - GT series is top notch!

hey guys!

im sorta just going to base my list on my favorite games, and let the chips fall where they may. also, I don't know the name of development teams or anything, so Im just giving the big company.

1 capcom- come on. street fighter.

2 rockstar- they do what activision/ubisoft etc don't-- no annual sequels, they take their time and put out well crafted products (even if they're not to you taste).

3 nintendo- link to the past, ocarina and majora's mask, mario kart, dr mario,

4 square- the old, obvious stuff.

5 irrational- I give them major props for getting my wife into shooters. and yeah, infinite's going to be awesome.

Rubes! Good to see you here.

I see Rubes took my offer, glad to see you again buddy.

Captain N wrote:I see Rubes took my offer, glad to see you again buddy.

heck yeah dude. I was all "self, quit being weak and jump on that!"

I wrote a big ass response to this and then I hit the wrong button and it deleted it. So...here, without reasons, my top 5.

1. Valve
2. ATLUS
3. Bioware
4. Level 5
5. Irrational Games

Going to let this one go until Next Tuesday, but just to kick up some conversation, do you see any up and coming developers sort of breaking out soon? Maybe just a game even not a great one has caught your eye and you expect to see them really shine soon? Like the next Rocksteady or Media Molecule or something?

Well, I put them on my list and mentioned it there, but I get the feeling Obsidian's going to hit it big with South Park and Project Eternity. I can see the same happening with Volition and Saints Row 4 with the publisher shift also.

Maybe Avalanche if their (rumoured) Mad Max game is as awesome as Just Cause 2, but with better controls

I never did this one....

1. Insomniac - They haven't released a game that is my favorite, but they've released enough good games to get the number 1 spot I think. All 3 Resistance games were fun (even 2, I did enjoy playing it despite it being the weaker of the 3), and they released 5 Ratchet games. The first 3 were the best, but even the last two were fun to play. They put out 8 games, and a 9th is on the way. That's really good considering they're not Activision, EA, or Ubisoft. Kudos Insomniac!

2. Naughty Dog - They would have gotten the #1 spot if they would have put out more than 4 games this gen. All three Uncharted games are fantastic, and even The Last of Us looks amazing. If someone was to offer me 9 good games or 4 great games, I'd probably take 9 good games.

3. Level-5 - They haven't put out a lot of games, but what they have put out are great. Ni No Kuni is fantastic, and I loved Dragon Quest VIII and IX just as much (VIII came out in 2006 I believe, so it is kind of this gen). Jeanne D'arc was a great PSP game that no one really played as well. They're a good developer, they just need to make another Dark Cloud game.

4. Guerrilla Games - I love Killzone. I love 1, 2, and 3. I've logged a lot of hours into the multiplayer in 2 and 3, and I'll continue to log in hours. My favorite shooter.

5. Media Molecule - Little Big Planet is great, and to me it was a really unique game. Those games are practically never ending. Also, Tearaway looks fantastic.