Favorite Gaming Company

[FancyNick]

I've noticed a lot of talk on here about what company is messing what up and I thought it was time for a bit of a change up. What gaming companies do you love for the work they do or the services they provide? This includes publishers, developers, retailers, or anything else you can think of.

I'll start with my own personal favorites.

Valve: I know, cliche. I use their Steam service all the time and it's a very convenient hub for my PC gaming. I am also a big fan of the games they release.

Double Fine Productions: I have been a fan of theirs ever since I played Psychonauts when I was a kid. Since then they've proven to be a very "fun" company with some neat ideas. Their art style is charming and their games are always fun.

Nintendo: Warning: I have very thick nostalgia glasses on. I grew up with this company. I have been playing on there systems since I was about six years old and they have produced some of my favorite games of all time. After the Wii came out I sort of lost track with the company and instead joined my friends on the 360 and PS3. However, I got a 3DS XL a few months back and I have been enjoying it very much. It does help that they started to actually release more games for the thing.

So how about you guys? Any company have a special place in your heart?

P.S. Try to keep it civil, I don't want this devolving into some sort of argument thread over each others choices.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Clover Studios/Platinum Games

These guys know how to make games for me.

They don't take themselves too seriously, they have ridiculous amount of style, and character oozes from every pore of the titles they make.

 

[Aeshi]

FROM Software, without question

They've made Dark/Demon's Souls, Ninja Blade and (most importantly) Armored Core! What's not to love?

 

[Foolery]

Used to be a big fan of Tripwire Interactive the guys that did Killing Floor and Red Orchestra. They got kinda silly with the DLCs. I still like Nintendo, for Game Freak and Pokemon.

 

[shrekfan246]

Blizzard. They hooked me on the line with World of Warcraft, then reeled me in Diablo III, Starcraft, and Warcraft III. And I don't even really like RTS games. D:

Take-Two Interactive is getting up there, too. Between Bioshock, XCOM, and the laid-back nature they appear to have toward their development studios, I've just got a really positive impression of them. There's also Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne, but I don't particularly care for those franchises.

 

[nevarran]

I'll have to go with CD Projekt Red. Their stance on the DRM issue, the unnecessary muliplayer, the way they give the content from the enhanced editions for free, to everyone who owns the games... And The Witcher games are amazing.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Always enjoyed Firaxis games (basically Civilization and the new XCOM)

Introversion I like, admittedly mostly for Darwinia, but I'll like them even more so if, when they finish Prison Architect, they decide to release it DRM-free...

2K/Irrational. Yeah, I'm a Bioshock fanboy. Loved Bioshock, Loved Bioshock Infinite. Even liked Bioshock 2. Not totally a fan of Infinite selling DLC season passes, but I don't have to buy those. Loved it loved it loved it. Hopefully there might be some new IP in the pipeline?

Clover Studios/Platinum Games

These guys know how to make games for me.

They don't take themselves too seriously, they have ridiculous amount of style, and character oozes from every pore of the titles they make.

'Character' is a wonderful thing for a game to have. They've been going up and up in my estimation since Bayonetta. Alright so Metal Gear Rising isn't *quite* as involving as I'd like, but it still makes my brain go 'YES!'.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Atlus. 1-They make Persona games, 2-they are one of very few publishers that give chance to some wacky, underradar games that might not see the light of day otherwise.

Nival and Katauri. Two Russian companies that I closely associate together because they mostly develop awesome turn-based strategy games. Nival made Silent Storm, Heroes of Might and Magic 5 and just recently Prime World: Defenders (awesome tower defense game with mix of card collectibles), and Katauri made new King's Bounty series that I would strongly recommend to anyone who loves good humor and solid turn based mechanics.

 

[Ulkjen]

Tripwire Interactive. Best FPS on market right now has to be Red Orchestra 2. Killing Floor is amazing as well. Wish more devs would look at these guys or at least for these guys to get a hell ofa lot more sales.

Blizzard. Even though I have since quit WoW the game reeled me in for nearly 9 years. Never raided but it was a great time burner for me. Many good memories. Starcraft 1 was also amazing and i loved all the user generated content that was the UMS games. (Or was it UCS?) Diablo 2 had me for a few years as well... I also loved my time with WC3 and its use map settings games. Especially the RPGs.

Lastly, Valve. As a game company I enjoyed their games but sadly they arent the best to me. However, their Steam platform gives them a leg up because they give me a lot of my other favorite games. Red orchestra 2 and Killing Floor for example...

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Relic Entertainment. They have never let me down, and they don't punish players for not having the most up to date expansion packs. Plus, best voice work ever.

 

[triggrhappy94]

Bethy.
With all the bugs in their games it's like they're a dopey neighbor in a sit-com.
Oooh Bethy, you did it again.

 

[LetalisK]

Obsidian, 2K, Bethesda, Bioware(sue me), Blizzard, in no particular order. Valve isn't on the list because I love them for Steam, not their games.

We need the March Madness competition back.

 

[Marik Bentusi]

Valve because Valve

2k because Bioshocks which I think have only gotten better and better, and because their publishing arm went through with Spec Ops The Line - even tho the Multiplayer was forced, kinda like with BS2. And like with BS2, I blissfully ignored it.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Nintendo. I've grown to appreciate not just how good their games are but generally how much better they treat their customers in recent years. If 2013 is even the slightest indication of where they are going in upcoming years, I can rest assured I'll be happy with my WiiU and 3DS.

Platinum. These guys are insane, and I mean that in the best possible way. They handle combat better than just about anyone in the industry, can handle scale perfectly and are more than willing to make rule of cool be used to handwave any logical problems. They feel like a remnant of the PS2/Gamecube era, and in this current market, that's a breath of fresh air.

Valve. I might not be crazy about all the things they do (TF2 economy, Greenlight), but like Nintendo those mistakes seem more born out of curiosity or experimentation, not contempt or distrust in their consumers like most of the industry. Also helps that their games are really good.

 

[THeFraz]

Valve - I think their games are good. Yep.

Team ICO - Shadow of the Colossus is my favorite game, and Ico is pretty damn good as well. Hopefully they reveal the Last Guardian at E3 (I won't get my hopes up though)

thatgamecompany - I love flOw, Flower, and Journey so much.

 

[Akytalusia]

team shanghai alice, by far. owns the eastern doujin world, sadly lacking in western fans though.

 

[Tom_green_day]

Bethesda. Fallout 3 and Skyrim especially I've loved so much. The worlds are so immersive and well-designed, and are (in my opinion) the only games that you can truly role-play in. I'm a Bethesda fanboy and proud.
Bioware as well. Only played the Mass Effect trilogy but 3 is my second favourite game. The stories are engaging, characters really interesting and in 3 at least, the gameplay is really smooth.
I like 2K as a publisher. Borderlands, XCOM, GTA, Red Dead Redemption and more. They have good games, but they don't have a negative reputation like other publishers. Great show.

 

[Ishigami]

I'm not a fan of publishers. To me they are mostly responsible for the business part of video games and I often find myself disagreeing with their politics.
For example Bethesda, which was names here, is currently accused of having run Prey 2 into the ground on purpose by using shady business tricks in order to acquire Human Head Studios cheap.
So I stick with the creative part of video games: Developers.

One of my favourites is still BioWare. Having developed such all time classics such as BG, MDK2, NWN, SW:KotOR as well as newer but still acclaimed titles such as JE, ME and DA:O I will certainly will look back at them with nostalgia.
Certainly they have received a lot of flack in recent releases especially the ending of ME3, DA2 or SW:ToR but I find myself mostly blaming publisher influence rather than the actually developer. Not to mention that I still enjoyed DA2, 98% of ME3 and I am still playing SW:ToR.
I hope that now that EA got what they wanted with the XO that maybe BioWare is able to return to the high quality games they used to make before they had to bog down to publisher policies.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Nintendo. With several franchises I love, and their focus on the gameplay over everything else really appeals to me. They have their problems and off years, and despite using their flagship franchises so much, they use them well enough to keep me interested.

 

[thesilentman]

team shanghai alice, by far. owns the eastern doujin world, sadly lacking in western fans though.

What team? If we're talking about one guy, sure! =D

Yes, I like Zun too. The Touhou series is fun as all hell, even though Lunatic humiliates me. x-D

As for others, me loves some From Software. Those guys really know how to make fantastic experiences in games, as evidenced by the Souls series being really damn good. I just want a true Dark Souls II From, and then you have me for life! =)