Poll: Best major gaming company.
- Thread starter Nicholas Chandler-Yates
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Out of this list, Nintendo with Valve being a close second. Nostalgia is a big factor in this, but more important is Nintendo's focus on good games (even if they are sequels) where every other major company seems to want to expand into things that have nothing to do with gaming.
If it wasn't major companies, then Fromsoft, mostly because of the souls series and Miyazaki being a genius.
If it wasn't major companies, then Fromsoft, mostly because of the souls series and Miyazaki being a genius.
I decline all your choices and say that Atlus and Platinum Games are currently the best studios in the industry. If I had to pick though I'd say Ubisoft. They've really been upping the quality of their games lately.
Out of those options? Probably Valve, because they had a large hand in building up PC gaming. EA probably make the games that I enjoy the most, but everything else about them tends to poison what should be a large amount of goodwill. It isn't a great selection, I guess. Which is a bit saddening 
I'd go for CD Projekt Red, Bethesda or Atlus if we were allowed to pick any company. Paradox Interactive might get a mention when they aren't shamelessly making Crusader Kings II DLC, although they probably aren't considered a major company.
I'd go for CD Projekt Red, Bethesda or Atlus if we were allowed to pick any company. Paradox Interactive might get a mention when they aren't shamelessly making Crusader Kings II DLC, although they probably aren't considered a major company.
I didn't end up voting for Valve as the best gaming company as it's been a while since they have really come out with a game I've wanted. Yea, Steam is great and all, but if we are talking about the games I want to play I actually went with Ubi, even with their lack of concern for the Pc it seems at times, they did come out with Far Cry 3 and are going to be coming out with Watchdogs.
I voted for Sony but only for Naughty Dog specifically. If I were more of a PC gamer or less of a console gamer I would have gone for Valve though, it was pretty close. 2k and Ubisoft both follow shortly after for their decent catalogue of games (particularly Borderlands and Rayman).
In terms of company policy, there isn't really a company I like there (I can't pin it down but Steam drives me nuts, I feel like it's grating my brain whenever I use it, which is a lot. Steam always feels like a skinner box in my head, you know it's not good for you but you keep being driven to it for the rewards. It doesn't help that they've been adding literal skinner boxes. I actually prefer Origin because at least Origin doesn't feel the need to constantly remind you that it exists*). CD Projekt, despite me not liking the Witcher, is probably the 'nicest' company there is.
Then the developer I like the most is Obsidian, but they're independent. So then that leaves Sucker Punch and Naughty Dog, both owned by Sony. Combine that with them supporting far out there games like Little Big Planet and Heavy Rain, plus the honest and genuine indie push, I think they win this.
*Even if that's only because EA are incompetent. I really hated it when they announced they were going to try and be more like Valve and offer something to users. I want my digital distribution platform to exist as little as possible, not constantly 'offer' me stuff to try and induce me to buy more of their stuff
Then the developer I like the most is Obsidian, but they're independent. So then that leaves Sucker Punch and Naughty Dog, both owned by Sony. Combine that with them supporting far out there games like Little Big Planet and Heavy Rain, plus the honest and genuine indie push, I think they win this.
*Even if that's only because EA are incompetent. I really hated it when they announced they were going to try and be more like Valve and offer something to users. I want my digital distribution platform to exist as little as possible, not constantly 'offer' me stuff to try and induce me to buy more of their stuff
Out of these gotta give it to valve just based on the service they provide and the policies they have but honestly I am not the big on the games they make. They are ok but I feel like they get more praise then they deserve. CD-Projekt red is also really solid and has great ethic. Bethesda puts out games I really like and I never get a feeling like they are trying to rip me off or lie to me.
I can't vote for Valve. I love Steam and all it's done for PC gaming, but it'd be like voting for Game or HMV or something. I don't like Valve's games. I quite like Portal, but the Half Life series is very overrated to me (actually I liked the first one, but I think the second is a technical wank-fest with no substance in the gameplay). I've looked at DOTA2 and it seems like they're actively trying to breed the most elitist and hostile gaming community ever seen. They've developed nothing that I've really loved, other than maybe Portal, and they have nothing that I'm really looking forward to. To me they're a distributor with a history in development.
Other companies... well I've always liked Blizzard's games, but recently they have big issues with ethics. I'm really into Gearbox just from the Borderlands series, but they're so inconsistent as a developer and you never know who's actually made a game with "Gearbox" on the cover. I'll go with Bethesda, because at least I know what I'm getting from them. Yeah, they usually release games with a multitude of game-breaking bugs that take weeks to fix, but I'm used to that. I expect great worlds, and they deliver.
Other companies... well I've always liked Blizzard's games, but recently they have big issues with ethics. I'm really into Gearbox just from the Borderlands series, but they're so inconsistent as a developer and you never know who's actually made a game with "Gearbox" on the cover. I'll go with Bethesda, because at least I know what I'm getting from them. Yeah, they usually release games with a multitude of game-breaking bugs that take weeks to fix, but I'm used to that. I expect great worlds, and they deliver.
Konami of Japan
They've given 10+ years of music gaming goodness with their entire bamani line of music games.
I'll be stepping on arrows for the rest of my life because of this innovation from Konami.
They've given 10+ years of music gaming goodness with their entire bamani line of music games.
I'll be stepping on arrows for the rest of my life because of this innovation from Konami.
Voted Blizzard due to their absolutely fantastic games.
SC2 > SC
Diablo 3 > Diablo 2.
WarCraft 3
Their only current age gaming franchise I don't enjoy is WoW which never warranted any play beyond the trial for me. I love how this company puts so much support in their one-time purchase games. We get patch changes that most companies would charge DLC to receive.
My runner up company is Bioware/EA.
They've done a lot to bring great story telling and characters into gaming while delivering some really fantastic titles.
SC2 > SC
Diablo 3 > Diablo 2.
WarCraft 3
Their only current age gaming franchise I don't enjoy is WoW which never warranted any play beyond the trial for me. I love how this company puts so much support in their one-time purchase games. We get patch changes that most companies would charge DLC to receive.
My runner up company is Bioware/EA.
They've done a lot to bring great story telling and characters into gaming while delivering some really fantastic titles.
Out of the options given, definitely Valve, by just a hair.
Sony may have gotten my vote if it weren't for the "we'll develop backwards compatibility, but lock it off so everyone has to rebuy their games" BS. Other than possible technical reasons, that's not really defensible. Still nowhere as evil as the crap Microsoft has pulled off (or at least tried too anyway) though.
I would have also considered giving Nintendo a vote, since our views of used games apparently mirror each other, but their region locking combined with buying up the publishing rights to games only for them to stay in Japan is just fucking stupid IMO. I honestly don't even think Bayonetta 2 is safe. In fact, I would bet money it wont make it to NA after they pulled this kind of shit with the Wii last gen.
All the other publishers listed deserve the hate they get more or less.
Sony may have gotten my vote if it weren't for the "we'll develop backwards compatibility, but lock it off so everyone has to rebuy their games" BS. Other than possible technical reasons, that's not really defensible. Still nowhere as evil as the crap Microsoft has pulled off (or at least tried too anyway) though.
I would have also considered giving Nintendo a vote, since our views of used games apparently mirror each other, but their region locking combined with buying up the publishing rights to games only for them to stay in Japan is just fucking stupid IMO. I honestly don't even think Bayonetta 2 is safe. In fact, I would bet money it wont make it to NA after they pulled this kind of shit with the Wii last gen.
All the other publishers listed deserve the hate they get more or less.
I really like that Atlus was mentioned, because they put their all into every project they do and make sure it's fun, challenging, and enjoyable, as well as making sure that you never quite get away unscathed, with any decision you make. They made the Vita single-handedly worthwhile for me, and I predict they'll continue down a path I will always love to follow.
As for who's their, I don't think I'll lose focus from Valve, but they do seem like they aren't focusing on games as much as gaming anymore, they still got PC gaming easy and mainstreamed in a way other companies are afraid to, and I definitely respect them there. It probably would have been Nintendo if the WiiU and 3DS had some stronger first party titles, but so far it's not really those titles that vest my interest in them as much the 3rd party.
As for who's their, I don't think I'll lose focus from Valve, but they do seem like they aren't focusing on games as much as gaming anymore, they still got PC gaming easy and mainstreamed in a way other companies are afraid to, and I definitely respect them there. It probably would have been Nintendo if the WiiU and 3DS had some stronger first party titles, but so far it's not really those titles that vest my interest in them as much the 3rd party.
I voted for EA since they have made more of my favourite games than the other companies. It is pretty close with Ubisoft, Nintendo and Sony though. All three of those companies have made games that crack my top 10 of all time list. The others either have never cracked the top 10 or not even the top 20 (Valve and Activision/Blizzard).
It's obviously Nintendo. The only bad thing people can say about them is "Their Systems are weak" and "They Milk too many of their franchises." Meanwhile, EA and Activision are yelled at for killing off studios the moment they don't make money, EA, Ubisoft and Valve are hated for unfriendly online business practices, EA, Ubisoft and Activision are yelled at for Pay-To-Win games, and Sony, Microsoft and Sega haven't made any money from games (or Consoles) lately (Although PS4 and XBone are gonna make them money). Plus, a lot of the games Nintendo make are still unique from one another in any given franchise. So it's obviously Nintendo.
Agreed. I'm getting around to working through that backlog of platinum games' games. I beat Bayonetta not too long ago. BEST. FINAL BOSS. EVER.Daystar Clarion said:
Seriously, that final section is just the best level of any game I've ever played. So stupid, so over the top, so ridiculous, so AWESOME!
But yeah, really need a "none of the above" button there. The list isn't comprehensive, so there should always be an "other" option.
Valve is my favourite in most areas, except that they are really bad at communicating with their customers and fan-base, which would be so easy to improve upon but they don't really seem to care. So I'm going to go with Nintendo who are consistently able to make games that I love and gaming machines that are unique and special enough to be worth buying alongside a PC.