This is obviously a matter of opinion. My own personal nominations would be Origin. Not simply because they made the Ultima series which by made a HUGE contribution to the entire RPG genre, but because of the minds who worked for Origin and later moved on to make amazing games in other studios.
Origin's (what a fitting name for a company) minds later went on to make Looking Glass, Ion Storm, id and Digital Anvil (Freelancer). It's pretty amazing to see what brilliant people worked together in one company (Richard Garriot, John Romero, Warren Spector, Chris Roberts).
What is in your opinion the greatest company to have been in business?
Maybe Blizzard? or Bioware?
Please describe why you think they're the best? Not only the games they made, but also the contribution the company had for the whole industry.
EDIT:
after a suggestion from @ten.to.ten, I'll modify the question:
What are the greatest developers for each era, separated into PC and console gaming. Maybe that's easier to narrow down. So for example, my take would be Origin for the late 80's, early 90's for PC gaming. Nowadays, it'd be Blizzard in PC gaming. For consoles I think Nintendo really deserves the title for the entire 90's in console gaming, though I'm not a fan myself. I just respect their contribution and achievements.
Origin's (what a fitting name for a company) minds later went on to make Looking Glass, Ion Storm, id and Digital Anvil (Freelancer). It's pretty amazing to see what brilliant people worked together in one company (Richard Garriot, John Romero, Warren Spector, Chris Roberts).
What is in your opinion the greatest company to have been in business?
Maybe Blizzard? or Bioware?
Please describe why you think they're the best? Not only the games they made, but also the contribution the company had for the whole industry.
EDIT:
after a suggestion from @ten.to.ten, I'll modify the question:
What are the greatest developers for each era, separated into PC and console gaming. Maybe that's easier to narrow down. So for example, my take would be Origin for the late 80's, early 90's for PC gaming. Nowadays, it'd be Blizzard in PC gaming. For consoles I think Nintendo really deserves the title for the entire 90's in console gaming, though I'm not a fan myself. I just respect their contribution and achievements.