Your Favorite Game Developers

[Guts]

As the title says, what are your favorite video game developers and/or studios? Make a list of your TOP 5 (or TOP 10 if five is too few) and write a few sentences why they are your favorites.

This isn't a list about who you think are the best developers out there or who are the most succesful, but who you like personally, so don't include Nintendo if you don't actually like their games just because they're Nintendo etc. You can also include "teams" inside the bigger companies like Sega AM2 or Nintendo R&D1 and the like if you want to. They can be defunct or current devs as well.

I'll start with the first five that pop in my head (some of these might change depending on the day):

5. Grasshopper Manufacture

(will write later)

4. BioWare

(same here)

3. Obsidian Entertainment/Black Isle Studios

Cheating here a bit by combining two developers, but as Obsidian was founded by the key BIS staff I'm going to allow this. In my humble opinion Obsidian are the best commercial RPG developer out there at the moment. Sure, their games have been buggy and a bit rushed, but what they may lack on the technical side, they more than make up for with interesting ideas, original stories, memorable characters and clear passion and love for the genre (unlike the giants Bethesda and BioWare at the moment who are mostly interested in diluting RPG genre for the mainstream gamer). The people at Obsidian are behind some of my favorite games of all time (Fallout 1 & 2) and many other quality RPGs and I'm always interested in what they are working on next (especially now with Project Eternity).

2. Rockstar Games/Rockstar North
I love Grand Theft Auto and have played and finished every game and expansion made since GTA III. I think R* are still the best open-world designers out there in making the worlds they create feel "alive" which many open-worlds fail to do. I enjoy their style of writing and humour a lot, it hits just the right spot for me and their taste in style, music etc. is in a class of it's own. Plus games like Max Payne 3 and Red Dead have shown they can make more than GTA.

1. Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development

What can I say about Nintendo that hasn't been said a million times already? They're responsible for some of my most memorable and fun gaming experiences (especially the SNES and N64 eras) and Shigeru Miyamoto is perhaps THE greatest and most influential game designer to ever live. Mario and Zelda games alone would be enough to claim the top spot. In the recent years I haven't been as enthusiastic about Nintendo's output, but they're still perfectly capable of making excellent games like Mario Galaxy, Skyward Sword and Mario Kart.

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

NCS Masaya - Did Shubibinman & ASHE/Energy. Nuff said.

Namcot - So much quality from the 80s & 90s. Retro kings.

Technos - Did Nekketsu Kouha Kunio Kun, the spin offs & Double Dragon. Again, nuff said.

Millenium Kitchen - Made the Boku no Natsuyasumi series, an exquisite set of titles with so much charm & character.

Nintendo - Super Mario Bros 3 & 4. I need not say any more.

Honourable mentions to:
Konami, Capcom, Sega, Hudson, Dice.

[nakamura]

Squaresoft.
Two of the teams in particular stand out for me. You have the awesome Yasumi Matsuno and his team that created Tactics Ogre, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII. All of those games are utterly amazing and the top of their fields.

The other team would be the guys responsible for the Chrono games. Masato Kato is one of the main men involved in those games and those along with Xenogears, which also spawned Xenosaga which I love.

Square may have fallen by the wayside in recent years, Final Fantasy XIII was a disaster of design. I still like a lot of their output and they have been involved with a lot of great games that get forgotten. Einhander, Tobal and Racing Lagoon are gems from the past.


Nintendo
Easy one really. I love some of their games with a passion. Super Mario World, Stunt Race FX, Star Fox, Zelda, Metroid and so many more. Nintendo are certainly the greatest single developer and publisher of all time.


Konami
Another fallen developer but they do still put out the odd gem. Games from the past were often incredible. Axelay, Turtles Tournement Fighters, Contra 3, Silent Hill 1-3, ISS/PES, Metal Gear Solid, Suikoden, Castlevania, Gradius, Parodius and so many more. So prolific over the years.


Genki
A now defunct gaming company it seems. While I feel they never made a brilliant game, they certainly made many that I pumped far too much time in to. The Shuto series is one of pure obsession. The lacking AI and handling in the early games do nothing to stop the compulsive nature of the games. In Racing Battle they were close to finally nailing it but since then they have pretty much vanished.


Criterion
Although I feel EA have ruined them somewhat, they were once fantastic and they games they put out now are still decent. I loved the Burnout games and Black is perhaps my favourite first person shooter, certainly in the realistic style anyway. Their most impressive achievement and one that really interested me was the creation of the superb RenderWare engine back around the turn of the millenium. It really helped show just what the PS2 was capable of in the right hands and to this day the best games using it blow me away.

Honourable mentions to.
Capcom, Sega, Namco, SNK.

[Brad]

Good thread.

1. From Software. Demon's and Dark Souls are standout games of this generation. Fearless dedication to realising their vision.
2. Kojipro. Ok, so its just the one franchise but a masterpiece for the last 3 generations.Incredible.
3. Bioware. Dragon Age may not have had the graphical wow factor of Oblivion or Skyrim but it's a far better RPG than both those games. Great storytelling and gameplay. KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter. Masters of the traditional Western rpg.
4. Capcom. Begrudgingly they appear in my list. Resident Evil 4, Steel Battalion, Street Fighter, Monster Hunter. Plenty of duffers along the way but the odd gem here and there. Not consistent but occasionally they shine.
5. TBA

[parkinho]

A mix of old and new for me:

Nintendo
So many amazing franchises, some that still shine a quarter of a century after their original iterations. In my mind they have provided more paradigm shifts and raised the standard more often than any other developer in the industry - Mario 64 and OoT immediately spring to mind. Even in recent years Nintendo have been solidly consistent in the quality of their releases, though perhaps never quite reaching the heights that they managed in the 90s.

Sega
Mainly for their amazing arcade output that will never get old. Will no doubt invest in some of their Model 2 games that will soon be reaching XBLA. Streets of Rage and Shenmue are also timeless classics. Shame Sonic was always ****e.

Platinum
Currently the best developers in the world, with Vanquish and Bayonetta the two standout games of this generation. Anarchy Reigns looks solid and Metal Gear Rising might well be the best thing ever.

Grasshopper Manufacture
May not produce the best games technically but their style and OTT nature sit very well with me. No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw being my pick of their output, with Shadows of the Damned destined to be one of my next purchases.

RARE
Another developer whose 90s output left a lasting impression on me, from the glorious DKC trilogy through to their N64 hits it seemed that the world was their oyster. Shame it seemed to come crashing down rather quickly. Having said that I have recently started up Banjo Nuts & Bolts which may well turn out to be one of this generation's unsung heroes, despite the fact that RARE's glory years are firmly in the past.

[nakamura]

Not sure Shenmue could ever be called a 'timeless classic'.

[Team Andromeda]

SEGA

They just made the better number of IP classic in the home and Arcade that I like to play.

GameArts

Playing and hearing Lunar for 1st time on the Mega CD was a magical and I've just loved their work and ports on the Mega CD and Saturn

RAIZING

For no other reason than they made the best shooters around period

FromSoftware

Just a massive fan of their Tech and games like O.TO. GI 1 & 2 , ChromeHounds, Ninja Blade . One of the few corps that seem able to keep up with each new Hardware and generation.

Lobotomy

They made the best and most perfect FPS around in Exhumed (with Mario IV level design perfection) and what they did with Duke and Quake on the Saturn was sheer class and to make a game like Death Tank in your own free time took the piss . A class studio that SEGA America should have saved from going bust

NCL

In the 16 bit day there were a class to them self's and with Mario IV made the most perfect game of all time , the true gems they made for the Snes and N64 took the pee

Ninja Theory/Just Add Monsters

Quality smart British developer - That sadly never seems to get the credit they richly deserver

Ubisoft

With Vegas and GRAW they made the best games I've played this generation and the studio just pumps out the classics and great tech with each new console generation

DICE

A class studio

Starbreeze

Maybe won't be the same with Magnus Hogdahl leaving and his mighty tech . But loved their work on Riddick and Darkness

[teddymeow]

Naughty Dog.
N64-era Rare.
Nintendo EAD.
Intelligent Systems.
Camelot.
Platinum.
Clover.
Treasure.