Infinity Ward and Nintendo Secure the Top Spots among Top 50 Game Development Studios
Moving to the front of the class has never been done with such style.
Published: March 7, 2008
As if there weren't enough fuel for the fanboy fire, Think Services' Game Developer magazine and Game Developer Research division announced a new study today ranking the top 50 game development studios worldwide of 2007.
Twenty of the 50 developers appear in the March 2008 issue of Game Developer magazine, detailing how Nintendo's Kyoto studio and Infinity Ward took first and second place, respectively, thanks in no small part to the Wii and DS combo and Infinity Ward's Call of Duty franchise.
"Nintendo's incredibly accessible and well-designed games continue to support its hardware success, which is why they reached the Top Developer spot in this first-ever Top 50 Developer Report," Simon Carless, Publisher of Game Developer Magazine and Director of Game Developer Research, said regarding the number one developer. "In addition, the mix of Western and Japanese developers in the Top 20 shows a flourishing world ecosystem for game development, as the medium continues to grow strongly into the 21st Century."
No kidding. Nintendo's always been a powerhouse but when someone like Infinity Ward grabs top honors for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare even in the face of competition from the likes of Halo 3 they must be doing something right.
Not to be outdone, Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction came in at a respectable seventh place.
The rest of the Top 20 is as follows:
1. Nintendo Kyoto (Brain Age, Wii Play)
2. Infinity Ward (Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
3. Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade)
4. Electronic Arts Canada (FIFA Soccer 08, NBA Street: Homecourt)
5. Valve (Portal, Team Fortress 2)
6. Konami Japan Studio (Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer, Dance Dance Revolution Universe)
7. Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank Future)
8. Capcom Osaka Studio (Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Monster Hunter Freedom)
9. Electronic Arts Tiburon (Madden NFL 08, NASCAR 08)
10. BioWare Edmonton (Mass Effect, Jade Empire: Special Edition)
11. Bungie Studios (Halo 3)
12. Ubisoft Montreal (Assassin's Creed, Naruto: Rise Of A Ninja)
13. 2K Boston [& Australia] (BioShock)
14. Harmonix (Rock Band)
15. Bandai Namco Tokyo (Ace Combat 6: Fires Of Liberation, Beautiful Katamari)
16. Square Enix Tokyo (Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, Front Mission DS)
17. Game Freak (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl)
18. Epic Games (Unreal Tournament 3, Gears Of War PC)
19. Hudson Soft (Mario Party 8, Mario Party DS)
20.Neversoft (Guitar Hero III, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground)
To arrive at these results, each developer was assessed on chart ranking for the U.S., U.K., and Japan markets, as well as the number of releases during the year and their average Metacritic review score. An anonymous survey was also given to Gamasutra.com community members about game developers. The combined results are what led to this chart.
2008 is going to be a great year for gaming. Here's to a top 100 list next year. You're going to need it.
Twenty of the 50 developers appear in the March 2008 issue of Game Developer magazine, detailing how Nintendo's Kyoto studio and Infinity Ward took first and second place, respectively, thanks in no small part to the Wii and DS combo and Infinity Ward's Call of Duty franchise.
"Nintendo's incredibly accessible and well-designed games continue to support its hardware success, which is why they reached the Top Developer spot in this first-ever Top 50 Developer Report," Simon Carless, Publisher of Game Developer Magazine and Director of Game Developer Research, said regarding the number one developer. "In addition, the mix of Western and Japanese developers in the Top 20 shows a flourishing world ecosystem for game development, as the medium continues to grow strongly into the 21st Century."
No kidding. Nintendo's always been a powerhouse but when someone like Infinity Ward grabs top honors for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare even in the face of competition from the likes of Halo 3 they must be doing something right.
Not to be outdone, Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction came in at a respectable seventh place.
The rest of the Top 20 is as follows:
1. Nintendo Kyoto (Brain Age, Wii Play)
2. Infinity Ward (Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
3. Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade)
4. Electronic Arts Canada (FIFA Soccer 08, NBA Street: Homecourt)
5. Valve (Portal, Team Fortress 2)
6. Konami Japan Studio (Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer, Dance Dance Revolution Universe)
7. Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank Future)
8. Capcom Osaka Studio (Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Monster Hunter Freedom)
9. Electronic Arts Tiburon (Madden NFL 08, NASCAR 08)
10. BioWare Edmonton (Mass Effect, Jade Empire: Special Edition)
11. Bungie Studios (Halo 3)
12. Ubisoft Montreal (Assassin's Creed, Naruto: Rise Of A Ninja)
13. 2K Boston [& Australia] (BioShock)
14. Harmonix (Rock Band)
15. Bandai Namco Tokyo (Ace Combat 6: Fires Of Liberation, Beautiful Katamari)
16. Square Enix Tokyo (Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, Front Mission DS)
17. Game Freak (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl)
18. Epic Games (Unreal Tournament 3, Gears Of War PC)
19. Hudson Soft (Mario Party 8, Mario Party DS)
20.Neversoft (Guitar Hero III, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground)
To arrive at these results, each developer was assessed on chart ranking for the U.S., U.K., and Japan markets, as well as the number of releases during the year and their average Metacritic review score. An anonymous survey was also given to Gamasutra.com community members about game developers. The combined results are what led to this chart.
2008 is going to be a great year for gaming. Here's to a top 100 list next year. You're going to need it.
