Nintendo Kyoto, Infinity Ward named best devs

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Mar 7, 2008 12:37 pm PT

Game Developer magazine names Brain Age-maker, Call of Duty-crafter top worldwide studios, Blizzard, EA Canada, and Valve round out top five.

In February, game industry luminaries congregated en masse on two separate occasions to share ideas, schmooze, and honor the best games of 2007. For the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' part, top award winners at the D.I.C.E. Summit included Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4 and Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft. Two weeks later, the Game Developers Conference counsel heaped accolades upon Valve Corp. for the deranged first-person puzzler Portal, which came packed in with The Orange Box.

Not content to just make great games, it now appears many of these award winning studios are also great places to work, according to a recent study conducted by Game Developers Conference organizers CMP Group by way of Think Services for Game Developer magazine and its Game Developer Research division. In conducting its study, Think Service combined sales and marketing stats with survey data gleaned from game developers and other professionals within the industry.

Perched atop the rankings was Nintendo's Kyoto studio, which is responsible for top-selling Nintendo DS and Wii titles Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Brain Age and its sequel. According to CMP, survey respondents called out the studio's focus on quality in particular. Coming in at second was the Activision-owned studio Infinity Ward, which was praised for its working conditions, professionalism, and attention to quality.

Rounding out the top five were World of Warcraft purveyors Blizzard Entertainment; Electronic Arts' Canada outfit, which handles FIFA Soccer 08 and NBA Street: Homecourt; and Valve, which most recently developed The Orange Box and operates the online distribution mainstay Steam.

A list of the top 20 development studios 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 (Pokémon Diamond/Pearl)
18. Epic Games (Unreal Tournament 3, Gears of War)
19. Hudson Soft (Mario Party 8, Mario Party DS)
20. Neversoft (Guitar Hero III, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground)

91 Comments

  • turtLesheLL2004

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 5:50 pm PT

    @Patriot298

    "In February, game industry luminaries congregated en masse on two separate occasions to share ideas, schmooze, and honor the best games of 2007."

    Kojima didn't come out with a game in 2007 other then an Metal Gear Portable Ops Plus, an expansion pack. wait for the 08 best dev's you will see MGS4 on it.

  • retrofraction12

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 9:30 am PT

    All of these people make good games, but I really can't say that Konami is better than capcom.

  • Grantelicious

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 7:43 am PT

    Valve is my number one with Relic and Blizzard and Bethesda and Bioware for all their great games in the past but shame about the suck ass ones of today.

  • Patriot298

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 12:45 am PT

    well well well, I see the precious Kojima didn't even make the top 5. lol

  • raahsnavj

    Posted Mar 10, 2008 3:52 pm PT

    Bethesda, you're kidding me right? The same developer that lets you manipulate the world of lame AI in Morrowind and Oblivion? Sure they have a great idea, and because of the sheer scope and size of the world people tend to be more forgiving, but really the only way to play those games is to define your own rules. Otherwise it is just too easy to manipulate the AI and all that is broken... And bioware hasn't had a game worth talking about since KOTOR.

    Really though, I think ranking studios in this fashion is a waste of time. There is just too much subjective material when trying to rank them.

  • shabab12

    Posted Mar 10, 2008 3:00 pm PT

    why is everyone pissed about bungie? they place they are in is just right.

  • YungMel187

    Posted Mar 10, 2008 12:19 pm PT

    it should be
    1.Infinity ward
    2.Bungie Studios
    3.Ubisoft

  • Rect_Pola

    Posted Mar 10, 2008 7:26 am PT

    With the money Wii Play and Brain Age rake in, Nintendo Kyoto probably bought everyone involved a house for christmas.

  • nate1222

    Posted Mar 9, 2008 12:15 pm PT

    Bioware should have been in the top 5. Bethesda should have been somewhere in the list. Nintendo deserves a high spot, but #1? I see the Wii (and its games) like the PS1; enough gems to justify its success but also a mountain of duds to sift through.

  • IIBlackknightII

    Posted Mar 9, 2008 11:24 am PT

    Congrats!.

  • michaelroy

    Posted Mar 9, 2008 9:44 am PT

    This list is complete bs. Infinity ward and nintendo and EA (???) above bungie, valve, bioware, and 2K boston?

    wtf? infinity ward and nintendo deserve it, but not 1rst and 2nd jesus

  • andrew_ribbons

    Posted Mar 9, 2008 7:44 am PT

    Lol that's bull, sure those Nintendo studios are good, but they're not the best. Bioware got voted the best workplace for developing games in the world, basted on staff treatment and quality of living and work environment for those employees.

  • The_Godfather_

    Posted Mar 9, 2008 7:22 am PT

    valve should be 1st game developer.

  • ODST1

    Posted Mar 9, 2008 12:14 am PT

    At Least Capcoms in top 8 Way To Go!!!

  • 7thRonin

    Posted Mar 8, 2008 10:18 pm PT

    wow epic pwnd by pokemon maker

  • BLaZe462

    Posted Mar 8, 2008 5:41 pm PT

    lawl@burningcrusade

  • Killer2401

    Posted Mar 8, 2008 5:18 pm PT

    Bungie at No.11

    They deserve it.

  • Proust

    Posted Mar 8, 2008 2:25 pm PT

    Brain Age and Wii Play ... I don't know. They sold very well so if that is the standard, fine. But Wii Play should have been a more pollished package (boxing,baseball), and the only part of brain that improves with brain age is the part that plays brain age. My Mom claims to have gone from a 60 year old brain to 20 year old brain but I just don't see it.

FIFA Soccer 08 Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Answers | Forum | Check Prices

advertisement
advertisement
Click Here
FIFA Soccer 08 Boxshot Enlarge the boxshot
FIFA Soccer 08

Game Stats

Full Game Details »Close
Also on

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement