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10 Best: Third-Party Developers Over Gaming’s History
NihonTiger90 | 12:06 AM on 04.13.2008 24 comments


There’s much debate as to whom the best third-party developers are right now. But what about over the history of gaming? Tonight, I attempt to somehow create a list of the 10 developers that stand above all others when you look at history as a whole. Is it perfect? Not at all, and I expect a lot of disagreement and debate over this list. But first, a few ground rules.

Rules:

- The developer must currently be third-party.
- Games developed as a first-party will count. So Bungie's work with Halo and Sega's long and storied work as first-party devs are factored into it. Also, remember: back in the days of arcades, everyone was a first-party because they all made their own cabinets.

Only 10 can make the list. Which 10? Find out next in:


Third-Party Developers Over Gaming’s History


10.) Sega

Now now, settle down, children. Yes, sega has been awful in recent years, but this is overall, remember? And back in the day, Sega was neck and neck with Nintendo. Heck, they've even had a few gems as a third party (F-Zero GX and Skies of Arcadia Legends among others), which barely put them on this list. However, given their current track record, expect them to fall off the list and be replaced very soon.


9.) Take-Two Interactive

As the parent company of notable developers Rockstar Games and 2K Games, Take-Two has some great franchises under their belt, and some impressive games coming out in the near future. Or rather, an impressive game in GTA IV that might have a bigger impact than GTA III did. Maybe.

Why not higher? Not much else to speak of outside of what 2K Games and Rockstar are doing with their big franchises: MLB 2K, BioShock and Grand Theft Auto.


8.) Square Enix

The overlords of RPGs, Square Enix are the people behind Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and any number of classic RPG titles, including Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger

Also they own Taito now. Please make a new Pocky and Rocky and/or ActRaiser, guys.

Why not higher? Outside of RPGs... Square Enix sucks. They can't make anything above decent outside of that genre, or at least they forgot how to. To say they’ve become an RPG factory is pretty much a concise statement. However, It’s A Wonderful World/The World Ends With You looks like it might be the first step to breaking that mentality.


7.) Activision Blizzard

Formed by the behemoth merger of 2007, Activision Blizzard’s products now include anything Warcraft or Starcraft, Call of Duty, the Tony Hawk series, Guitar Hero and much more. A diverse selection of games, as well as being the creator of some of my childhood favorites (Ghostbusters on the Apple IIe!), puts Activision Blizzard on the list.

Why not higher? Same reason as Square Enix – their series are too repetitive. On top of it, chief rival EA has been walking into their backyard and flat out embarrassing them with games like Rock Band and .skate, meaning Activision had better pick up the pace or get left behind. Call of Duty 4 was a good first step, but if the rumors on Call of Duty 5 come true, we’re right back where we started.


6.) Atlus

Surprised? Don’t be. Atlus’ titles are hard to find, but damn, are the quality, fun games. On top of that, Atlus has gradually become known for finding new kinds of games to create. Most of those come from combining genres that have nothing in common and making them have something in common. It’s a bizarre strategy… but it seems to be working.

Why not higher? Atlus’ body of work just doesn’t compare to the 5 companies ahead of it. That’s all.

5.) Valve

The men and women behind Half-Life, Team Fortress, Portal and the Steam downloadable content service have built an extremely stable foundation in only 10 years time. Valve’s rise in the developer community is pretty much unprecedented, riding on the back of innovative games that combine both game play and graphics to create a unique experience. Or, in short, Valve = good.

Why not higher? Like Atlus, Valve has a small, albeit impressive body of work. Expect to see them rise up this list in the future if they continue churning out quality games.


4.) Konami

Bring forth your Contras, your Gradius games, your Metal Gears. Konami has established itself as a huge player and is single-handedly responsible for creating an entire genre of games via its Bemani branch. That genre - the rhythm game - has exploded in recent years, and is now one of the biggest genres at gaming.

But why not #1? Unfortunately, recent years have seen a downturn in the number of games Konami has put out, and in general, it seems like they've kind of stepped back a bit and are actually slipping into a mode where they're sticking more to their franchises than branching out to make new titles. Elebits and other games, though, do offer some hope I'm wrong.


3.) Capcom

Home to an amazing number of my favorite games, Capcom has helped push gaming forward and created some of the most memorable characters in gaming history. Where would we be without Street Fighter, Final Fight, Mega Man, Okami, Resident Evil, 1942, Phoenix Wright, Breath of Fire and so many others?

But why not #1? Capcom has been slow to act on things they should have done, such as bringing back Street Fighter. Even though the game looks great... we should be talking about Street Fighter V right now instead of IV. Same with classics like Bionic Commando. Add on top of that some poor judgment calls (ex. killing Clover Studios) that have been based on money, and Capcom falls just short.


2.) Electronic Arts

Controversial? Yes. But Electronic Arts has had an undeniable impact on gaming and third-parties as a whole. They were the prototype for the modern third-party developer, the company that showed everyone else the way. They have launched more franchises than anyone else outside of the Big Three, but are notorious for cannibalizing smaller companies once they buy them out. They have been praised, yet at the same time scorned.

But why not #1? Repetition, repetition, repetition. All you need to do is look at EA Sports and see the result of that – games that sell well, but offer little to no real advances in technology. EA has taken steps forward with Rock Band and .skate, but there’s a long way to go.


1.) Namco Bandai

This one’s more about the Namco part of the company. Namco’s impact on gaming at its growth in the 1980s may only be second to Nintendo.

Galaga, Pac Man, Galaxian, Bosconian, Dig Dug, Mr. Driller, Pole Position, Xevious, Mappy, Rally-X, Ridge Racer, Soul Calibur, Time Crisis, Tekken, Taiko Drum Master, the Tales series, Xenosaga, Ace Combat, Katamari Damacy. An insanely impressive list that takes in many of my favorite series of all time. Namco’s track record of not just putting out games, but quality titles, including some of the most important titles in gaming history, earn it the top spot on the list, at least in my book.

Honorable Mentions:

Koei: For their work on Dynasty/Samurai Warriors, as well as countless other great RPG titles (Aerobiz Supersonic FTW!)

SNK: The Neo-Geo is love. Also, compilations and new Metal Slug games rock.

Hudson: Often lost amongst big third parties Capcom and Konami, Hudson has put out a solid line-up headed by the Bomberman franchise.

Free Radical: For their work on TimeSplitters as well as Goldeneye 007 (as part of Rare)

Epic: Unreal Tournament and Gears of War require me to give these guys an honorable mention, at least.

LucasArts: Along with Koei and SNK, they barely missed the top 10, but there's a strong case they should be there. I know that.

The Behemoth: Because Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid are awesome.

Ubisoft: If not for the Rabbids and Tom Clancy games, Ubisoft is an afterthought.

Bungie: Now free from Microsoft, the developer of Halo, Marathon and Pathways into Darkness has a bright future.



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22 comments | showing # 1 to 22

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Revolt in Colour's Destructoid Blog
Ew to EA.
Jordan Devore's Destructoid Blog
My favorite would probably be Free Radical, Capcom, or SNK.
drogaz1's Destructoid Blog
EA at number 2? I mean including them on this list is not bad since they have created some classics(although nowadays it's mostly from the other third party devs they devoured), they shouldn't be that high on the list. You also forgot a lot of great indie developers like Bioware and Irrational Games(or 2K Boston as they are unfortunately called nowadays).
Necros's Destructoid Blog
I'd still put EA lower, but otherwise, I can't argue with most of that list. You probably could have gotten away with listing Squaresoft and Enix separately.
Jetsetlemming's Destructoid Blog
Almost all of those aren't themselves developers, but publishers. 2k Boston is a developer. Blizzard is a developer. Take Two is a publisher. EA is a publisher. They own developers, but are not themselves development houses.
Cloud09's Destructoid Blog
Yeah I believe Atlus is mostly a publisher too. I know they've developed the Persona series, but I think they still mostly just publish games.
Fleet3000's Destructoid Blog
nice list. i think i'll keep it.
Upgrayedd's Destructoid Blog
Am I just apathetic, or are Top 10 lists getting old?

Not a bad list (other that some of the choices would be better listed as publishers), but I'm just having a hard time caring about most lists like this.
EternalDeathSlayer's Destructoid Blog
Rorscach beat me to it here. Insomniac is always dependable for a good game, and Naughty Dog is just plain incredible.

When they were in control of Crash Bandicoot, it was one of the best damn series around. I remember them fondly and have even downloaded some on PSN. And they made that Crash Nitro Racing game, which was awesome back then. It gave MK a run for it's money. Jak and Daxter were all amazing, and then my favorite game from them, Uncharted:Drake's Fortune.

Although now I think about it, do they even qualify as a 3rd part dev? I suppose they're like second party, considering they don't mess with non-Sony systems.

Whatever. Great list otherwise.
EternalDeathSlayer's Destructoid Blog
Also, I just noticed your comment about UbiSoft, and I have to take some issue with it. They are responsible for the Prince of Persia trilogy last generation. Those were some good games.
Zer0 H0ur's Destructoid Blog
I'm showing my age here, but I'd have to put Activision higher on the list simply for one reason: They paved the way for 3rd party developers to exist in the first place. Sure someone else would have certainly come along and done it, but the initial success that Activision had, almost certainly spurred many others to get into the business of 3rd party development. Their titles arguably made the 2600 a viable console a lot longer than it might otherwise have been. Plus,they were able to survive the first console crash by publishing some great titles for the likes of the Atari and C-64 home computers of the mid 80's.

Still, a good read.
FlatTopJesus's Destructoid Blog
Switch Capcom and EA and I whole-heartedly agree. Well done sir.
Justice's Destructoid Blog
Capcom and Naughty Dog FTW!
Also Activision should be higher.
Rider Chop's Destructoid Blog
no treasure!?
your list...it hurts my SOUL!!
Husky Hog's Destructoid Blog
You have to remember that EA owns many companies, and that some of their tittles are actually partners, but other than that interesting list

Also I'm kinda over top ten lists
mistic's Destructoid Blog
great list!
Jonathan Kerr's Destructoid Blog
Treasure D:
Cowboy TTop's Destructoid Blog
Interesting stuff.

Bandai Namco No.1? I don't know about that. You've included Sega but said very little about their past games.

You've also given a reasonable list of Bandai Namco games, but few to none for the others, to offer an even field of view on each selection.

You have missed out some stuff, but no one is perfect. Not a bad post though.
Aertyr's Destructoid Blog
No way Valve should be that low. They have always supported third partys way more then most of that list. No to mention their free offering of Steamworks to any developers. Should be 3rd at very least.
Wedge's Destructoid Blog
This list... is pretty bad. No Treasure, like Jonathon said, is EPIC fail. Sega was only good as a 1st party developer. Take2 is a publisher, Atlus is generally only a publisher outside of of SMT games, and in general I think the list is mucked up because of all the stupid mergers and shit. You should just pick actual developers, even if now defuct or part of EA, instead of the congolomerate publisher/developer/boughtoutstudio messes we have today.
PANZERDRAKO's Destructoid Blog
ubisoft deserves a better place ...
and activision has the best games in the atari´s golden age...period!

and capcom/konami are much better than namco...
Yashoki's Destructoid Blog
I'd want to get all up in arms over this, BUUUUT. I dont know shit about developers and which = third party/first party.

But Valve are on the top of my list. If only because of the dedication the put into their games.


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Oh, hi there. Didn’t see you enter. Anyways, welcome to my humble little blog. For those of you not familiar with who I am, the name’s Brian. I’m 23 years old and hail from Lorain, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. I work at the local newspaper here as a copy editor, putting my four long years of college to actual use. Kind of. I think.

For those of you who might recognize me from elsewhere, I work as Assistant Gaming Editor over at Blogcritics Gaming and as Features Editor over at Tomopop. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it because I get to do a lot of cool shit with a lot of cool people.

I've been gaming since the relatively young age of around 3 and I've played plenty of games, both good and bad. I'm continuously expanding my gaming collection, which has become more of an archive in recent years as I'm focusing on collecting older, less well-known titles. You'd honestly be surprised on what people are missing out on in bargain bins...



Other than gaming, I love anime, manga, sports, movies, TV, and a whole lot more. I also happen to have something of a legendary love for Cammy, to the point that I am the site's unofficial official Cammy fanboy. And yes, I do play as her in Street Fighter and do so quite well, too.

Also, I am Chad Concelmo's B.F.F., my prize for coming in first in The Great Retro Quiz .18 - ActRaiser. Accept no substitutes. Not even Aerox.

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