14 DAY TRIAL // Millward Brown, a company which specializes in advertising and branding for major companies, has released its annual top 100 brands of the world chart and companies that are linked to the video game industry have performed pretty well given the competition they were up against.
The best-placed video gaming company is Microsoft, which sits in fifth spot overall, but a lot of its brand recognition is linked to the Windows and Office products that it delivers to the PC, although the Xbox 360 and associated game publishing business have also had a good year and contributed to the Microsoft brand.
Sony, which earned a specific mention for the development and the production of the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, sits in 85th place overall in the Millward Brown chart, although a lot of the company's brand is also linked to Blu-ray players and other home electronics.
The most impressive performance is that of Nintendo, which came in at 79, a good spot considering that the only thing that the company manufactures is video game-related consoles and that it also has a sizable division which publishes games for them.
The list compiled by Millward Brown takes into account the income of the companies that are evaluated but also the reputation they have in the eyes of consumers.
The company says it “analyzes the world's leading brands and the economic and competitive dynamics that influence value fluctuations.”
The most valuable brand in the world at the moment is Apple, which is connected to the gaming world because of its iPhone and iPad devices, which have given rise to a whole new world for both developers and gamers.
The overall value of Apple as a brand is estimated at 153.3 billion dollars, a more than 80 percent increase over last year.
Google is in second place, with a value of 111.5 billion dollars.