14 DAY TRIAL // Game Developer magazine has released its annual Top 20 Publishers report and Nintendo is still riding high at number one, after it managed to take it from Electronic Arts in last year's report.
The chart is based on a reputation survey which is considered by people at Game Developer alongside revenue, video game release count, average review scores and feedback from partner companies. More than 300 people working in the video game industry were asked to give their views on the various developers that could make it into the chart.
The impressive sales of its Nintendo DS and Wii line up, taken together with the great reputation of the company, allowed Nintendo to be again the world’s top videogame developer. Electronic Arts is at number two, managing to hold out on the Activision assault. Ubisoft, a France based company, was at number four while Sony Computer Entertainment jumped into the top five thanks to the increase in PlayStation 3 titles that it has released. Because the report only takes into account the period between July 2007 and July 2008, the merger between Activision and Blizzard has had little impact. Next year, we might see Electronic Arts relegated to the number three spot, after Activision Blizzard.
Simon Carless, who is a director of Game Developer Research, stated that “We’re delighted to present the result of our yearly publisher countdown once again. Nintendo’s second chart-topping appearance in a row underscores the extraordinary popularity of the firm’s first-party Wii and DS franchises; we congratulate them on their achievement”.
It has long been thought that the success of Nintendo, which has managed to attract new categories of gamers with its innovative Wii, was not reflected at an industry level. The fact that the company is for the second year running the best developer can only mean that the Japanese firm will continue to be one of the most important players in the video game industry.