companies producing best games

[Not_a_sockpuppet]

The only companies I can think of that reliably make very good games are Blizzard and Valve. Nintendo as a whole makes very good games too but fewers "10s" and more "7s".

Atlus is also very good but I'm getting cranky and while I think Persona 3FES is the best JRPG I have ever played I'm falling into faint praise because I'm started to think that the genre as we know it is simply not very good. So if you are not as harsh as me, please add them to the list =p

There are also some studios or divisions that make very good series of games. HAL (Pokémon, Smash Bros) and Bemani (DDR, Beatmania, etc) come to mind.

[scarper]

Nintendo, being the longest lasting hardware producer since the video game crash, is still making some of today's best games. Behesda just came out of dark this generation, and have attained legendary status in the industry.

Other divisions like Atlus and Konami seem to be holding up very well. Capcom is beginning to disappoint me though (canceling Mega Man Legends 3, releasing MvC 3 Ultamite, Keiji Inafune leaving.)

[Inazuma]

Nintendo, Sega, Konami and Atlus come to mind. I'm sure there are many others I am forgetting.

As for companies that make shit and bullshit, it would be Sony, Microsoft, Capcom, EA, Activision, and Blizzard. I know that Capcom and Blizzard used to make some of the best games ever, but nowadays they are miserable horrible companies.

[brunoafh]

From Software has been my favorite developer/publisher for the past couple of years. They haven't slowed down one bit since the PS1 days and release high quality games at a surprisingly quick rate for a small studio. Other than a couple of lousy cash grab Armored Core games here and there on PS2, top notch developer through and through. They support their fans and games very well too. They're the only high profile developer out there that I can think of that genuinely seem to just be trying to create the funnest games possible. One thing I've always loved about From is that they're not afraid to take risks when approaching game design, and try radically different things that no other developers are doing. They don't do DLC garbage or any of the other things souring gamers these days either. They're just a really fantastic company that I could go on and on about. I wish there were more devs like them today.

I'm quite fond of the publisher XSeed this gen as well.

[The Last Horseman]

Nintendo is by far the best hardware wise. They make quality games, and are the only company actually dedicated to video games. Micrsoft and Sony have other ways to support themselves, and only use video games for extra cash.

Software wise? I'm personally a fan of Epic, Bethesda, and Valve stateside. There are others I like, but these stick with me. Outside of the US, I like Atlus, Cave, (other various shmup companies, I get those names confused), of course Nintendo, and like I said before some others.

BTW guys, what has XSeed done? I don't recognize the name.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Valve, Atlus, Polyphony Digital, Insomniac, Codemasters, id, Nintendo, and Double Fine are great.

I'd also put in a vote for Bethesda but they haven't released a game without tons of bugs in their entire history. I question how much they really play test the games.

As for companies of old...

Atlus, id, Capcom, Konami, Sega, Blue Sky, Core, Rebellion, Treasure, and EA were all great through the 80s and 90s.

[o.pwuaioc]

Sierra, Square, 2K, Natsume, Compile, and Enix haven't been mentioned yet.

[mjmjr25]

This is going to turn into one of those threads where EVERY company is eventually mentioned

[o.pwuaioc]

This is going to turn into one of those threads where EVERY company is eventually mentioned

Not LJN. Granted some people think some games are OK, they aren't anywhere near awesome. Square and Enix ought to be on the list, though, for their 16bit stuff at least.

[ExedExes]

This is going to turn into one of those threads where EVERY company is eventually mentioned

Nobody mentioned Data Age, Games by Apollo, Spectravision, Tigervision, or US Games yet!

They were the BEST at putting out the WORST for the Atari 2600