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Game companies you can't believe still exist

J

JayEH

Junior Member
Artorias said:
Bethesda and Bioware.

I get that their games are huge hits, but good lord are they fucking terrible. I have tried so many times, but I just can't get into the "wanna be RPG-lite" they are going for. The one thing they all have in common is gameplay so shallow and dull that only the dudebros will pretend they are engrossing. There is no thought put into combat whatsoever, no gameplay design at work, just a list of places to go and things to do when you get there.

I've actually had a guy tell me that Skyrim was good...when it came out. Apparently it turned bad by the time I played it (a week after it released)? He was not joking at all, he felt that it was groundbreaking in 2011 but dated in 2013. Pretty much sums up the thoughts of people who buy garbage games for adequate graphics and music.
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You just named two of my favorite devs :(
 
I

Infernal Monkey

Member
IqaTGog.png

http://www.asp-net.co.jp/

I don't know how Aspect's still around, but they suuuure are. They were pretty huge on the SEGA Master System and Game Gear back in the early 90's, responsible for most of the 8-bit Sonic games and a handful of licensed games.

Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2_Coverart.png
Sonic_the_Hedgehog_Chaos_Coverart.png
Land_of_Illusion_starring_Mickey_Mouse_Coverart.png
Deep_Duck_Trouble_Starring_Donald_Duck_Coverart.png


Then... kind of nothing much of anything. They co-developed Super Tempo on Saturn, made a bunch of Naruto GBA games, worked on Disney Meteos, some Bleach game for PS2. But they're still going. Heck, they just developed a shitty Power Rangers game for the 3DS last year.

Megaforce_game-box.jpg


It's a mystery.
 
M

Mael

Member
Phediuk said:
Did you know that Team 17 not only survived the death of the Amiga scene, but has been making Worms games for 19 years straight without interruption? It's true. They have released a Worms game every year since 1995. I have no idea how they have maintained their sanity, or who still buys their games, but hey, they're still around.

A publisher example would be Codemasters. They're so closely associated with the British home computer scene of the late 80-early 90s that they feel like a giant anachronism now. They are the only British publisher who still releases games outside the UK; all of the other ones like Ocean, US Gold, Virgin Interactive, Gremlin, Psygnosis, GT Interactive, and Eidos are all defunct. Pretty much the only they've made for the last decade is F1 games.

There have to be other examples; what are ones that have made you go "wait, they still make games?"
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Man that cut deep.... Can't believe they're all dead T_T
 
H

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
jabuseika said:
Sega.

When was the last time they had a massive hit? or even just a big hit?

Valkyria Chronicles and Yakuza sell moderately good.

Out of their umbrella studios, Warhammer, Company of Heroes, and Total War are niche genre games. Their only massive seller are the Football Manager series. They now have Atlus, but they're not known for Massive hits.

They really on stay alive in Japan making licensed games through affiliate studios.

How is Sega still going?
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Hold on. Warhammer, CoH and TW are niche genre games but Valkyria Chronicles and Yakuza are moderate sellers?

That sounds entirely reversed to me.

Also, Sonic the Hedgehog games still sell well.
 
R

RaisedOn8Bits

Banned
Activision.

Can't believe these guys are still around. They were pretty much the first third party company ever (after breaking off from Atari in 1979 to make their OWN 2600 games), & are not only still around, but have consistently had some of THE most popular games of the last few console generations (think Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, Skylanders...). So not only are they still around, they are thriving. I think it's amazing.
 
M

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
TheLegendOfMart said:
Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Mass Effect, Dragon Age.

You are surprised?

Or are you just being contrary by stating two massively popular developers so you can look cool and edgy?
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It's NeoGaff worst post material. Two of the biggest developers in the world, that have made games that are loved by millions. And this guy can't believe they are still in business, there are some serious mentalists on this forum.
 
A

Aaron

Member
Eirulan said:
This!
I can't believe they survived the secret world disaster...

Also, [Turbine, Inc.[/b]
Did they release any new games the last few years? Guess, LOTRO is still getting them money...
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Also Neverwinter, and they recently downsized so not doing too great.
 
R

RaisedOn8Bits

Banned
Atolm said:
Sega or Konami earn more money through bussiness like pachinkos or fitness gyms than with games.
Click to expand...

As a Casino employee, I can confirm that Konami & to a lesser extent SEGA are very active in the slot machine market (in fact, our newest, heavily hyped machines, Fortune's Heat, is a Konami product), & are doing quite well in this highly lucrative & profitable marketplace.
 
I

iMax

Member
RaisedOn8Bits said:
Activision.

Can't believe these guys are still around. They were pretty much the first third party company ever (after breaking off from Atari in 1979 to make their OWN 2600 games), & are not only still around, but have consistently had some of THE most popular games of the last few console generations (think Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, Skylanders...). So not only are they still around, they are thriving. I think it's amazing.
Click to expand...

This. It's crazy how long that name's been going.
 
F

Fushichou187

Member
Artorias said:
Bethesda and Bioware.

I get that their games are huge hits, but good lord are they fucking terrible. I have tried so many times, but I just can't get into the "wanna be RPG-lite" they are going for. The one thing they all have in common is gameplay so shallow and dull that only the dudebros will pretend they are engrossing. There is no thought put into combat whatsoever, no gameplay design at work, just a list of places to go and things to do when you get there.

I've actually had a guy tell me that Skyrim was good...when it came out. Apparently it turned bad by the time I played it (a week after it released)? He was not joking at all, he felt that it was groundbreaking in 2011 but dated in 2013. Pretty much sums up the thoughts of people who buy garbage games for adequate graphics and music.
Click to expand...

The "Raise the Flame Shield" thread you're looking for is this way -> http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459297
 
O

Ozigizo

Member
Aeria Games is another one. I guess if you churn out 5 f2p games a year, you can make enough money to stay afloat.
 
D

Dorsal Axe

Member
Maxis.

By which I mean the original studio, not the "brand". Just about all of the few titles they've released in the last six years (Spore, SimCity, SimAnimals and various spinoffs) have completely bombed bigtime. Despite The Sims' success, it's made by a different studio these days and simply shares the Maxis label.

I have no idea how they're still around anymore, especially ever since Will Wright left.
 
H

Herne

Member
Big Fish Games. Who the hell has been buying their games?! They've even opened a European headquarters here in Cork and employ over 700 people. The hell?
 
A

Absoludacrous

Member
Dorsal Axe said:
Maxis.

By which I mean the original studio, not the "brand". Just about all of the few titles they've released in the last six years (Spore, SimCity, SimAnimals and various spinoffs) have completely bombed bigtime. Despite The Sims' success, it's made by a different studio these days and simply shares the Maxis label.

I have no idea how they're still around anymore, especially ever since Will Wright left.
Click to expand...

Sim City did the opposite of bomb though, despite all the backlash.
 
U

UltraGunner

Banned
To all the people saying Sega, I've got two words: Pachinko and Miku. Also the total war series does very well for a PC exclusive series. As for a studio that's surprisingly still alive, someone tell me how the hell Cave and Tamsoft are still around.
 
S

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
UltraGunner said:
To all the people saying Sega, I've got two words: Pachinko and Miku. Also the total war series does vert well gor a PC excluaive series. As for a studio that's surprisingly still alive, someone tell me how the hell Cave and Tamsoft are still around.
Click to expand...

Tamsoft has Oneechanbara and, more importantly, Senran Kagura. Both are fairly low budget games and make a decent amount of money, SK especially.
 
S

Souldestroyer Reborn

Banned
Team 17 is still around because I'm a sucker who buys all the worms games :| they also give games away for free now and again via Starbucks etc. I actually just got Worms 2 Armageddon for free via there.

Wish Psygnosis were still around though, I had sooooooo many of their games on PS1 and they were all amazing.
 
M

MotionBlue

Member
Agetec. They were a small company that brought over the original Armored Core series, along with RPG maker and Magic Pengel. They're still around, but simply translate and publish obscure DS eshop games.
 
A

Absoludacrous

Member
UltraGunner said:
To all the people saying Sega, I've got two words: Pachinko and Miku. Also the total war series does vert well gor a PC excluaive series. As for a studio that's surprisingly still alive, someone tell me how the hell Cave and Tamsoft are still around.
Click to expand...

Cave is just able to develop for a very niche audience. Sadly they gave up their English presence earlier this year, and I get the impression even their Japanese audience is fading, hence stuff like a Hello Kitty licensed Candy Crush clone.
 
K

Kenshin001

Member
Absoludacrous said:
Cave is just able to develop for a very niche audience. Sadly they gave up their English presence earlier this year, and I get the impression even their Japanese audience is fading, hence stuff like a Hello Kitty licensed Candy Crush clone.
Click to expand...

They are developing a game for XBone apparently. Given the troubles they had last gen I find it baffling they seem to be going down the same road.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
I'm surprised Splash Damage has survived 13 years. The company has only released a handful of its own games (otherwise being contracted to handle the MP component of others) and it hasn't seen success since 2002's Enemy Territory. Should the upcoming Extraction bomb I assume it'll be the final nail in the coffin.
 
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