Game Developer Magazine's Top 20 Publishers Report Awards Electronic Arts Top HonorsActivision and Nintendo Ascend List, Atari Slips; Bandai and Capcom Knock Out Koei and EmpirePRNewswire Game Developer's anticipated yearly "Top 20 Publishers" report has been released, definitively charting the movers and shakers, and outlining the current shape of the video game publishing industry. The study rates the world's leading game publishers' performance in several areas. Six different measures are taken into consideration on top of revenue -- annual turnover, number of title releases, average review score, producer quality, reliability of milestone payments, and the quality of staff pay and perks. For the third year in a row, Electronic Arts (EA) has grabbed the top slot on the "Top 20 Publishers" chart. EA reached an annual revenue of more than $3.1 billion, continued high output and received positive average reviews for its titles. However, the company faced some serious competition from fellow publishers like Activision, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, all of whom had very strong showings this year and rounded out the top 5 in that order. "Game Developer magazine's survey compiles the essential ranking for each publisher, not just simply using raw revenue values," Simon Carless, editor, Game Developer magazine, said. "This year's research reflects the continuing consolidation of third-party publishers, as well as strong software line-ups by the major hardware manufacturers." Highlights from the report include:
* Activision jumped from last year's ranking of No. 7 to No. 2, as the
company saw popular titles such as X-Men Legends, the Tony Hawk's
Underground series, Spider-Man 2, and Rome: Total War register
positively under multiple criteria
* Microsoft dropped down one spot to No. 3, following Activision's
strong multi-SKU showing, but is looking to the Fall launch of the
Xbox 360 to provide a strong, well-reviewed first-party lineup
* Stronger years for Bandai, LucasArts and Capcom have helped the
companies secure spots on the list, knocking Koei and Empire out of
the Top 20 and filling the gap left by Acclaim's bankruptcy
* Atari unfortunately slipped four places to No. 13, but is relying on
key titles such as The Matrix: Path of Neo to reestablish a powerhouse
brand
Game Developer magazine's 2005 Top 20 Publishers guide will be available on most major newsstands and bookstores through November 14, 2005. For more information about this issue, and to access a digital copy, visit www.gdmag.com. About the CMP Game Group A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the CMP Game Group offers market-defining content, and drives community through the Game Developers Conference, GDC Europe, the Serious Games Summit D.C., GDC Mobile, Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com, the Independent Games Festival, GDCTV, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. For more information, please visit www.cmpgame.com. About CMP Media LLC CMP Media (http://www.cmp.com/) is the leading integrated media solutions company providing "broad and deep" access to the entire technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers and buyers of technology worldwide. The company's comprehensive database of technology decision makers enables marketers to reach targeted audiences throughout the purchase process with publications, web offerings, face-to-face events, consulting and other marketing services that deliver actionable results. SOURCE: CMP Game Group CONTACT: Sibel Sunar, +1-310-785-0515, ext. 271, sibel@bohle.com, or Web site: http://www.gdmag.com/ Web site: http://www.cmp.com/ Web site: http://www.cmpgame.com/ |