Think Services' Game Developer Magazine Releases 7th Annual Top 20 Publishers Report

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Game Developer magazine's highly anticipated annual Top 20 Publishers report has debuted for 2009, revealing that publisher Nintendo has maintained its top position on the chart for the third year running. The countdown, which builds on six years of ongoing research, includes a wide-ranging reputation survey distributed to industry professionals, alongside revenue data, release counts, average review scores, and anonymous feedback from development partners.

The report, which is available in overview form in the October 2009 issue of Game Developer magazine, is also accompanied by a major Top 20 Publishers 2009 report from Think Services' Game Developer Research Division. This detailed supplement lists the numerical reputation scores, written comments, and partner feedback for the publishers in the final listing, alongside game release and review score specifics by platform, and is now available for purchase at www.gamedevresearch.com.

Kyoto-headquartered publisher, Nintendo, held chart-topping scores in revenue and partner feedback, as well as strong reputation scores, allowing the company to once again stand at the top of the countdown. Electronic Arts garnered the impressive second slot again this year, followed by Activision Blizzard, which held the 3rd place spot, Ubisoft, remaining strong in 4th, and Take Two, which had risen from the 6th to 5th place, switching spots with Sony Computer Entertainment.

Joining the line-up for the first time are Bethesda Softworks, Viacom's MTV, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Bethesda Softworks and parent company ZeniMax (#7 on the list) have been busy with the internally-developed Fallout 3 and its new acquisition, noted developer id Software. MTV debuted for the first time on this list at #14, thanks to the success of subsidiary developer Harmonix's numerous Rock Band releases, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment takes #16.

The 2009 rankings were calculated by considering the number of releases by SKU, average review scores, and estimated publisher revenue from August 2008 to July 2009. It included the results of a survey conducted to gather opinions on the major video game software publishers. Nearly 900 industry professionals from all parts of the game production process were asked to give their opinions - including comments - on the reputations of each publisher in the survey, a dramatic increase in sample size over the previous year. In addition, scores and commentary were gathered from respondents who had direct experience with the publishers in the recent past, either as workers or partners, including milestone, marketing and pay feedback.

The full Top 20 Publishers 2009 countdown is available in the October 2009 edition of Game Developer magazine. For more information about this issue, and to access it in digital format, visit www.gdmag.com. A full Top 20 Publishers 2009 report featuring all statistics, ratings and complete survey feedback is available at www.gamedevresearch.com.

About Think Services, a division of United Business Media

Think Services connects specialized communities worldwide using educational events, consulting, training, certification, membership, and innovative media. Providing comprehensive opportunities for people to learn from, network with, and inspire each other, Think Services builds strong brands and works within communities to foster a unique affinity with its products and services. The division's flagship products include the Game Developers Conference, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com, Game Developer magazine, the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), and HDI. Think Services is a subsidiary of United Business Media, a global media and marketing services company with a market capitalization of more than $1.6 billion. To learn more, visit www.think-services.com.

About United Business Media Limited

United Business Media Limited is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print, and with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to www.unitedbusinessmedia.com

    Contact:   Sibel Sunar
               fortyseven communications
               323.658.1200
               sibel@fortyseven.com

               Tara Gibb
               Think Services
               tgibb@think-services.com
               415.845.1019

SOURCE Think Services

SOURCE: Think Services

Web site: http://www.think-services.com/