GAME ZONE
Ranking of major publishers
As we have done in the past, this year we split publishers into two separately ranked groups, based on the number of games they released during the last calendar year. Our first group consists of the largest publishers, who each issued 15 or more unique titles (with Metascores) during 2012. We have ranked these publishers in order from best overall game quality to worst, using a formula based on four factors:
Average Metascore for all games released in 2012
% of scored products with good reviews (Metascore of at least 75)
% of scored products with bad reviews (49 or lower; in this case, a lower % is better)
Number of "great" titles (Metascore of 90 or higher)
Note that the Metascore average (the first factor) counts slightly more than the other factors. (Detailed scoring information appears in a table below the rankings.) In addition, note that iOS games are not included in the figures below.
Here is how the major publishers stacked up based on the quality of their 2012 releases:
|
Best Overall Release
|
|
|---|---|
| Mass Effect 3 (360) | 93 |
|
Best Original Title *
|
|
| Kingdoms of Amalur:Reckoning (PC) | 81 |
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
| Medal of Honor: Warfighter (360) | 53 |
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite **
|
|
|
(tie) Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Vita)
|
8.2 |
| (tie) The Secret World (PC) | 8.2 |
| 75.2 |
|
Scored Releases - 2012 † |
|
|
Unique Titles |
37 |
|
Total Products |
74 |
|
Average Metascore |
|
1. Electronic Arts
(incl. PopCap)
Previous year's rank: 4
Improving its average Metascore and ranking for the second straight year, EA has captured this year's #1 position, thanks in part to being the only major publisher scoring 75 or higher for its 2012 releases. The decades-old gaming company released two 90+ titles last year (Mass Effect 3 for the 360 and PS3 as well as the 360 version of FIFA Soccer 13) while earning positive reviews for 58% of its releases, best among all large publishers. The company's other mostly well-received products last year included the latest entries in the Need for Speed andSSX franchises and the big-budget Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (though the latter's free-spending developer, 38 Studios, quickly went out of business). But while EA technically didn't release a single poorly-reviewed game (i.e., a game scoring 49 or lower), it did release some disappointing ones, most notably Medal of Honor: Warfighter, which looks likely to be the last title in the Medal of Honor shooter franchise, at least for the time being.
2. Microsoft
Previous year's rank: 1
|
Best Overall Release
|
|
|---|---|
|
Mark of the Ninja (PC) |
91
|
|
Best Original Title
|
|
|
Mark of the Ninja (PC)
|
91
|
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
|
Bloodforge (360) |
42
|
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite
|
|
|
Forza Horizon (360) |
8.3 |
|
Scored Releases - 2012 |
|
|
Unique Titles |
42 |
|
Total Products |
44 |
|
Average Metascore |
|
73.0
Last year's top-ranked publisher didn't fall far in our standings, though Microsoft's average Metascore declined by over four points in 2012 compared to its 2011 releases. And while 72% of Microsoft's 2011 products received positive reviews, that success rate dropped significantly to 55% last year, with a multitude of Kinect-exclusive releases (even those with the name Star Wars in the title) continuing to pull down the publisher's overall numbers. On the plus side, Microsoft was one of the few publishers in 2012 to receive a 90 or higher for a brand-new IP, as it did for the stealth action game Mark of the Ninja (developed by Klei Entertainment and released on both the 360 and PC).
3. Sony
Previous year's rank: 3
|
Best Overall Release |
|
|---|---|
|
Journey (PS3) |
92
|
|
Best Original Title
|
|
|
Journey (PS3) |
92
|
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
|
Start the Party! Save the World (PS3) |
50
|
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite
|
|
|
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita (Vita) |
8.9 |
|
Scored Releases - 2012 |
|
|
Unique Titles |
45 |
|
Total Products |
49 |
|
Average Metascore
|
|
72.3
Sony's numbers are fairly close to where they were the year before, and while the publisher's percentage of games receiving positive reviews dropped slightly from 2011 to 2012, the company made up for it by (barely) avoiding any red-scored games last year. Thatgamecompany's stylish and uniqueJourney was the major highlight among the titles published by Sony last year, though the Vita debut of Sony's LittleBigPlanetfranchise and fellow handheld titles Sound Shapes and Gravity Rush also managed to impress many critics. Those highlights aside, Sony actually scored a bit higher for its PS3 releases (a 72.8 average) than it did for its its Vita releases (72.1).
4. Nintendo
Previous year's rank: 2
|
Scored Releases - 2012
|
|
|
Unique Titles |
37
|
|
Total Products |
37 |
|
Average Metascore |
|
71.2
|
Best Overall Release
|
|
|---|---|
|
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) |
92
|
|
Best Original Title
|
|
|
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) |
92
|
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
|
Spirit Hunters Inc: Shadow (DS) |
43
|
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite
|
|
|
Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS) |
8.6 |
Because we use North American release dates throughout this report, Nintendo gets credit for Xenoblade Chronicles as a 2012 release, even though the JRPG (and most of its reviews) dates back to 2010 and 2011, when it came out in Japan and Europe, respectively. Even without that title, though, Nintendo would remain the 4th-ranked publisher, a drop from the lofty #2 position where the company appeared in each of the previous two years. Before you start blaming the fading Wii and the disappointing Wii U for Nintendo's drop, however, note that the publisher actually scored about four points less for its handheld titles (3DS and DS) last year than it did for its console games. Overall, Nintendo's average score fell by over three points in 2012, even as its percentage of games receiving positive reviews rose from 48% to a laudable 51%.
|
Best Overall Release
|
|
|---|---|
|
Okami HD (PS3) |
90
|
|
Best Original Title
|
|
|
Dragon's Dogma (PS3) |
78
|
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
|
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor (360) |
38
|
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite
|
|
|
Okami HD (PS3) |
9.2 |
|
Scored Releases - 2012
|
|
|
Unique Titles |
16
|
|
Total Products |
28 |
|
Average Metascore |
|
70.4
5. Capcom
Previous year's rank: n/a
Capcom placed third in our original game publisher rankings two years ago before dropping out of the major publisher category the following year due to a decline in the number of titles released. But with 16 unique titles on the market in 2012, Capcom is once again a "major," though its average Metascore last year is a full six points lower than it was in 2011, and the company released its second-lowest-scoring game on record (Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, "trailing" only 2003's Chaos Legion 37). The publisher's only real 2012 highlights are a high-definition remaster of the PS2 classic Okami, and Street Fighter X Tekken, the latest collaboration between Capcom and Namco. Most of Capcom's various Resident Evil releases in 2012 failed to earn positive reviews, and Western critics didn't seem to like Capcom's new Japanese action title Asura's Wrath as much as their Japanese counterparts.
|
Best Overall Release
|
|
|---|---|
|
Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition (360)
|
88
|
|
Best Original Title
|
|
|
Lollipop Chainsaw (360) |
70
|
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
|
Game Party Champions (Wii U) |
23
|
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite
|
|
|
LEGO The Lord of the Rings (PS3) |
8.6 |
|
Scored Releases - 2012
|
|
|
Unique Titles |
17
|
|
Total Products |
35
|
|
Average Metascore |
|
70.6
6. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Previous year's rank: n/a
Listed in our "mid-size" publisher rankings in previous years, Warner Bros. moved up to the majors this year as a result of a much more ambitious release calendar in 2012. But more doesn't necessarily mean better, and the company's average Metascore declined from the previous year's 72.2. Many of the publisher's better 2012 releases were licensed LEGO titles (as were some of its worst 2012 releases), while Warner's sole new IP—the over-the-top actioner Lollipop Chainsaw—received a decidedly mixed reception from critics and gamers.
|
Best Overall Release
|
|
|---|---|
|
Far Cry 3 (360) |
90
|
|
Best Original Title
|
|
|
Rocksmith (PC) |
78
|
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
|
ESPN Sports Connection (Wii U) |
31
|
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite
|
|
|
Far Cry 3 (360) |
8.7 |
|
Scored Releases - 2012
|
|
|
Unique Titles |
25
|
|
Total Products |
46
|
|
Average Metascore |
|
68.2
7. Ubisoft
Previous year's rank: 6
While Ubisoft's average score for 2012 was virtually identical to 2011's number, its percentage of releases with positive reviews fell from 48% to 39%. And five different Ubisoft titles received extremely negative reviews last year, including an Expendables 2 tie-in and two crummy Wii U launch titles. The company did score some notable successes in 2012, however, including the late-year release Far Cry 3, the buzzy Assassin's Creed III, and new Vita and PC versions of 2011 hit Rayman Origins.
8. Konami
Previous year's rank: 10
69.0
|
Best Overall Release
|
|
|---|---|
|
Skullgirls (PS3) |
82
|
|
Best Original Title
|
|
|
Skullgirls (PS3) |
82
|
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
|
NeverDead (PS3) |
50
|
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite
|
|
|
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (Vita) |
8.3 |
|
Scored Releases - 2012
|
|
|
Unique Titles |
16
|
|
Total Products |
28
|
|
Average Metascore |
|
Konami released fewer titles in 2012 than it did in either of the previous two years, and the result was an average Metascore over four points higher than it was in 2011. Still, fewer than one in three products was positively reviewed, and while the publisher's Pro Evolution Soccer franchise rebounded a bit compared to slightly lower-scoring recent versions, Konami's overall score was brought down by numerous mediocre releases, chief among them being a few Silent Hill titles, newcomer NeverDead, and X-Blades successor Blades of Time.
|
Best Overall Release
|
|
|---|---|
|
Football Manager 2013 (PC) |
86
|
|
Best Original Title
|
|
|
Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure (3DS) |
76
|
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
|
Sonic the Fighters (360) |
47
|
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite
|
|
|
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (PS3/360) |
8.6
|
|
Scored Releases - 2012
|
|
|
Unique Titles |
29
|
|
Total Products |
44
|
|
Average Metascore |
|
69.9
9. Sega
Previous year's rank: 7
Sega's average Metascore is actually the highest it's been in years, though the publisher has dropped back into 9th place in our overall rankings, the result of a fairly dismal success rate of 30% (leaving 70% of the company's 2012 releases with mixed-to-negative reviews). Sega released seven more titles last year than in 2011, but aside from a few PC titles, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, the result was mainly a sea of yellow scores, and no truly great new games.
|
Best Overall Release
|
|
|---|---|
|
Diablo III (PC) |
88
|
|
Best Original Title
|
|
|
(none) |
|
|
Worst Overall Release
|
|
|
007 Legends (PC) |
25
|
|
Metacritic Users' Favorite
|
|
|
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (360) |
8.4
|
|
Scored Releases - 2012
|
|
|
Unique Titles |
19
|
|
Total Products |
45
|
|
Average Metascore |
|
64.4
10. Activision Blizzard
Previous year's rank: 11
Diablo III was a critical and commercial hit for the gaming giant, and the company continued to mine its World of Warcraft andCall of Duty franchises for financial rewards (and decent, if not stellar, reviews). So why is Activision Blizzard near the bottom of our rankings for a second straight year? The answer is simple: once again, the publisher released far too many terrible games. Five separate titles (accounting for 10 products in total) received scores in the dreadful 25-45 range, including movie/TV tie-ins (Family Guy,Battleship, Ice Age) and even a widely derided Vita installment in the CoD franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified. There was a bit of good news, though: Activision's average score actually increased by over three points compared to the previous year. Still, Activision was the sole major publisher that failed to introduce a single new IP in 2012, choosing instead to milk its existing franchises and licenses. It's hard to imagine the company moving up in our yearly rankings if it remains reluctant to take a chance on a new concept.
|
Scored Releases - 2012 |
|
|
Unique Titles |
32 |
|
Total Products |
45 |
|
Average Metascore |
|
62.5
Best Overall Release |
|
|---|---|
Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss (360) |
89 |
Best Original Title |
|
Pid (360) |
72 |
Worst Overall Release |
|
Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade (Wii U) |
11 |
Metacritic Users' Favorite |
|
Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss (360) |
8.2 |
11. Namco Bandai
(incl. D3 Publisher)
Previous year's rank: 9
Namco Bandai has been moving steadily down our publisher rankings since we started compiling them two years ago, its average score dropping by about two points each year. This year, it has no further to go, finishing dead last thanks to the deadly combination of having the lowest percentage of games with positive reviews (just 20%) and the highest percentage of products with poor reviews (22%, tying Activision). Namco, through its D3 Publisher subsidiary, also managed to release the lowest-scoring 2012 game for any major publisher: the oddly titled Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade, deemed "borderline unplayable" by Game Revolution. (D3, by the way, was the source of many of Namco's problems with critics, averaging just 53.7 across its dozen products.) TwoDark Souls titles, a pair of Tales games, SoulCalibur V, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2was about all that the publisher had to offer in the way of decent 2012 releases, though that roster actually represents an improvement over 2011, when Namco released just four positively-reviewed titles.