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Naughty Dog Vs. Insomniac Games, who is the premier Sony developer?

Who is the boss?

  • Naughty Dog, obviously

    Votes: 212 34.4%
  • Obviously Insomniac Games

    Votes: 241 39.1%
  • I lean Naughty Dog, slightly

    Votes: 92 14.9%
  • Insomniac Games by an inch

    Votes: 72 11.7%

  • Total voters
    617

Loope

Member
Most prolific while being solid - Insomniac.

I feel like Naughty Dog it's their studio to drop the mic. They always do something insane with the graphics and overall presentation.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
Naughty Dog made two original IP juggernauts.

Insomniac needed the Spiderman IP for this thread to even be made.

Neither are great developers but Naughty Dog is CLEARLY a tier or two higher.
Nah, people who slept on insomniac for years needed a lowest common denominator IP like Spiderman to wake them up to the caliber of Insomniac titles.
 

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
Both studios have great technical talent, unfortunately they both are currently in an idea rut.

Since Neil Wokeman took over ND, they have become a LOU studio, and Insomniac has become a comic book game studio. Some originality from both would be refreshing.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Nah, people who slept on insomniac for years needed a lowest common denominator IP like Spiderman to wake them up to the caliber of Insomniac titles.

Until Insomniac builds a giant IP on their own, they will always be JV.

Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted, and The Last of Us...that's what sets Naughty Dog far above.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Insomniac and its not even close.

its been over 3 years since TLou2 and we havent seen or heard shit from them

OMG?! 3 whole years?!

If this were 1997, you'd have a point. It's 2023 though. Games take 7 years to make.

Start to worry in 2026 if we still haven't seen anything out of ND.
 

DJ12

Member
Hungry Good Burger GIF by Bounce
 
Well naughty dog have been working on gass game for the last 4 years, which has been cancelled. Let’s hope Sony have not destroyed one of the world’s best devs, it’s gonna take a long time to recover, so right now it’s insomniac, no question, would love them to tackle a new ip.
 
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fart town usa

Gold Member
Until Insomniac builds a giant IP on their own, they will always be JV.

Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted, and The Last of Us...that's what sets Naughty Dog far above.
Spyro, Ratchet, Resistance, Sunset Overdrive, Spiderman, all highly regarded IPs. They even made some VR games that people speak highly of.

Mass appeal is no indication of whether something is legitimately better than something else, especially when it comes to vidyagames. ND clearly makes quality AAA games but I'd argue that Insomniac's SP gameplay loop has always outshined ND when it comes to gameplay/replayability. ND has better MP chops with TLOU and Uncharted MP but that's taking a back seat at ND these days.

All I'm really trying to say is that Insomniac has always been this good, most people just weren't paying attention.
 
Insomniac is great, but I'd still put them behind Santa Monica and Naughty Dog.

They are definitely on the rise though, and it looks like they are going to get over that >90 hump with Spider-Man 2.

Looking at the past 10 years or so of output - they have been slowing ascending to the other two's level. I'd be surprised if Wolverine doesn't get them there:

Resistance 3 - 83
Sunset Overdrive - 81
Ratchet & Clank (2016)- 85
Spider-Man - 87
Miles Morales - 85
Ratchet & Clink: Rift Apart - 88
Spider-Man 2 - 91

I'd put Sony Santa Monica 2nd. Santa Monica has been consistent - but not as diverse as Naughty Dog since they've only been working on GOW IP for their main games. Would love to see a new IP from Cory:

God of War - 94
God of War 2 - 93
God of War 3 - 92
Ascension - 80
God of War (2018) - 94
God of War: Ragnarok - 94

Would still give the crown to Naughty Dog - they've at least worked on multiple IPs in that timespan - with both IPs releasing games in the "best game of all time" conversation with Uncharted 2, The Last of Us and yes - even The Last of Us: Part 2:

Uncharted - 88
Uncharted 2 - 96
Uncharted 3 - 92
The Last of Us - 95
Uncharted 4 - 93
The Last of Us: Part 2 - 93
Lost Legacy - 84

Sony still has Bend, Blue Point, Bungie, Guerrilla, Housemarque, Media Molecule, Polyphony Digital, Sucker Punch and Team Asobi - all delivering awesome games and helping to push those 3 to the best they can be.

It's a bit worrisome with MicroSoft buying up all of the 3rd party developers - but in my opinion they'll never compete with a first party stable like the one Sony has.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
Insomniac is great, but I'd still put them behind Santa Monica and Naughty Dog.

They are definitely on the rise though, and it looks like they are going to get over that >90 hump with Spider-Man 2.

Looking at the past 10 years or so of output - they have been slowing ascending to the other two's level. I'd be surprised if Wolverine doesn't get them there:

Resistance 3 - 83
Sunset Overdrive - 81
Ratchet & Clank (2016)- 85
Spider-Man - 87
Miles Morales - 85
Ratchet & Clink: Rift Apart - 88
Spider-Man 2 - 91

I'd put Sony Santa Monica 2nd. Santa Monica has been consistent - but not as diverse as Naughty Dog since they've only been working on GOW IP for their main games. Would love to see a new IP from Cory:

God of War - 94
God of War 2 - 93
God of War 3 - 92
Ascension - 80
God of War (2018) - 94
God of War: Ragnarok - 94

Would still give the crown to Naughty Dog - they've at least worked on multiple IPs in that timespan - with both IPs releasing games in the "best game of all time" conversation with Uncharted 2, The Last of Us and yes - even The Last of Us: Part 2:

Uncharted - 88
Uncharted 2 - 96
Uncharted 3 - 92
The Last of Us - 95
Uncharted 4 - 93
The Last of Us: Part 2 - 93
Lost Legacy - 84

Sony still has Bend, Blue Point, Bungie, Guerrilla, Housemarque, Media Molecule, Polyphony Digital, Sucker Punch and Team Asobi - all delivering awesome games and helping to push those 3 to the best they can be.

It's a bit worrisome with MicroSoft buying up all of the 3rd party developers - but in my opinion they'll never compete with a first party stable like the one Sony has.
I'm not gonna argue but two comments.

GoW is a beloved franchise but when you have to reboot the series because it's grown so stale and the protagonist is so universally disliked...

Also, nothing from ND or any of the above studios mentioned deserve to be considered in GOAT talk. That is pure hyperbole hype train stuff.

As an aside, I'd love to see the new thing that SSM is working on. Really curious about that.
 

SABRE220

Member
Insomniac is definitely more productive and efficient but in terms of sheer quality and pushing tech and standards for the console its clearly naughty dog.Their releases almost always push standards and set new technological benchmarks for the systems uncharted 2 and 3 for the ps3 were game changers as was tlou and tlou2 was a behemoth that is impressive to this day.

That being said I dont know what the hell they are doing this gen, they have been incredibly lazy and have been pushing out remasters and remakes and claiming them as next gen ps5 standard releases...they fumbled factions which should have been a slamdunk with the amazing tlou1 multiplayer as the template and we still dont know what the hell they are upto halfway into next gen..but I have confidence that when they do release their main release for this gen it will definitely be of a higher standard than insomniacs releases.
 
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mortal

Gold Member
I'd argue that Naughty Dog are still the Sony darling, but Insomniac are gunning for that crown going by their their recent output.
Following up on this post after these past couple of years, I'd have to finally give it to Insomniac.
Not only are they an impressively productive studio, with a relatively quick turnaround, they've consistently showcased some fairly impressive technical work compared to their peers.

Whereas Naughty Dog, outside the one release, has fallen short of this gen chasing the GaaS dragon without much to show for it atm.

Not to mention TLOU "fatigue" setting in for many of us, between the games and HBO series.
With Insomniac, players had Rachet & Clank, several Spider-Man games, and Wolverine to look forward to.
Would be nice to have a new IP from Naughty Dog to look to in anticipation.

TLOU games will always have an audience, and coming off the HBO series Naughty Dog might even win more people over with Part III, although I'd much prefer them to explore something entirely new.
Whatever new bar they aim to set, I'd love to see it through a new lens. New ideas, new mechanics, and of course new stories.
 
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Insomniac by a landslide. Naughty Dog has become a one-trick pony. Sad state of affairs given their PS3 era masterpieces.

P.S. I think Sucker Punch Productions is better than both of them. Infamous: Second Son and Ghost of Tsushima were more interesting games than anything either of the above have in their catalogue. If they can't make a next-gen title, no one can.
 
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fart town usa

Gold Member
Reading this thread has convinced me of one certainty; Insomniac needs to give a 4k/60fps upgrade to A Crack in Time.

It is clear that faaaaaar too many people slept on that game during the PS3 era. For me, it is still the pinnacle of Insomniac's brilliance and hands down one of the best action/platformers ever made.
 

JohnnyFootball

GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
Right now, it's Insomniac. They've been bar none the best acquisition of anyone. The only other studio in terms of production that can rival them is From.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Spyro, Ratchet, Resistance, Sunset Overdrive, Spiderman, all highly regarded IPs.
Not nearly as highy regarded as Naughty Dogs premier franchises.

Mass appeal is no indication of whether something is legitimately better than something else, especially when it comes to vidyagames.
There's 3 ways to assess a games quality.

1. What me vs you say. You think Insomniac is better. I say Naughty Dog. That's a wash.

2. We look to the critics...which point to Naughty Dog being better.

3. We look to the players...which point to Naughty Dog being better.

I think 3 is a much more valid way to assess than 1 or 2.

All I'm really trying to say is that Insomniac has always been this good, most people just weren't paying attention.

People weren't paying attention for a reason. Great indie games with no budget force gamers to pay attention via quality. Insomniac has had the backing of PlayStation through its entire history. If people weren't paying attention to them its because they were mid.

The Spiderman IP is a crutch Insimniac needs in order to be in this conversation. They needed saving after wallowing in mediocrity for the 10 years leading up to Spiderman 2018.
 
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fart town usa

Gold Member
Not nearly as highy regarded as Naughty Dogs premier franchises.


There's 3 ways to assess a games quality.

1. What me vs you say. You think Insomniac is better. I say Naughty Dog. That's a wash.

2. We look to the critics...which point to Naughty Dog being better.

3. We look to the players...which point to Naughty Dog being better.

I think 3 is a much more valid way to assess than 1 or 2.



People weren't paying attention for a reason. Great indie games with no budget force gamers to pay attention via quality. Insomniac has had the backing of PlayStation through its entire history. If people weren't paying attention to them its because they were mid.
Calling Insomniac mid is heresy to me and just makes me think you didn't really play their games.
 
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Insomniac certainly has certainly carried this generation for Sony but they still have not made an all time great game. Both Sony Santa Monica and Naughty have repeatedly made GOTG type games for well over a decade. I would put Sony Santa Monica #1, personally. Corey Barlog's rumored new IP sci-fi game is definitely my most hyped Sony game in the next few years. That Studio seems to do everything right and has been hiring like crazy in recent years too

Naughty Dog has/had the most talent, but given all the issues at the studio since TLOU2 development and now with its GAAS game, it's not unfair to question whether they are the same studio

Overall, bang for your buck, Insomniac is probably #1. They create great games in a timely manner, but they are not revolutionary like other top tier Sony Studios
 
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fart town usa

Gold Member
Insomniac certainly has certainly carried this generation for Sony but they still have not made an all time great game. Both Sony Santa Monica and Naughty have repeatedly made GOTG type games for well over a decade. I would put Sony Santa Monica #1, personally. Corey Barlog's rumored new IP sci-fi game is definitely my most hyped Sony game in the next few years.
They have but they're locked to old consoles. Ratchet and Clank 2 & 3 on PS2 and A Crack in Time on PS3 are some of the best action/platformers ever made. I think they're all available on PS+ Classic for streaming though.

Insomniac were some of the pioneers for console NG+ and awesome unlockables too (The Insomniac interactive museum).

It is what it is but seriously, people have slept on Insomniac for way too long and the funny thing is, I don't even play their modern games much these days cause I feel like they've plateaued in a way 😅. I'll probably get SM2 though since it's a true current gen game. Want to see the tech on full display with my nice modern TV.
 
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Imtjnotu

Member
OMG?! 3 whole years?!

If this were 1997, you'd have a point. It's 2023 though. Games take 7 years to make.

Start to worry in 2026 if we still haven't seen anything out of ND.
Miles morales, ratchet and clank, Spiderman remake, Spiderman 2. All the insomniac games in those 3 years
 

X-Wing

Member
Stupid thread. They are both great and each work at their own pace.
People often forget that when it comes to character building and narrative Insomniac kinda has the work cut out for them since the Marvel characters are already well established while Naughty Dog needs to build all this from scratch in their games.
 

[Sigma]

Member
*Checks to see what I typed in this thread*
insomniac Games to me. They seem to be matter of fact in their decisions and more versatile. And I don't even know if what I just said is true.....but I believe it. They might get 4 high quality games out this gen.
Seems like I may even have under estimated Insomniac at this point in terms of the the number of games they will produce this gen. It may be 5 instead of 4.
 
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Eiknarf

Banned
I think Insomniac might have possibly established themselves as the top dog now with Spider-Man 2. Might not be everyones taste due to them having more family friendly games but I bet we'll see them bring grittier, dark themes with Wolverine.

Their critical acclaim to production speed ratio is something else. On top of that their technical abilities are also beyond most others, it's almost ridiculous that they offer graphical options on console that rival some PC games.
I was just about to ask about the upcoming Wolverine.

Is it gonna be rated T for teen? Or will it be rated M for mature?

I feel like it’s doing a disservice if a title like Wolverine gets a family friendly T for teen rating
 

cybertailor

Neo Member
Naughty Dog, no contest for me. Spider man 2 looks great, but the feeling of realism in gameplay and storytelling achived in TLOU2 is still unmatched in the whole industry imo.
 

Mowcno

Member
Naughty Dog get higher reviews but are slower. Just taking the titles from 2016 onwards (Ratchet & Uncharted 4 release year) and ignoring all remasters/remakes for both:

Naughty Dog released 3 titles since 2016 with an average Metacritic score of 90.
Insomniac released 5 titles since 2016 with an average Metacritic score of 87.

In terms of sales Spider-Man is Sony's king. Insomniac's Spider-Man series only started 5 years ago and already has over 33m sales and will likely be well over 50m this time next year. The Last of Us series took 9.5 years to get to 37m.
 
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BootsLoader

Banned
Naughty dog has more creativity than insomniac games in my opinion, on the other hand insomniac games has high quality control, but naughty dog has also. I don’t know, it’s very hard to choose after Spider-Man 2.
 
Naughty Dog get higher reviews but are slower. Just taking the titles from 2016 onwards (Ratchet & Uncharted 4 release year) and ignoring all remasters/remakes for both:

Naughty Dog released 3 titles since 2016 with an average Metacritic score of 90.
Insomniac released 5 titles since 2016 with an average Metacritic score of 87.

In terms of sales Spider-Man is Sony's king. Insomniac's Spider-Man series only started 5 years ago and already has over 33m sales and will likely be well over 50m this time next year. The Last of Us series took 9.5 years to get to 37m.
The Last of Us is an original IP owned by Sony. Spider-Man is owned by Marvel, and Marvel gets a massive cut of the video game sales. And Spider-Man is such a big IP, even a mediocre game would sell incredibly well under Sony's brand. Really dumb to compare sales between the two. And I bet Sony makes more money with TLOU franchise given they actually own the IP
 

skit_data

Member
I was just about to ask about the upcoming Wolverine.

Is it gonna be rated T for teen? Or will it be rated M for mature?

I feel like it’s doing a disservice if a title like Wolverine gets a family friendly T for teen rating
I think it's been confirmed to be m-rated, there will at least be dismemberment and that should automatically lead to m-rating I presume

 
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fart town usa

Gold Member
The Last of Us is an original IP owned by Sony. Spider-Man is owned by Marvel, and Marvel gets a massive cut of the video game sales. And Spider-Man is such a big IP, even a mediocre game would sell incredibly well under Sony's brand. Really dumb to compare sales between the two. And I bet Sony makes more money with TLOU franchise given they actually own the IP
This is true and why it's a shame it took Spiderman to get Insomniac into the headspace of so many gamers.

I'm excited for the next original IP from Insomniac now that they are on everyone's radar.
 
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