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Publishers/Developers that have fallen or "My, does this thread make me sad!"

F

Flying_Phoenix

Banned
I've been playing some older games lately. Been whipping out some MEGA-Drive games as well as up some old arcade games. In short I've gotten in touch with some of the old classics. While doing this I've noticed many current publishers/developers have made these incredible games. Looking at their current output twenty to fifteen years later it's amazing how much they've fallen.

So what are some publishers/developers from times past that you thought were great but have fallen off their title?

My pick:

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Seriously these guys were the beat-em-up kings. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game is still great. And even in single player I find Turtles in Time to be one of the greatest games ever made. I could play these games for hours. It wasn't just beat-em-ups though. Sparkster 2, Zombies At My Neighbors, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, and Snatcher are just fantastic. But today Konami isn't even a shadow of their former self. Outside of the shitacular Metal Gear Solid 4, MGS: Peacewalker (haven't played it so can't comment), and near annual handheld games that reuse many assets from countless years ago I can't really think of much they've done. They went from being on top to nearly just being a run-of-the-mill publisher.
 
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Square used to be something special. Not quite as much as they used to be now.

It's like they're afraid to take risks now
 
Yeah, Rare seems like a good answer. 2 gens ago, they were on top of their game. Jet Force Gemini, Donkey Kong Country 64 (i loved it), Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie, and Perfect Dark are among some of my all time favorites. Now, they're just maintaining the NXE and trying to find their footing in this gen by either re-inventing or re-releasing their old games.

It's just sad. They're so much better than that.
 
ezekial45 said:
Yeah, Rare seems like a good answer. 2 gens ago, they were on top of their game. Jet Force Gemini, Donkey Kong Country 64 (i loved it), Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie, and Perfect Dark are among some of my all time favorites. Now, they're just maintaining the NXE and trying to find their footing in this gen by either re-inventing or re-releasing their old games.

It's just sad. They're so much better than that.
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I don't know if it's nostalgia or just because they are better. It is a bit more difficult for whimsical games like Banjo-Kazooie to stand out now. Hardcore games like Halo, MW2, and even most RPGs just push them to the bottom of the pecking order. Back then we didn't have online play to worry about, and fun adventure games were kings.
 
I think people saying rare are a bit foolish, at least up until now they have put out some pretty great stuff developed in house.

Companies i'd go with? I'd say the biggest fall has to be sega or Konami. Konami used to have so much great stuff, the arcade beat em ups, tiny toons on the genesis, castelvania series on the nes/snes/genesis/ps1, contra, metal gear solid, symphony of the night, zombies ate my neighbors, DDR, it just seemed like after MGS came out and did big sales they just.. stopped making cool stuff? What have they done this gen in comparison, you have mgs4 and.. I think that new castlevania isn't even done in house.

Sega is.. well that's too easy.
 
Sierra stopped existing this generation. It's weird to think about how powerful their development and publishing arms were.

Flying_Phoenix said:
I can't really think of much they've done. They went from being on top to nearly just being a run-of-the-mill publisher.
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This generation:
awesome Bemani games (Utacchi's a new good one, UBeat's a...new one)
Metal Gear Acid 1 and 2 (*cough, better than Metal Gear proper, cough*)
good Goemon
Otomedius Gorgeous and Otomedius Excellent
Power Pros Baseball being brought outside of Japan
Lunar Knights
Contra 4
Vandal Hearts: Flames Of Judgment
not letting Silent Hill and Suikoden die, if not exactly caring for them well
excellently curated compilations
Loveplus made non-Japanese laugh
the best Castlevania game/1 of the greatest games of all-time

That said, I had to resort to GameFAQs to make that list, whereas it would have been self-apparent in better days. They're certainly not worthless, though.
 
Aggrotek said:
I don't know if it's nostalgia or just because they are better. It is a bit more difficult for whimsical games like Banjo-Kazooie to stand out now. Hardcore games like Halo, MW2, and even most RPGs just push them to the bottom of the pecking order. Back then we didn't have online play to worry about, and fun adventure games were kings.
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I do love the implied idea that Halo is more hardcore than any of the games Rare did before. Like Perfect Dark. Or Banjo.
 
Flying_Phoenix said:
Seriously these guys were the beat-em-up kings. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game is still great. And even in single player I find Turtles in Time to be one of the greatest games ever made. I could play these games for hours. It wasn't just beat-em-ups though. Sparkster 2, Zombies At My Neighbors, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, and Snatcher are just fantastic. But today Konami isn't even a shadow of their former self. Outside of the shitacular Metal Gear Solid 4, MGS: Peacewalker (haven't played it so can't comment), and near annual handheld games that reuse many assets from countless years ago I can't really think of much they've done. They went from being on top to nearly just being a run-of-the-mill publisher.
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Kind of sounds like you're just upset that the beat 'em genre has (thankfully) died.

And MGS4 was amazing. Haters gonna hate.
 
I feel like I am the only person who thinks RARE is still a great developer. I know a lot of people were pissed about Nuts and Bolts, but if you put the fanboyism aside for a seconds you would realize that even though it wasn't a "platformer" it is still a well made and thought out game. Very fine work.


As for Perfect Dark Zero, The multiplayer is still one of the best experiences I have had this generation in terms of gameplay and community.

Viva Pinata is also one of my new favorite IPs this generation.
 
Persona7 said:
I feel like I am the only person who thinks RARE is still a great developer. I know a lot of people were pissed about Nuts and Bolts, but if you put the fanboyism aside for a seconds you would realize that even though it wasn't a "platformer" it is still a well made and thought out game. Very fine work.


Viva Pinata is also one of my new favorite IPs this generation.
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Ugh please don't bring the fanboyism argument to this thread. Rare today might not be as bad as the other examples mentioned here. But they still are not half as good as they used to be. They used to crank out high quality titles almost every year or so. Most of their titles are considered classics. Now they barely make a decent game. And the future, to be honest, isn't looking bright for them either, with all the Natal shit and whatnot.
 
Fraeon said:
I do love the implied idea that Halo is more hardcore than any of the games Rare did before. Like Perfect Dark. Or Banjo.
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Didn't mean it like that. I mean they have a larger fan base.
There has been a shift in the types of games that are popular now, and that used to be popular.
Not necessarily with older gamers but with the up and coming generation.
 
A ton of people would disagree, but I think Capcom, last gen they had DMC1/3SE, God Hand, Okami, RE4, SF3S and Viewtiful Joe, all really incredible games, this gen they've made nothing I care about.
 
I'm definitely irked that Konami has seemingly adopted the strategy of circling the wagons around a tiny handful of core IPs and have stopped doing much else. The fact that we haven't gotten a Gradius 6 this gen hurts pretty hard.

In contrast their ancient 8 bit rival Capcom continues to develop new IPs.

Aside from Konami how has Namco not been mentioned yet. Oh man have they ever gone down hill.
 
GhaleonQ said:
?

It's 1 thing to dismiss the copycats of any genre craze, but http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/nbbbm/nbbbm.htm http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/konamibeatemups/konamibeatemups.htm http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/tmntbeatemups/tmntbeatemups.htm http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/finalfightclones/finalfightclones.htm most of those are rock-solid.
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Not if you hate beat 'em ups. It's a genre that was great for arcades to eat quarters with, but I think the gameplay is quite terrible and it's been usurped by the console-orientated action games like DMC. Light gun games are the same way. A dead arcade genre that's been supplanted by first person shooters.
 
Gomu Gomu said:
Ugh please don't bring the fanboyism argument to this thread. Rare today might not be as bad as the other examples mentioned here. But they still are not half as good as they used to be. They used to crank out high quality titles almost every year or so. Most of their titles are considered classics. Now they barely make a decent game. And the future, to be honest, isn't looking bright for them either, with all the Natal shit and whatnot.
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They're not even the worst they've ever been. They made landmark games for British computer systems and accepted tons of acclaim. When they switched to Japanese consoles, they rehashed past work and spewed out barely coherent shovelware. They rebounded with their famous Super Nintendo games, diminished slowly until they were post-Nintendo, and put out reasonably interesting Xbox 360 and DS stuff since. "Most" of their games aren't even good, much less classics.
 
Since this seems to have also included devs who were absorbed into nothingness:

CTRL-F "Looking Glass".

Nope. I weep.
 
Namco. This gen they have been absolutely mediocre. They are full of bad decisions regarding what they localize, make, publish, and release. Almost nothing they have released this gen has excited me or actually felt like a big deal. Their "big" games have only disappointed.
 
GhaleonQ said:
Sierra stopped existing this generation. It's weird to think about how powerful their development and publishing arms were.



Metal Gear Acid 1 and 2 (*cough, better than Metal Gear proper, cough*)
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:lol NO
 
GhaleonQ said:
They're not even the worst they've ever been. They made landmark games for British computer systems and accepted tons of acclaim. When they switched to Japanese consoles, they rehashed past work and spewed out barely coherent shovelware. They rebounded with their famous Super Nintendo games, diminished slowly until they were post-Nintendo, and put out reasonably interesting Xbox 360 and DS stuff since. "Most" of their games aren't even good, much less classics.
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Obviously I was referring to the Nintendo era. Excuse me for not clearing that out on my post.
 
Fuck you guys saying Rare. Such utter bullshit, Viva and Banjo are incredible games. Sure they may become awful now that they're Kinect focused, but they still have a lot of talent there.
 
Aside from the most obvious ones, I'd say Bioware.

After KOTOR (which I love to death) they kinda went downhill, Mass Effect and Dragon Age are decent games but can't hold a candle to Baldur's Gate and KOTOR. Haven't played ME2 though, who knows, maybe it's actually as good as the critics say.
 
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Now completely absorbed by Gungho and will probably never make a new Lunar or proper Grandia ever again. :(
 
Rahxephon91 said:
Namco. This gen they have been absolutely mediocre. They are full of bad decisions regarding what they localize, make, publish, and release. Almost nothing they have released this gen has excited me or actually felt like a big deal. Their "big" games have only disappointed.
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Enslaved will either be their saving grace or their tragic defeat. It looks very pretty, but how in gods name are they going to effectively market it is a question left unanswered.
 
Capcom. Most of the talent that produced games I cared about all went over to Platinum. I love Street Fighter 4 and Bionic Commando: ReArmed, but that's about it.
 
SNK

At least they released KOF XIII this year.
i will always love you SNK, my first and true love
 
Gilgamesh said:
You have to realize that it's Ghaleon. He has the most insane esoteric taste in the universe.
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*frowns, shakes fist* I'm not sure that's a good example of it, especially if one (rightly) finds nearly every non-gameplay aspect of the Metal Gear series embarrassing. Aesthetics? I might not say the music's better, but the style's vastly superior. I genuinely do think Acid's a better strategy game than Metal Gear is an action game. Whether you only like action games or not is another thing. Plus, even if you think Snake Eater's a masterpiece, I count 0 mediocre-or-worse Acid games and 4 Metal Gear ones.

Gilgamesh said:
Not if you hate beat 'em ups. It's a genre that was great for arcades to eat quarters with, but I think the gameplay is quite terrible and it's been usurped by the console-orientated action games like DMC. Light gun games are the same way. A dead arcade genre that's been supplanted by first person shooters.
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It's not the same. Light-gun games have precious few mechanical differences, so the gameplay depends on patterns and premise. (Konami had a good run of games in which you protect a character, rather than act as the target.) I can see dismissing that genre out of hand. "The gameplay" of Ninja Baseball Bat Man and Kunio can differ from Sega's D. D. Crew dreck because their fighting systems AND their patterns AND their premises AND their level design can differ. It's 1 thing to hate a genre for being boring, but a genre that produces diverse experiences seems like something people should want around.

But this is all off-topic. You can have the last word.

Gomu Gomu said:
Obviously I was referring to the Nintendo era. Excuse me for not clearing that out on my post.
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Sometimes hyperbole policing is necessary. There's "not producing masterpieces," and then there's "video game equivalent of a crack whore."
 
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