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[daTRUballin]

In your opinion, what developer/publisher has fallen the furthest from their "glory days"? What game companies out there used to hold your interest in their game releases but have fallen off your radar at some point?

I'd also like to note that we should probably refrain from naming developers or publishers that have been shut down. This thread is mainly about formerly great companies who still exist but are now shells of their former selves or make subpar games now. So in this case, naming companies that literally don't exist anymore wouldn't make much sense. But if you really want to, I suppose you can. Let this be a thread where we appreciate companies we used to love.

I think this thread could be interesting. Discuss.

Spoiler

Also, you might want to have some tissues somewhere near you just in case. This could turn out to be a depressing thread!

 

[Jackpot]

Hello Games - No Man's Sky

Konami is a joke of a company.

GRIN burnt itself out pretty spectacularly but none of their games were that good to begin with.

 

[Cartho]

Bioware.

Compared to the truly majestic experiences they used to offer, which had superb stories and well crafted plots. Now modern bioware games are open world because duh, have boring, meaningless sidequests and hugely dumbed down RPG systems compared to their predecessors.

 

[Markitron]

Rare, no question. From 1994-2000 they were the best developer on the planet, only Nintendo could touch them. It seemed like they released an all time classic every 6-9 months

 

[Thatanas]

Rare, no question.

This.

 

[JayEH]

Bioware hasn't been the same since the one two combo of DA: Origins and ME2.

Capcom isn't total shit now but they're not what they used to be. They only make sequels to their biggest franchises and even those are missing sales targets.

 

[Tiu Neo]

I'll go with the easy one and say Konami.

Still, Bomberman R gives me a tiny bit of hope that they can, somehow, come back. Maybe not to their glory days, but to at least making fun games.

 

[elkniwcire]

Rare, no question.

I miss the old Rare :-(

 

[Iceternal]

Capcom

 

[jacobeid]

Rocksteady sure went downhill from Arkham Asylum to Arkham Knight. They're going to have to sell me hard on their next game because I don't have much confidence in their abilities at this point.

 

[Neptonic]

Anyone who says anything other Konami is lying to themselves

 

[MrS]

Bethesda/Zenimax - Fallout 4 was awful, Prey is woeful, their policy on no reviews before launch is a scandal

If they didn't own id I wouldn't buy another game from them.

 

[Ray Down]

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Rare

 

[Nairume]

Out of all the existing publishers, Konami is probably the one that has had the biggest fall from grace.

 

[capitalCORN]

Ubisoft. An utter darling in the PC space back in 00's, now pumping out annualized, awkward dredge for the AAA market.

 

[Madness]

BioWare, Capcom, Rare, Infinity Ward was gutted and most left to form Respawn and whatever was left of IW has been trash in terms of output, Konami etc.

Edit: Also EA Sports. Just my opinion.

 

[Mik317]

Sega. They used to make consoles. Now they make like 3-4 series

 

[Gestault]

In terms of a before-and-after, I think there's a strong case for Hello Games with No Man's Sky. A lot of people I know personally experienced a legitimate personal renaissance in terms of their interest in games in the leadup to its release. Then it was released. That disappointment and the frustration after was potent.

In terms of its own legacy, and backlash from both fans AND staff, Konami is definitely the one to beat.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Because of this bit right here I think I can go with my pick of CAPCOM.

What game companies out there used to hold your interest in their game releases but have fallen off your radar at some point?

While they aren't in such a terrible place like Konami. Their output thus far for me has been lacking greatly. Some of it is personal taste, but things are a far cry from the PS2 days and even last gen to an extent. The most fun I have had with capcom games this gen have been re-releases of their older games. Really hoping this year we start seeing a turn around. MVCI might help me back on board depending on the roster and i'm curious to see what they have cooking. With RE7 releasing this year, seems they will finally be on track to release games regularly after that long period of basically nothing.

 

[painey]

 

[MrS]

In terms of a before-and-after, I think there's a strong case for Hello Games with No Man's Sky. A considerable number of people experienced a legitimate personal renaissance in terms of their interest in games in the leadup to its release. Then it was released. That disappointment and the frustration after was potent.

Hello Games never had a good reputation to destroy.

 

[Sorcerer Supreme]

Capcom

 

[Polygonal_Sprite]

Rare, no question. From 1994-2000 they were the best developer on the planet, only Nintendo could touch them. It seemed like they released an all time classic every 6-9 months

So much this. What a wasted opportunity for Microsoft.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

Konami for sure. Resident Evil 7 and the Disney Collection took a lot of heat off of Capcom.

 

[GHG]

Konami.

And Microsoft as a publisher.

 

[Exodust]

GRIN burnt itself out pretty spectacularly but none of their games were that good to begin with.

Bionic Commando ReArmed was great.

 

[Dougieflesh]

Capcom and Konami for me.

 

[miller.skippins]

The Fighting game Devs in Capcom

Konami

Rare

Bioware

Infinity Ward

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I don't think there is any recovery for Konami in the publisher/mega Dev side.

For a smaller dev, many above said rare and it's spot on. They went from creating some of the most iconic and popular games in a generation to this forgettable developer.

 

[CronoShot]

Rare, no question.

Yep. From being one of the best, if not THE best developer in the industry during the N64 era, to now? What was the last notable, universally praised Rare game? Conker on N64?

Publisher: Konami, obviously

 

[Gestault]

Hello Games never had a good reputation to destroy.

Specifically the time between the NMS reveal and its release, they were incredibly high-profile. The original pitch and marketing got a lot of people excited, even people who weren't actively gaming at the time.

 

[Muffdraul]

For a long time it was Square. Now it's Konami.

 

[Fancolors]

Compile went from Puyo to mostly mediocre JRPGs

 

[oneida]

SEGA or Bioware.

At least SEGA is on an upswing.

 

[His Majesty]

Bethesda (developer): from Morrowind to complete garbage like Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and Oblivion

 

[ChaosZeroX]

Rare, no question.

100%. Bioware too.

 

[PSqueak]

gonna echo Rare & Konami.

 

[ActWan]

Konami.
Such a huge fall, and it was pretty gradual too. First Castlevania, then Silent Hill, and finally Metal Gear and any hope that remained for Silent Hill...
Atari too have taken quite a fall.

 

[DMONKUMA]

Capcom, Sega, and of course Konami.

 

[eternalthree]

i came to chime in with the others that claim Konami, Rare and Capcom. hear hear!

 

[protonium]

.

 

[Cartho]

Ubisoft. An utter darling in the PC space back in 00's, now pumping out annualized, awkward dredge for the AAA market.

Like Child of Light, Rainbow 6 Siege, For Honour, Grow Home, South Park Stick of Truth, The Division (which is good fun if you're in to "looter shooters"), Ghost Recon Wildlands (which is actually excellent fun with friends), Watch Dogs and much more?

Assassin's Creed is one of their only major "annualised" franchises and both Far Cry 3 and 4 were excellent games.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

One could also make a strong argument for Square Enix's Japanese development. They were among the most elite and trustworthy brands in gaming in the mid-late 90's and now release mostly just alright at best games. Nearly every good game Square has relased in like 6-7 years was developed by one of their western studios or a third party.

 

[emilioasis]

a lot of people think Rare no longer exist... so yeah, Rare.

 

[Strangelove77]

Capcom and Konami.

 

[AaronMT86]

Konami the thread

 

[adamsapple]

Konami came to mind just by reading the topic title and as I can see, it's been said multiple times already.

Spoiler

Fuck Konami.

 

[Makonero]

Rare, no contest. People may enjoy their latest offerings but they are nothing like they were in their heyday.

 

[LizardKing]

Squaresoft/Square Enix and Rare. In the 90's (into early 00's with SE) these were 2 of my top 3 developers and now they have fallen hard. I'm talking specifically about SE as a developer here, they still do some good publishing work. But their best games are really just OK now, nothing great. Rare has probably fallen farther than SE's mediocre games, but SE was ahead of Rare for me back in the day.

One could also make a strong argument for Square Enix's Japanese development. They were among the most elite and trustworthy brands in gaming in the mid-late 90's and now release mostly just alright at best games. Nearly every good game Square has relased in like 6-7 years was developed by one of their western studios or a third party.

Yeah this. Surprised there aren't more of this opinion. Square was god tier back in the day. Now mediocre at best.

 

[Liliana Eileen]

Add another one for Hello games. Went from spotlight and extreme hype to zero in record time.