Best First/Second Party Games.

BladeofTheImmortal

Well, Tycho was talking about this on the newest news section. Who really has the bet First/Second Party titles?

For me, it is definitely Sony, then Nintendo, and then Halo...I mean Microsoft.

Sony: God of War, Jak and Daxter(favorite Platformers I have ever played), Ratchet and Clank(2nd favorite Platformers I have ever played), Sly Cooper(3rd Favorite Platformers ever), Gran Tursimo(Haven't seen GT5 yet, but it should be great), SOCOM, Syphon Filter(at least the PSP edition, only one I have played since #1), and etc.

Nintendo: Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Super Smash Bros(Really, the only thing I love from them nowadays).

MS: Halo, Forza Motorsport(was better than GT4, so this newest battle should be great), do they make anything else?

Your thoughts?

LockeCole

Nintendo used to be the king of 1st party, but after years of the PS2, Sony has some really cool shit these days. I think Sony's biggest selling point is that thier awesome first party stuff tends to be new stuff rather than characters/games that we have known since the NES (not that there is anything wrong with the mario/zelda/ect... games, but fresh stuff is good sometimes too).

Edit - I failed at spelling/typing.

LewieP

this says it all

Best development team in the industry imo. Any console with EAD supporting them has at least an above average library.

edit: Add Intelligent Systems, NST and R&D1 and you have it all really. Nevermind 2nd party such as HAL, Camelot, Skip, Retro

Kor

You could atleast acknowledge a few Rare titles for microsoft. I have faith in the upcoming Banjo title.

Daedalus

The OP failed to mention Pikmin and thus fails at life.

LockeCole

Kor wrote: »

You could atleast acknowledge a few Rare titles for microsoft. I have faith in the upcoming Banjo title.

I remember I loved Rare when they made Nintendo games... what have they put out since being boughted?

Dr. O

I'll stick up for Nintendo. In my mind, nothing can ever compare to Link and Zelda, Mario, Samus, etc. Not to mention their not-as-huge franchises like Pikmin, Animal Crossing, and Nintendogs. I will give Sony credit; I think their in-house talent is usually underrated, but I don't think anything can compare to the juggernaut that is EAD, Intelligent Systems, and whatever else they have.

BigJoeM

Nintendo

I would buy a Nintendo system just for their titles and still be happy with my purchase i can't say that about Sony or Microsoft.

His Corkiness

Sucker Punch and Insomniac are Sony first/second party now?

GimpyBoy

Microsoft has Rare, Lionhead, and FASA as second party.

And I don't care what people say, Viva Pinata, Fable, and Mechassault were all awesome games.

BladeofTheImmortal

@Corkiness: Yes they are.

Forgot to mention Shadow of the Colossus and Ico are also done inside by Sony. And while they get Third Parties to develop this series, it is owned by Sony, Dark Cloud.

LockeCole

GimpyBoy wrote: »

Microsoft has Rare, Lionhead, and FASA as second party.

And I don't care what people say, Viva Pinata, Fable, and Mechassault were all awesome games.

Viva Pinata - The best game I will never admit to owning. :rotate:

BladeofTheImmortal

I heard Viva Pinata is awesome, I still want to play it.

Axen

Sony and Nintendo both make plenty of great games, but my vote would have to go to Nintendo because they have a plethora of instantly recognizable characters. Damn near everyone knows Mario, but who the Hell is Sly Cooper. (of course I know, but not your average Joe.)

SageinaRage

Wait, so what exactly constitutes second party here? I thought that it meant an external company, at least partly owned by the console manufacturer. Is that true for all the ones you listed?

Drallo

Jak and Daxter(favorite Platformers I have ever played), Ratchet and Clank(2nd favorite Platformers I have ever played), Sly Cooper(3rd Favorite Platformers ever)

Are these also the only platformers you've ever played?

GimpyBoy

Hmm, looking over the OP isn't Naughty Dog 3rd party?

Kor

LockeCole wrote: »

Kor wrote: »

You could atleast acknowledge a few Rare titles for microsoft. I have faith in the upcoming Banjo title.

I remember I loved Rare when they made Nintendo games... what have they put out since being boughted?

Perfect Dark: Zero
Kameo
Conker Live & reloaded
Viva la Pinata


Banjo Kazooie 3 has a trailer floating around the web.

Illyria

Dr. O wrote: »

Not to mention their not-as-huge franchises like (...) Animal Crossing (...)

I think that one can probably be counted among the big guys (Mario/Zelda/Metroid/Pokemon) by now, don't you?

cloudeagle

As far as sheer volume of good stuff goes, Nintendo wins hands-down. Sony's picked up a darn fine stable too, though it's leavened by a bit more mediocre stuff (Killzone, Genji... what was the name of their resident evil ripoff that came out in 2001? Extermination?). Microsoft's doing pretty well too, especially now that Rare has finally released a game after Conker N64 that's undeniably stellar (namely, Viva Pinata).

BladeofTheImmortal

GimpyBoy wrote: »

Hmm, looking over the OP isn't Naughty Dog 3rd party?

2nd Party, You may be confused because Brash Bandicoot is now on other platforms, but that's because they sold the Franchise to Universal so they could make a new IP(where Jak came in).

Kor

SageinaRage wrote: »

Wait, so what exactly constitutes second party here? I thought that it meant an external company, at least partly owned by the console manufacturer. Is that true for all the ones you listed?

2nd party isn't an official term.

Its basically a company that is owned by the 1st party, that makes games specifically for that company.


HAL Laboratories is a great example. Its not Nintendo, but its owned by Nintendo. They do everything for Nintendo, but if they make a game, it still says HAL on the front of it. 2nd party really just means "which developing team"

Cokomon

Kor wrote: »

LockeCole wrote: »

Kor wrote: »

You could atleast acknowledge a few Rare titles for microsoft. I have faith in the upcoming Banjo title.

I remember I loved Rare when they made Nintendo games... what have they put out since being boughted?

Perfect Dark: Zero
Kameo
Conker Live & reloaded
Viva la Pinata


Banjo Kazooie 3 has a trailer floating around the web.

Don't forget Grabbed By the Ghoulies :roll:

BladeofTheImmortal

cloudeagle wrote: »

As far as sheer volume of good stuff goes, Nintendo wins hands-down. Sony's picked up a darn fine stable too, though it's leavened by a bit more mediocre stuff (Killzone, Genji... what was the name of their resident evil ripoff that came out in 2001? Extermination?). Microsoft's doing pretty well too, especially now that Rare has finally released a game after Conker N64 that's undeniably stellar (namely, Viva Pinata).

You are thinking of Siren(which isn't really an RE ripoff because you really don't get weapons at all) If you want to compare it to any Survival-Horror game, compare it to Fatal Frame.

LewieP

Kor wrote: »

LockeCole wrote: »

Kor wrote: »

You could atleast acknowledge a few Rare titles for microsoft. I have faith in the upcoming Banjo title.

I remember I loved Rare when they made Nintendo games... what have they put out since being boughted?

Perfect Dark: Zero
Kameo
Conker Live & reloaded
Viva la Pinata


Banjo Kazooie 3 has a trailer floating around the web.

Also Grabbed By the Ghoulies...

cloudeagle wrote: »

As far as sheer volume of good stuff goes, Nintendo wins hands-down. Sony's picked up a darn fine stable too, though it's leavened by a bit more mediocre stuff (Killzone, Genji... what was the name of their resident evil ripoff that came out in 2001? Extermination?). Microsoft's doing pretty well too, especially now that Rare has finally released a game after Conker N64 that's undeniably stellar (namely, Viva Pinata).

I was under the impression that Viva Pinata, whilst critically successfully, sold like shite.

BladeofTheImmortal

Drallo wrote: »

Jak and Daxter(favorite Platformers I have ever played), Ratchet and Clank(2nd favorite Platformers I have ever played), Sly Cooper(3rd Favorite Platformers ever)

Are these also the only platformers you've ever played?

No, I've played every Mario since Number 1, and every Sonic the Hedgehog since number 1. Although, I must admit...Klonoa is my real favorite. I forgot about Klonoa when making this thread because it isn't a 1st/2nd party game.

GimpyBoy

BladeofTheImmortal wrote: »

GimpyBoy wrote: »

Hmm, looking over the OP isn't Naughty Dog 3rd party?

2nd Party, You may be confused because Brash Bandicoot is now on other platforms, but that's because they sold the Franchise to Universal so they could make a new IP(where Jak came in).

Nope, that's not what confused me. I had always just heard that Insomniac was 2nd and Naughty Dog wasn't.

Kinda like how Bioware isn't 2nd party, they just make a lot of games for MS.

Edit: Yeah after looking around it does in fact appear I am wrong. C'est la vie.

Kor

To answer the OP, Nintendo.

Because I can play it with my friends and family, which is what I enjoy most about gaming.

Sony's 1st/2nd party titles are alright, but for the most part, are titles you play when no one else is around. I'm married, so my wife is always around. :P

This, of course, just reinforces one of my first signatures on these boards:

Wii for when you have company
PS3 for when you are alone
360 for when you want company

BladeofTheImmortal

"Naughty Dog is an American video game company founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986, and based in Santa Monica, California. It has been part of Sony since being acquired in 2001."

From Wikipedia.

cloudeagle

BladeofTheImmortal wrote: »

cloudeagle wrote: »

As far as sheer volume of good stuff goes, Nintendo wins hands-down. Sony's picked up a darn fine stable too, though it's leavened by a bit more mediocre stuff (Killzone, Genji... what was the name of their resident evil ripoff that came out in 2001? Extermination?). Microsoft's doing pretty well too, especially now that Rare has finally released a game after Conker N64 that's undeniably stellar (namely, Viva Pinata).

You are thinking of Siren(which isn't really an RE ripoff because you really don't get weapons at all) If you want to compare it to any Survival-Horror game, compare it to Fatal Frame.

No, I'm not thinking of Siren. I was a video game writer for a while, and Sony sent me information on the game comparing it to an "action movie." I remember it was fairly crap, no one played it and it was quickly forgotten. They also sent me a mini-medkit to try to advertise it.

Argh, this is gonna bug me. Let's see if I can find it.

LewieP, yes, Viva Pinata sold like crap, but it's a damn fine game.

elkatas

Nintendo is really king of 1st parties, when you consider how much they crunch stuff out* and how good the quality stays**. Of course, their input is also highly specialized and extremely lacking in certain genres, but they are still best in their own stuff.

* In average year, Nintendo pushes out over 40 titles, if you count both handhelds and consoles.
** Last year, they were only company whose all games had average score above 8 according to Gameindustry.biz.

Wonder_Hippie

Sony-side there's also the Hot Shots Golf series, ICO and SotC are both Sony-published, as are Twisted Metal and Wipeout. It's not so fair to do the same treatment with Nintendo, however. Their properties, though possibily not as numerous as Sony's, are so liberally used with quality results. Saying "Mario" means cart racers, puzzle games, platformers, and party games, just to name a few, the vast majority of which are great games.

It's a hard choice, though. Sony and Nintendo both have ridiculous variety to their titles, which is what really sets them above Microsoft. Give me Nintendo and I'm really happy, finish it off with Sony and I'm complete.

BladeofTheImmortal

cloudeagle wrote: »

BladeofTheImmortal wrote: »

cloudeagle wrote: »

As far as sheer volume of good stuff goes, Nintendo wins hands-down. Sony's picked up a darn fine stable too, though it's leavened by a bit more mediocre stuff (Killzone, Genji... what was the name of their resident evil ripoff that came out in 2001? Extermination?). Microsoft's doing pretty well too, especially now that Rare has finally released a game after Conker N64 that's undeniably stellar (namely, Viva Pinata).

You are thinking of Siren(which isn't really an RE ripoff because you really don't get weapons at all) If you want to compare it to any Survival-Horror game, compare it to Fatal Frame.

No, I'm not thinking of Siren. I was a video game writer for a while, and Sony sent me information on the game comparing it to an "action movie." I remember it was fairly crap, no one played it and it was quickly forgotten. They also sent me a mini-medkit to try to advertise it.

Argh, this is gonna bug me. Let's see if I can find it.

LewieP, yes, Viva Pinata sold like crap, but it's a damn fine game.

Then you are probably thinking of Extermination.

Wonder_Hippie

elkatas wrote: »

Nintendo is really king of 1st parties, when you consider how much they crunch stuff out* and how good the quality stays**. Of course, their input is also highly specialized and extremely lacking in certain genres, but they are still best in their own stuff.

* In average year, Nintendo pushes out over 40 titles, if you count both handhelds and consoles.
** Last year, they were only company whose all games had average score above 8 according to Gameindustry.biz.

Which genres, just out of curiosity? I mean, of course, ones that are common/plausible for consoles. We've got FPS's and platformers, racers and beat 'em ups, some light RPG's and great puzzle games, which ones are they lacking in?

cloudeagle

elkatas wrote: »

Nintendo is really king of 1st parties, when you consider how much they crunch stuff out* and how good the quality stays**. Of course, their input is also highly specialized and extremely lacking in certain genres, but they are still best in their own stuff.

* In average year, Nintendo pushes out over 40 titles, if you count both handhelds and consoles.
** Last year, they were only company whose all games had average score above 8 according to Gameindustry.biz.

That's pretty much the reason I'd give the title to Nintendo, is their consistency. That's certainly not to say Sony and Microsoft don't produce some stellar stuff, though. I'm not sure their output is that specialized, though... they seem to have representatives in most genres if I recall.

Aha! Found that crappy Sony game I mentioned... Extermination. Turns out it was third-party developed, Sony-published.

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/164/164249p1.html

Kor

Wonder_Hippie wrote: »

Sony-side there's also the Hot Shots Golf series, ICO and SotC are both Sony-published, as are Twisted Metal and Wipeout. It's not so fair to do the same treatment with Nintendo, however. Their properties, though possibily not as numerous as Sony's, are so liberally used with quality results. Saying "Mario" means cart racers, puzzle games, platformers, and party games, just to name a few, the vast majority of which are great games.

It's a hard choice, though. Sony and Nintendo both have ridiculous variety to their titles, which is what really sets them above Microsoft. Give me Nintendo and I'm really happy, finish it off with Sony and I'm complete.

I miss twisted metal.

How long has it been since we've seen a new one? (I don't count the PSP "remake")

Kor

Wonder_Hippie wrote: »

elkatas wrote: »

Nintendo is really king of 1st parties, when you consider how much they crunch stuff out* and how good the quality stays**. Of course, their input is also highly specialized and extremely lacking in certain genres, but they are still best in their own stuff.

* In average year, Nintendo pushes out over 40 titles, if you count both handhelds and consoles.
** Last year, they were only company whose all games had average score above 8 according to Gameindustry.biz.

Which genres, just out of curiosity? I mean, of course, ones that are common/plausible for consoles. We've got FPS's and platformers, racers and beat 'em ups, some light RPG's and great puzzle games, which ones are they lacking in?

RTS?

BladeofTheImmortal

BladeofTheImmortal wrote: »

cloudeagle wrote: »

BladeofTheImmortal wrote: »

cloudeagle wrote: »

As far as sheer volume of good stuff goes, Nintendo wins hands-down. Sony's picked up a darn fine stable too, though it's leavened by a bit more mediocre stuff (Killzone, Genji... what was the name of their resident evil ripoff that came out in 2001? Extermination?). Microsoft's doing pretty well too, especially now that Rare has finally released a game after Conker N64 that's undeniably stellar (namely, Viva Pinata).

You are thinking of Siren(which isn't really an RE ripoff because you really don't get weapons at all) If you want to compare it to any Survival-Horror game, compare it to Fatal Frame.

No, I'm not thinking of Siren. I was a video game writer for a while, and Sony sent me information on the game comparing it to an "action movie." I remember it was fairly crap, no one played it and it was quickly forgotten. They also sent me a mini-medkit to try to advertise it.

Argh, this is gonna bug me. Let's see if I can find it.

LewieP, yes, Viva Pinata sold like crap, but it's a damn fine game.

Then you are probably thinking of Extermination.

Sweet, I was right.

elkatas

Wonder_Hippie wrote: »

Which genres, just out of curiosity? I mean, of course, ones that are common/plausible for consoles. We've got FPS's and platformers, racers and beat 'em ups, some light RPG's and great puzzle games, which ones are they lacking in?

Realistic racers and FPS's are genres where Nintendo is obviously lacking. If we look Gamecube's release list, Nintendo released only one FPS for its system, and that was Geist. Metroid Prime's don't really count as FPSs (IMO, of course) as they put more emphasis on exploration and adventuring than shooting. Nintendo hasn't either published any racing game that would even fall in same category with Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo.

Wonder_Hippie

Kor wrote: »

Wonder_Hippie wrote: »

Sony-side there's also the Hot Shots Golf series, ICO and SotC are both Sony-published, as are Twisted Metal and Wipeout. It's not so fair to do the same treatment with Nintendo, however. Their properties, though possibily not as numerous as Sony's, are so liberally used with quality results. Saying "Mario" means cart racers, puzzle games, platformers, and party games, just to name a few, the vast majority of which are great games.

It's a hard choice, though. Sony and Nintendo both have ridiculous variety to their titles, which is what really sets them above Microsoft. Give me Nintendo and I'm really happy, finish it off with Sony and I'm complete.

I miss twisted metal.

How long has it been since we've seen a new one? (I don't count the PSP "remake")

What, six years now since Black? Besides, the PSP one was pretty damned fun, and the few times you could get a good online game going was very enjoyable. Also, to save for a seperate post, RTS's aren't that common/plausible on consoles. I bet they do one with the Wii, though. That would be sick.

SirUltimos

Nintendo without a doubt. Everything they produce is stellar, and there's a lot of it.

Sony also stepped it up during the Ps2 era, but in my mind they're still a bit behind Nintendo.

Microsoft produces some quality stuff, but there's just not much of it.