Top 20 game publishers list voted for by Game Developer

DS Lite CrimsonNintendo Wii
Game Developer magazine’s 5th annual Top 20 Publishers report for 2007 has been announced. The list is comprised by looking at a wide-ranging reputation survey alongside revenue, average review, and anonymous partner feedback, and reveals a resurgent Nintendo taking the top spot from former four-time winner Electronic Arts.

After Nintendo and EA, completing the top five are: Activision, keeping its #3 spot for the second year running; Ubisoft, surging up four spots from #8 to #4,with the company’s early support for Nintendo’s DS and Wii apparently paying off; and THQ moving up two spots to #5, following historically high revenues and a more balanced slate of licensed titles and original games.

Joining the ‘Top 20 Publishers’ list for the first time is import game publisher Atlus USA, which placed at #18 and helped contribute to publisher Atari dropping off the Top 20 in this year’s countdown.

More than 300 industry professionals from all parts of the game production process were asked to give their opinions – including comments – on the reputations of each publisher in the survey. To quote: “Adding reputation-based feedback to our survey for the first time has brought an interesting, more well-rounded angle to the much-anticipated countdown,” said Simon Carless, publisher, Game Developer magazine and Game Developer Research series. “As we can see from the new rankings, the rise of casual gaming, coupled with these new reputational elements, has contributed markedly to ranking shifts, and we’re eager to see how these industry changes affect the report in subsequent years.” — From GDmag, via Gamasutra