Video game culture has created one of the largest societies around the world, so much so, in fact, that they are over 2.7 billion players worldwide by 2020, and are still growing.
Their have been many gaming franchises over the years. There are many companies that have owned / created many franchises. One company that owns well-known franchises around the world is Nintendo.
The best-selling franchises for video games of all time are Pokémon, Mario, Call Of Duty, Wii, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Dungeon Fighter Online and Street Fighter. The number one gaming consultant worldwide is Minecraft.
With game franchises come game studios. These studios have created dozens of top games and software throughout game history. There are many different game studios around the world, and the best game studios come for Japan and the USA
Nintendo
Nintendo is the world's largest video game company in the world by revenue, with a net worth of over $ 85 billion. Many remarkable video games around the world are made by Nintendo. The company is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. This company started its concept of handheld video games in 1979. What people do not know about Nintendo is that they did not start making video games or consoles, they first started producing toys. In 1981, Nintendo created one of the most popular video game characters of all time, Mario, with the first Mario game being created in 1985. Over the years, Nintendo has faced many competitors over the years, but they consistently show time and time again that they are on top. .
Some of the most notable games owned by Nintendo are:
- Mario
- The Legend of Zelda
- Pokémon
- Kirby
- Animal transition
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is one of the most famous gaming studios out there. It has grown in popularity in recent years, so much so that it has actually become one of the most profitable studios of today's generation. This studio was started in 1996 by Microsoft, and was due to Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington. Value owns many game series that have grown in popularity over the years. It has earned over $ 2.5 billion.
Some of the best game valves there are:
- Half life
- Dota
- Left 4 Dead
- Portal
Activision
Activision is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. This game studio is also one of the most popular in the United States. Activision was founded on October 1, 1979 in Sunnyvale. Compared to other game studios, this game studio has some of the most games made in recent years, and the games with the highest rankings. The company had a turnover of over $ 8.09 billion in 2020.
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony is one of the largest and most successful gaming companies of all time. They have produced some of the best-selling consoles and games with the highest ranking in game history. This company in particular is one of Sony's largest companies they own. The company was first established in Tokyo in November 1993. Sony also has several subsidiaries in Asia, Europe and North America. Sony also has revenue of nearly $ 77 billion by 2020.
These are some game consoles from Sony CE:
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation 5
Ubisoft
Ubisoft is one of the more popular game developers out there. They make games for all console systems out there. One of the most noticeable game series they own is the "Assassin's Creed" series. They also have some of the best franchises in the gaming market. They also have some of the highest ranked games in recent years. The company originates from France, in March 1986 by the Guillemot family. The company has 26 subsidiaries worldwide. In 2020, Ubisoft had a turnover of NOK 1.59 billion.
Some game series created by Ubisoft:
- The Far Cry series
- Assassin's creed series
- Tom Clancy Series
Sega is one of the oldest game studios out there. The company was founded in 1960 by Martin Bromley and Richard Stewart, but is today based in Tokyo, Japan. Funny enough, the company was not called "Sega" until five years after the company was created. Sega starts making video games starting with SG-1000, but struggled with other competitors such as Nintendo. Sega tried to make another console, but did not succeed so well, and in 2001 they pretty much gave up the console. Around 1991, they achieved success with Sonic the Hedgehog and briefly sold out their main competitor, Nintendo in the United States. In 2001, Sega began to become a third-party developer, and in the following years after that discussion, Sega was to become more profitable.
Some notable and best-selling games that Sega has made:
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Puyo Puyo
- Total War
- Warhammer
- Yakuza
Naughty Dog Inc.
Naughty Dog is just one of the most well-known game developers owned by PlayStation. The company was founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin, in 1984. They also won "Studio of the Year" in 2013. The company is located in Santa Monica, California, US Naughty Dog studio was successfully acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001. The studio produced many successful games in the early 1990s, including Rings of Power and Way of the Warrior. With the help of Mark Cerny, they helped Naughty Dog create character-based platform games that would use 3D features. In 1996, the studio was to create Crash Bandicoot for PlayStation and continued to make more games based on the series over the years. After developing various "Crash" games over the years, the company began working on various games. During the PlayStation 3 era, Naughty Dog created the series Uncharted and The Last of Us.
Some notable and best-selling games that Naughty Dog has made:
- Crash Bandicoot
- The Last of Us
- Uncharted
- Jak and Daxter
Square Enix
Square Enix has been making many popular franchises since its inception. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima in September 1975. The funny fact about the company is that the original Square Enix Co. was founded in April 2003 due to a merger between "Square" and Enix. Square Enix is headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The company is known for the establishment of the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Heart series. Square Enix also acquired the arcade game group Taito in 2005. Taito was mainly known for arcade games such as Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble and Darius. Several of the games Square Enix has created have sold over 10 million copies worldwide. In 2020, Square Enix earned a total turnover of 260.527 billion dollars, making them one of the most profitable studios around.
Some notable and best-selling games that Square Enix has created:
- Final Fantasy
- Life is Strange
- Kingdom Hearts
- Tomb Raider
- Kidney
Capcom Company
The company was founded by Kenzo Tsujimoto in 1979, and has become an international company with subsidiaries in Asia, Europe and North America, with headquarters in Osaka, Japan. It is one of the largest video game companies in terms of revenue in recent years. Capcom has made many 2d games on Super Nintendo when it first started competing with other games on different systems on the thaw, but now Capcom is mostly a studio with several platforms.
Some notable and best-selling games that Capcom has made:
- Resident Evil
- Monster Hunter
- Street Fighter
- The devil may be crying
- Mega Man
Bandai Namco Entertainment
Bandai Namco was founded in 1955 by Masaya Nakamura, but was formed on March 31, 2005, and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. This studio is known for many multi-million dollar game franchises and has created games based on very popular anime series, such as Naruto, Dragon Ball and One Piece. One of Bandai Namco's oldest games that was very popular in the 1980s is Pac-Man. By 2020, Bandai Namco had sales of around NOK 678.3 billion.
Bandai Namco has made many best-selling series in recent years:
- Dragon Ball Series
- Naruto Series
- Dark Souls
- Tekken
- Pac-Man
- Little Nightmares
Mojang
Mojang is a Swedish video game studio based in Stockholm. It was founded by game designer Markus Persson in 2009. It is mainly parented by Xbox Games Studio. Although Mojang has very few IPs compared to other game studios, they created one of the best-selling games of all time, Minecraft. Minecraft started small, but over time became a big hit, and even today it is still one of the best games ever played. As of 2020, Minecraft has a total revenue of $ 415 million, but the total game is $ 1.9 billion as of November 2020. Which, funnily enough, Minecraft makes up most of the revenue Mojang owns.
Some games Mojang has created:
- Minecraft
- Cobalt
Insomniac Games Inc.
Insomniac Games was founded around 1994 by Ted Price, who surprisingly is still the CEO to this day. The company is known for the best place to work in America by the Society for Human Resource Management and is branded as the best video game developers by many people. One of the sleepless latest games that has really given a good name to the studio is Marvel's Spider-Man, and was one of the fastest selling superhero games in US history. It is also the largest PlayStation-exclusive launch ever, and it drove a 65% increase in the game's profits for Sony at the time. Insomniac games have proven time and time again that they are one of the best studios to date, and never seem to disappoint.
These are some famous IPs that Insomniac has created:
- Spider-Man
- Ratchet &Clank
- Spyro Series
- Resistance
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 and is located in Rockville, Maryland. The company is also a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. Bethesda is best known for the award-winning game series The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. They won “GOTY” in 2005 for The Elder Scrolls IV:Oblivion, in 2003 for won “GOTY” for Fallout 3, also in 2011 “GOTY” for The Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim, and many more. Bethesda has sold millions of copies with its game franchises and has one of the best track records for sales compared to most game developers out there, so much so that in 2021 Microsoft bought Bethesda for $ 7.5 billion dollars, mainly to try to compete with Sony exclusive games .
Some well-known and best-selling game series Bethesda has created:
- The Elder Scrolls series
- Doom series
- Fallout Series
- Dishonest Series
- Wolfenstein Series
The Effect and Future of Gaming
Video games have helped a lot over the years as you can see. From the many studios to the gaming franchises, games have affected the lives of many people. Gaming has helped many people build careers, with many steaming and playing games on sites such as YouTube and Twitch. Games have also helped people get through Covid-19 and are probably one of the biggest reasons why people were able to be quarantined for so long. The future of gaming looks bright and is constantly evolving with games that look better, run better and are less expensive than ever before.
Many events have also been game-relevant, but mainly what has helped the game in the future is E3. E3 is a trading event for the video game industry. The event is mainly an event to show new hardware, games and upcoming projects for studios. E3 has over time been considered by many people as this year's largest gaming exhibition in terms of significance and impact. Many cosplayers also during E3 as there favorite video game characters as a way to express their love of games. With the rise of steaming on YouTube and Twitch, it has helped extend E3 further to people who may not have been able to access it. Unfortunately due to COVID-19, E3 was canceled, which caused many crashes, but fortunately it is possible that it will return in 2021.
In conclusion, it has proven to be very important for people's lives. It has had such a huge impact in different communities and has helped many people with their struggle over the years. Thanks to the many studios and game developers, we have many well-known game franchises and games that have changed games in the game industry. Games have proven to be one of the best things that can come out in our culture, and will continue to grow in popularity through the ages.