who/what is the worst game designing/production company?

[pragmatic insanester]

this should be interesting.

[GarrettCRW]

Acclaim, may they rest in hell.

[thegreatescape]

Active Enterprises.
Also known as: "Those bastards that made Action-52".

[GarrettCRW]

Active Enterprises.
Also known as: "Those bastards that made Action-52".

A winner is you.

[Tron 2.0]

Acclaim, may they rest in hell.
Nuff said :evil:

[segarocks30]

Whoever made superman 64

[Cthulhu]

Whoever made superman 64

That would be Titus, iirc. And they go right up there with Acclaim.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

I'd atleast give Acclaim some credit, seeing as they released games like Galatic Attack onto our shores. Though they did indeed suck for the most part.

[Ed Oscuro]

Action Enterprises...hmmm...you know some of those games could've been interesting had they actually spent time with them. As it is, the inclusion of voice is noteworthy :P

Noteworthy...not...difficult...heh. They also wanted to get into the hardware business. Why is it that companies that can't make games for anything decide to get into the pirate hardware business?

[Fuyukaze]

I'd say Sony Image Soft. Their aditions to the SNES were horible. Most of THQs early PS1 stuff was crap as well but thankfully they got better. Much better.

[Ed Oscuro]

I'd say Sony Image Soft. Their aditions to the SNES were horible.
?! Hell no! My Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse cart for the Genesis begs to differ with this generalization.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Most of THQs early PS1 stuff was crap as well but thankfully they got better. Much better.
Back in the good old PS1 days, I remember HATING THQ. Now, they are a pretty good company that puts out some nice product. I'm glad they 'came around'.

[Bratwurst]

I'd say Sony Image Soft. Their aditions to the SNES were horible.

I happen to like Skyblazer, perhaps because it feels like a poor man's Demon's Crest or something to that effect.

[Xexyz]

I hate Acclaim as a developer, but as a publisher, they were okay. For one thing, their Flying Edge division gave us the wonderful Hot-B developed Steel Empire (known as Empire of Steel in Japan/Europe) for the Genesis.

[segarocks30]

the only game i like from acclaim is wrestlemania arcade game

[segarocks30]

their other wrestling games sucked

[Promophile]

Erm the question was what "IS" now what "WAS". I'd say Vivendi they push out a bunch of movie license crap.

[Kamino]

1. Acclaim. Burn in hell for bringing out the worst SHITBEANS.
Redeeming titles of acclaim: NBA JAM, Galactic Attack.
2. Majesco. I bought HSX for ps2, seeing it as a decent looking F zero ripoff...did not notice the MAJESCO label. Only redeeming Majesco title: blowout.
3. Sony Imagesoft, I will agree to that. That damn feather logo indicates a bad game almost every time.
4. You'll all kill me for this one, But I'm getting pretty damn dissatisfied with the big N's software development department. Was: Re: Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo 64.
5. I'm currently pissed at culture brain, Eidos, Crave, and any shit head company that made FMV games in the early 90s.

[Ed Oscuro]

2. Majesco. I bought HSX for ps2, seeing it as a decent looking F zero ripoff...did not notice the MAJESCO label. Only redeeming Majesco title: blowout.
Haha, HSX...hmm, I've got to pick that one up some time. I've heard that Majesco has something big in the works...

As for Blowout, gah, PS1-looking textures on the enemies, overall low level of detail. It would've been a great game had the time and money been allocated to follow through with the original design (you can certainly see the work put into the backgrounds).

That said...why the hate for companies that made FMV games in the early 1990s, Kamino? MOVE ON! :D Eidos is great.

[eightbitonline]

sony imagesoft made extra innings, which is basically a 16-bit version of bad news baseball so they're forgiven of any wrongdoing in my books.

LJN on the otherhand were the idiots who made it their niche to release solely lincensed games for the NES and SNES. them and gametek who did all the game-show based games. ahhaha!!

[stressboy]

Whoever makes those damn Deer Hunter games.. Valusoft? I actually played one a few months ago and threw up a little.

[Cmosfm]

Majesco

They have some decent stuff, Denki Blocks, Phantom Dust, Blowout...but most of there stuff is bargain bin and bargain bin for a very very good reason. They've also made SNES, Genesis, Game Gear and a few other systems really hard to collect for because sorting through flea market games and finding their crap is a pain in the ass.

[machine.slave]

EA :D But I'd have to say for different reasons.. their games are ok, their morals aren't.

Atari is publishing some terrible games lately, so I'd have to say them.

[evildead2099]

Acclaim's Redeeming titles:

Forsaken (A clone of Descent)

NBA Jam

Maximum Carnage

Sony Imagesoft's Redeeming titles:

Mickey Mania (SNES, Genny, Sega CD)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (Genny)

[segarocks30]

Wisdom tree

[segarocks30]

what about Michael Jacksons Moonwalker,SAVING KID HOSTAGES!!! what do you guys think

[Famidrive-16]

Whoever made superman 64

That would be Titus, iirc. And they go right up there with Acclaim.

Yeah, Titus made some pretty... odd games. But I forgive them for Automobili Lambourgini and SOS.

[Ed Oscuro]

Whoever made superman 64

That would be Titus, iirc. And they go right up there with Acclaim.
Yeah, Titus made some pretty... odd games. But I forgive them for Automobili Lambourgini and SOS.
Titus made Reign...lay off people! ;O I'm with Famidrive-16 here. They've made some decent titles over the years.

[Serragon]

5. I'm currently pissed at culture brain, Eidos, Crave, and any shit head company that made FMV games in the early 90s.

I used to work for Culture Brain back in the day... Too my remembrance, they never made any FMV's... However, many of their games did leave a foul taste in your mouth(most notably Kung Fu Heroes, the Ninja Brothers series, and Ultimate Fighter). Even getting PAID to play those games was a little difficult at times...

[DDCecil]

Titus did make Prehisorik Man, my favorite platformer for SNES that isn't a Mario game.

I also really like Sony Imagesoft's Hook and Equinox.

Culture Brain made Super Baseball Simulator 1.000, still my favorite Baseball game after all these years.

I do agree 100% with Active Enterprises LOL

[CartCollector]

I can't believe ANYONE hasn't mentioned Sachen yet. I guess it's because TheRedEye hasn't made his way here yet. But there's worse... Whatever crap companies that make the pirate Street Fighter II Fami games take the cake for worst developer, in my opinion.
Personally, I think Acclaim could've redeemed themselves if they would have released Red Star... I suppose it will never be.

[WanganRunner]

I never liked 989 at all....

If we're talking about most hated, I dunno, EA? They made some decent stuff though, like SSX.

Who made the Army Men games?

I hate Sega too............no, not really.

[CartCollector]

I think 3DO made Army Men.

[goatdan]

It is really hard to come up with any one company, because no matter how bad some of a companies titles were, at some point they had to have some decent ones or we wouldn't even remember their name now.

Acclaim had some problems at the end, but they still had some amazing games like Burnout leading up to that end. They also used to have hit after hit with stuff like NBA Jam, Wrestlemania Arcade and the original Turok.

EA sure seems to crap on a lot of the stuff they assimilate, but to state that they are one of the worst would just be wrong. They have had many, many, many great games through time.

THQ has made some incredible games lately.

Sony Image Soft, as was noted had some amazing licensed games in the past that are often overlooked.

I just can't hate any developer totally. I'll admit that I'm easily the most leery of products with the name "EA" on it currently (it will make me wait to read reviews before I buy a game with their name on it, unlike most other companies), but I think they still have some good games, and they will have some great games in the future.

I actually miss Acclaim. Since they died and I actually bought new consoles, I've found myself impressed with a lot of the stuff they've done. I actually find myself wanting to pick up games with the Acclaim name on it -- something that I only really do with Sega branded games currently (Although that has also bit me in the ass a couple times...)

[Neil Koch]

what about Michael Jacksons Moonwalker,SAVING KID HOSTAGES!!! what do you guys think

Um, Moonwalker was made by Sega. So if you think Sega is a crap company, maybe you should change your name... :/

[Doonzmore]

Sony Image Soft produced Mickey Mania and Skyblazer which are both fantastic games. Titus actually produced quality games during the Snes era (check out Ardy Lightfoot).

I'll second LJN and Wisdom Tree and toss Ocean's trash into the fire. :shameful:

[XxMe2NiKxX]

3DO has made many great games (see: [Heroes of] Might and Magic) which most DEFINATELY overshadow the bad ones. Never once say that they are a bad developer based on a few games.

To answer the original quesiton: EA. Definately EA.

[rayearthknight]

My vote goes to THQ--they take a Japanese platform game, stickUS licensed characters over, slap on generic music and ship it out. I bought a copy of Power Rangers Dino Thunder for the Gamecube for my kids and saw how many corners THQ took with it--basically, they stripped it of anything that would ID it as part of the PR Property...heck my kids noticed the lack of signature music and lack of characetr voices....I'm thinking, what? THQ and Buena Vista can't sample from the source material or have the actors come in for VO sessions? There shouldn't be a reason why Disney/THQ should bring out something so shoddy...since Disney owns the license and the show. (It's like Bandai in the 80's with "Dragon Power" for the NES-which was basically a heavily edited Dragonball Z to begin with)

My kids made me take it back to the store and instead get Mario Kart Double Dash on trade-in.

[Crush Crawfish]

Sony Image Soft produced Mickey Mania and Skyblazer which are both fantastic games. Titus actually produced quality games during the Snes era (check out Ardy Lightfoot).

I'll second LJN and Wisdom Tree and toss Ocean's trash into the fire. :shameful:

Also, Sony Imagesoft made Smartball, a game that I love, even If just about everyone else hates it. :/ And I'll second Ardy Lightfoot as an excellent game. If only it wasn't so hard to find...

Actually, I really liked Ocean's Addams Family game for SNES, so not all their stuff is crap.

My vote goes to 3DO. I can't think of a single quality title they made.

[Speedy_NES]

Culture Brain made Flying Warriors which was a pretty good NES game, and their other titles are far from the worst. Since we're talking mostly about the past here, I would also go for Active Enterprises...Action 52 and Cheetahmen II are BAD. Color Dreams also had quite a few low quality titles, so we could add them to the mix as well ;)

-Speedy

[greedostick]

Culture brain also made that game for the n64, AHHHH, wish I could remember the game. It was very fun. It was a sequel to the nes game flying dragon the secret scroll. Oh, wait, it was called flying dragon.

Also sachen had a dew decent games. Bubble bath babes is fun i think. Even though it was a blantant rip off of another nes game (cant remember the name). I though peek a boo poker was fun also.

As for acclaim, at least they had a few games that were ok. I still enjoy nba jam t.e. And I think super smash t.v. is a classic.

When it comes down to it I think Virgin is the worst company ever!!!

I would say the company who made all the philips cdi games is the worst. I cant remember their name though. Those zelda games were complete trash.

Also, if anyone has actually played any of the laseractive games, those are all trash.

As much as I agree acclaim is a shi#$y company. You all should realize there is far Far worse when it comes to game companies. You just have to dig deeper.

[Poofta!]

Wisdom tree

LMAO




actually that is the only publisher/developer mentioned here that DOESNT have ANY redeamable games to its name. cmon we can all think of at least one good game by all these other companies, and a whole bunch for Acclaim.

[Wavelflack]

Spiritual Warfare is actually a pretty good Zelda clone.

I guess I'd have to go with someone like Froggo. I can't think of many developers who only made shit.

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

-Active Enterprises (DUH)
-LJN (Lots of bad games Liked BTTF Though)
-Accliam (Their bad games where BAD but their good games where GOOD)
-Bandai (Current Gen. Only)
-EA (Good games Bad Morals)
-THQ (Really Bad games in the Beggining but have gotten Much Better)

[SlayerOfFurbies]

titus comes to mind

sure they've made a few decent titles, infact so has ever developer mentioned.

[Doonzmore]

infact so has ever developer mentioned.

Until now...

Motown Games.

I dare anyone to think of one good game they've made because it sure as hell isn't Bebe's Kids or Rap Jam Volume 1.

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

infact so has ever developer mentioned.

WHAT ACTIVE ENTERPRISES MADE A GOOD GAME. LOL LOL LOL

[ScottK]

I'd say that Digital Pictures made the worst games for the Sega CD.

[suckerpunch5]

I really think Ignition Entertainment kinda sucks.

Pool Paradise?
Lotus Challenge?
ZOO KEEPER!?

yuck, yuck, and more yuck. Maybe I could be convinced Mercury doesn't entirely suck, but come on. This company is pretty bad, I think.

[Slimedog]

So far I've only seen Motown Games and Active Enterprises that would fit the criteria of making 100% flops. Color Dreams made Crystal Mines 2 which is the best game I've played on the Lynx. Proof that even a blind and thoroughly intoxicated squirrel finds an acorn every now and then. And I might be wrong on this, but aren't they technically Wisdom Tree?

Distracting myself; Idol has got to be the worst. As far as I know, their only game has been Drake of the 99 Design Flaws. Published by Majesco. Of course Majesco also published Phantom Dust and Guilty Gear. Maybe they will bring balance to the force...

Oh and somebody has to give bad props to Rayasystems of Captain Novolin and Rex Ronan infame.

[diskoboy]

I'm totally surprised no one has mentioned Color Dreams and Magnavox! Color dreams had some awful titles with some really badly drawn box art.

Magnavox's track record speaks for itself. Starting with the O^2, then working their way up to CD-i. You people have seem to forgotten about the cd-i Zelda series... *shudders*


Acclaim had some really good titles back in the NES days. One of my all time fave NES games is "Wizards & Warriors". So I can't really say Acclaim.

[greedostick]

still have yet to hear a good virgin interactive game.

[Damaramu]

Virgin Interactive did Cool Spot for the Genesis; one could argue that was good.

[Tron 2.0]

I'd atleast give Acclaim some credit, seeing as they released games like Galatic Attack onto our shores. Though they did indeed suck for the most part.
That's only thing Acclaim did right 'publish any thing by Taito.

Other then that they were a crappy compeny.

[SuperNES]

seirra (at least old sierra) they excreted such turds as "the incredible toon machine", "spelling blizzard", and "red baron". their new stuff rules though. metal arms kicks @$$!

[evildead2099]

I'd say Sony Image Soft. Their aditions to the SNES were horible.
?! Hell no! My Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse cart for the Genesis begs to differ with this generalization.

I agree, and I'd add Bram Stoker Dracula as another exception to that statement.

[evildead2099]

seirra (at least old sierra) they excreted such turds as "the incredible toon machine", "spelling blizzard", and "red baron". their new stuff rules though. metal arms kicks @$$!

I strongly disagree; Sierra was one of the best companies when it came to developing classic adventure games (King's Quest, Phantasmagoria, Gabriel Knight, etc).

[evildead2099]

still have yet to hear a good virgin interactive game.

Try The 7th Guest, although I believe Tribecca developed the game while Virgin Interactive published it.

[Crush Crawfish]

I'd say Sony Image Soft. Their aditions to the SNES were horible.
?! Hell no! My Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse cart for the Genesis begs to differ with this generalization.

I agree, and I'd add Bram Stoker Dracula as another exception to that statement.

I'd add Smart Ball too, but I'm starting to think that I'm the only one in the entire world who likes that game. :/

[Haoie]

From personal experience and also what I've read, some pretty awful titles have been made/developed by the following. No particular order.

Take 2
Cryo
Infograms
THQ
JVC

You shouldn't blame budget titles too much, after all, you get what you pay for.

[suppafly]

From personal experience and also what I've read, some pretty awful titles have been made/developed by the following. No particular order.

Take 2
Cryo
Infograms
THQ
JVC

You shouldn't blame budget titles too much, after all, you get what you pay for.

Cryo made MEGARACE. I used to LOVE that game back in 1995 (playing it on PC). It was very cool...even though all the backgrounds were just FMVs...very cool anyway!

[Snapple]

After reading the first three pages, I find myself wanting to defend more companies than dog them.

First off, Mega Race was pretty entertaining. Lance Boyle as my bounty hunting host with the most? A recipe for success with me.

Early Sierra games were my FAVORITE PC games back when I first got a compuer. King's Quest series, Quest for Glory series, Phantasmagoria, Leisure Suit Larry series, Police Quest series, Space Quest series, The Incredible Machine, I *loved* that stuff. God, Sierra ruled my world in the early to mid 90s.


Acclaim may have given us a looooooot of crap, and probably deserved to go out of business because of it, but they had a few gems. The NBA Jam games, Crazy Taxi, and Turok. Everything else was complete trash though.


My nomination for worst developer ever is ASCII Entertainment.

I got two game titles for ya: Castle Excellent and Castlequest. If you've played either of those games, you know what I'm talking about. They also made Fighter Maker, which I hated passionately.

[segarocks30]

After reading the first three pages, I find myself wanting to defend more companies than dog them.

First off, Mega Race was pretty entertaining. Lance Boyle as my bounty hunting host with the most? A recipe for success with me.

Early Sierra games were my FAVORITE PC games back when I first got a compuer. King's Quest series, Quest for Glory series, Phantasmagoria, Leisure Suit Larry series, Police Quest series, Space Quest series, The Incredible Machine, I *loved* that stuff. God, Sierra ruled my world in the early to mid 90s.



















Acclaim may have given us a looooooot of crap, and probably deserved to go out of business because of it, but they had a few gems. The NBA Jam games, Crazy Taxi, and Turok. Everything else was complete trash though.


My nomination for worst developer ever is ASCII Entertainment.

I got two game titles for ya: Castle Excellent and Castlequest. If you've played either of those games, you know what I'm talking about. They also made Fighter Maker, which I hated passionately. Wow I never heard of ASCII Entertainment ill listen to you though

[RJ]

3DO has made many great games (see: [Heroes of] Might and Magic)

Oh, Crusaders of M&M (PS) was one of THE worst games I ever played/owned for 3 days before selling it back as used. I didnt even care about the money I lost- I just wanted it out of my sight & possession!

3DO & Acclaim have shoveled some sh*t in their time. But for whoever listed some decent Acclaim titles, you forgot Riven, Extreme G3, & Summer Heat Beach Volleyball.

I didnt see Dreamcatcher mentioned. They seem to be hit & miss, although Hellboy (PS) was the OTHER worst game of all time for me.

[UnInformer]

seirra (at least old sierra) they excreted such turds as "the incredible toon machine", "spelling blizzard", and "red baron". their new stuff rules though. metal arms kicks @$$!

I strongly disagree; Sierra was one of the best companies when it came to developing classic adventure games (King's Quest, Phantasmagoria, Gabriel Knight, etc).
They also had some good strategy and empire building serieses like Caesar, Lords of the Realm and Civil War Generals. I too must disagree. They may have had some bad games, every company does, but I can't think of any time where they were one of the worst companies ever. Or even close, for that matter.

[Famidrive-16]

I never liked 989 at all....


Everytime I saw one of their games about to be mentioned in a gaming mag I KNEW it'd get a low score, unless they got lucky.

Those guys released like, 60 frikkin' PSX games a year...

[Dimitri]

Tough question, this.

I'd say Titus, but the Blues Brothers games were hilarious. CUPCAKES ARE STEROIDS!

I'd say Jaleco, but Operation Logic Bomb kicked ass.

I'd say Electro Brain, but I'm the only person on the planet who actually liked Jim Power.

I'm amazed that nobody's mentioned Jaleco or Electro Brain yet...Go! Go! Tank, anybody?

[pragmatic insanester]

jaleco brought us some interesting snes titles, abeit butchered (the entire rushing beat series).

[Dji]

Crazy Taxi was made by Sega, Wizards & Warriors was made by Rare, and NBA Jam was made by Midway. Even though Acclaim did publish those titles, I don't know if it counts as a redeemable factor...

I just plain dislike most of EA's games, while Acclaim and especially 3DO were truly horrible for the most part, in my opinion.

Edit: I agree wholeheartedly with those who mentioned 989; just awful.

[PapaStu]

989 Studios....

Once they took over the Twisted Metal and Sports franchises completely they imploded and produced nothing but shit for YEARS.