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Which AAA publisher went down in your eyes the most this generation?

Which AAA publisher went down in your eyes the most this generation?

  • EA

    Votes: 1,361 55.6%

  • Ubisoft

    Votes: 40 1.6%

  • Activision

    Votes: 101 4.1%

  • Bethesda

    Votes: 508 20.8%

  • Microsoft

    Votes: 203 8.3%

  • Sony

    Votes: 42 1.7%

  • Blizzard

    Votes: 191 7.8%
  • Total voters
    2,446
GuitarGuruu

GuitarGuruu

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,465
Was gonna say EA but they've basically been bumbling around for years now, Bethesda really surprised me with how poor reception was for some of the way they promoted things as well as the whole Fallout 76 fiasco. I guess I've just decided to be done with them for the foreseeable future.
 
Rodjer

Rodjer

Self-requested ban.
Member
Jan 28, 2018
4,808
Blizzard i'd say, No Diablo, WoW expansions are trash and OW is becoming stale.

EA still gave me Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Apex Legends, A Way Out, Battlefield 1.
 
Spring-Loaded

Spring-Loaded

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,904
Since I learned during this gen about Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax's hostile takeover strategy for devs, my answer is Bethesda.

Human Head got screwed over (on their Prey 2), and so did myriad others over the years.
 
iksenpets

iksenpets

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,477
Dallas, TX
It's EA. They went from a generation where they made Dead Space and Skate and Mirror's Edge, where even their core franchises like sports and Battlefield saw decent innovation, to a generation where they just released next to nothing worthwhile. A good-enough Dragon Age Inquisition, and a great Titanfall 2 that they allowed to be trampled by their other games, and that's sort of it.

Bethesda hasn't really innovated on their core open-world games, and released one real clunker, but their shooter output has been great. Microsoft's publishing has declined a lot from those first years of the 360, and they haven't been able to recapture the magic of that era of Gears and Halo, but they're clearly trying with the new acquisitions, and they have a real solid sense for indies between Ori and Cuphead. Nintendo, Sony, and Ubi have all had banner generations. Activision Blizzard remains as they've always been, looking like they're right in the verge of milking their properties into oblivion, but somehow always having at least one thing going well enough that they're still making money hand over fist.
 
Bane

Bane

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
5,904
My first instinct was to say Konami but when I think of it, I have a hard time remembering a lot of games I played from them last gen. So probably EA, From The Trilogy, the Bad Company series, and DA 1 and 2 (flawed but I still enjoyed it quite a bit) to... this.
 
MisterR

MisterR

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,463
Chaos2Frozen said:
For me it's probably Microsoft.

They didn't haven't huge bombs or anything but it's surprisingly how many of their high profile games come out as duds.
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I'm shocked more people haven't picked Microsoft. Who really had high expectations for EA this generation? Microsoft published some great games in the 360 era and it's been dud after dud for the One.
 

Deleted member 11214

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
731
I never expect anything of EA, so...

I voted Sony, because their PS4 games lineup has been super disappointing, but probably actually Ubisoft.

They had done a much better job than the other AAA generi-publishers in responding to player feedback and supporting their games, and now they've gone and signed an exclusivity deal with EGS that shuts out a huge amount of bother potential players and player feedback in the PC space. Crazy greedy.
 
Bit_Reactor

Bit_Reactor

Banned
Apr 9, 2019
4,413
I was looking for Bioware and then re-read the title and was like "right, publisher. So EA"

The only other one to take a major hit this gen is Bethesda. FO76 was reeeeeally bad and they haven't put out much else to compensate except maybe Prey? Rage 2 wasn't bad? I dunno. It's EA

MisterR said:
I'm shocked more people haven't picked Microsoft. Who really had high expectations for EA this generation? Microsoft published some great games in the 360 era and it's been dud after dud for the One.
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Have to remember who EA owns like Bioware and the like. That's what's getting a lot of people. Seeing them chew up and spit out studios, Visceral, Bioware, etc all not doing well or shuttered, etc. Even at the bottom there's still room to go down.
 
JD3Nine

JD3Nine

The Fallen
Nov 6, 2017
1,866
Texas, United States
EA for me. I only bought 2 games from them this whole generation. ( Inquisition and Andromeda ) I don't even pay attention to what they put out anymore. It's all just really unappealing.
 
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m_dorian

m_dorian

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,403
Athens, Greece
Blizzard. I was expecting greater things after the superb Legion expansion but they managed to disappoint with BfA.
Also , "Don't you guys have phones?".

THQ Nordic. For a publisher that has so many titles it was awfully disturbing to have some of their marketing team and a person that owns shares of this company break bread with Nazis and pedophiles and get away with it from both their management and some of the consumers.

I understand the anti EA sentiment since they brought this on themselves but they were not high on my regard in the first place.

I think UBI was more than fine this gen but I don't like taking away upoints and limiting the promo codes. Also, I very much dislike their partnership with EGS.
 
Kraq

Kraq

Member
Oct 25, 2017
807
Does Konami not count? If not, then Bethesda. Their fall from grace has been a damned shame. EA's always been rock bottom, so nothing new there.
 
Cuburger

Cuburger

Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,975
This thread makes me realize how disappointing so many AAA games have been this gen compared to last.
 
El-Suave

El-Suave

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,829
EA for sure but I'm surprised people pick Bethesda over Activision. Activision lost Destiny, has problems with Call of Duty and at Blizzard. Some of the successes they had like the Crash revival fell into their lap and they almost had to be forced to capitalize on what they had. The few big games they're really depending on aren't guaranteed successes like the sports exclusives EA has.
 
Euler007

Euler007

Member
Jan 10, 2018
5,033
Most definitely Bethesda. I didn't mind FO4 but a very poor showing overall. My esteem for EA was already rock bottom, there was not much to give on that front. As far as Blizzard goes it's still what it is, I'm just off their wagon since I kicked my WoW addiction back in Pandaria.
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,905
EA really seems like a shadow of themselves. Although to some degree I'd say that's the case for all the big AAA 3rd party western pubs (Activision, Ubisoft, 2K/Rockstar, Bethesda, SE Europe). It feels a bit like what happened to Japan last gen on home consoles.
 
KillstealWolf

KillstealWolf

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
16,043
For EA to go down they had to have some respect from me in the first place. They already lost that last gen, this gen has been more of the same game wise (although I guess their games are reviewing worse this gen as well).

Every other company listed has at least one noticable release this generation I liked (Activision has produced good Crash and Spyro remakes, Ubisoft has Rainbow Six Seige and For Honor, Bethesda had Doom and Prey, Blizzard had Overwatch and Hearthstone, Sony and Microsoft shouldn't even be listed here to be honest.) So maybe it is EA? Even with minimal expectations they still underachieved, they ruined Star Wars Battlefront as well so... I guess I'll have to go with EA Then.
 
PeskyToaster

PeskyToaster

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,312
EA has been mismanaging a lot of sure things lately. I don't think they or Activision really get GaaS at this point compared to Ubisoft and their attempts at it have hurt their games. Battlefield V is a great game but I think it could've waited a year and then sold a more complete package. Or they would've had things ready to go so content could release at a regular pace rather than the current snails pace. DICE has been releasing a game a year this gen it feels like and I'd like to see them grow a project rather than continue at this pace. Yeah it costs more money but I'm the consumer so I don't give a shit about that. Not my job to figure it out. Battlefront 2, also a great game, completely mired by their attempt at microtransactions.

Microsoft has been a wet fart this generation. Gotta see more of Gears 5 and Halo to see if they still got it but that's all they had last gen too.
 
Tigress

Tigress

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,133
Washington
I hate to admit it, but bethesda. Even though I actually do enjoy 76 I don't loke they are dipping their toes into microtransactions and they've shown with 76 they definitely will fall into the same tactics which are the reason I hate them. I wasn't enthused about fallout shelter because I saw they were testing the waters and 76 definitely shows them going further. On top of that fallout 4 is still showing they are moving away from rpg in their games (you can see the progression from Fallout 3 to Skyrim to fallout 4) though far harbor shows they still know how to make an rpg.

I'm surprised people are saying ea. They've been acting like ea and the reason I boycott them. I guess for me they are not acting any differently then before.
 
Segafreak

Segafreak

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,756
It's EA and Microsoft, both have lost immense prestige, their quality and overall number of games released have dropped significantly compared to last gen.

I don't get voting for Activision and Bethesda, Activision has always been that CoD publisher with a side of shitty movie games and Skylanders, couldn't get worse this gen. Bethesda actually progressed, they released tons of good stuff, they just weren't Fallout and TES.
 
Kill3r7

Kill3r7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,374
I don't know about publishers but BioWare has taken a massive step back this gen and that has had an impact on EAs output.

Tigress said:
I hate to admit it, but bethesda. Even though I actually do enjoy 76 I don't loke they are dipping their toes into microtransactions and they've shown with 76 they definitely will fall into the same tactics which are the reason I hate them. I wasn't enthused about fallout shelter because I saw they were testing the waters and 76 definitely shows them going further. On top of that fallout 4 is still showing they are moving away from rpg in their games (you can see the progression from Fallout 3 to Skyrim to fallout 4) though far harbor shows they still know how to make an rpg.

I'm surprised people are saying ea. They've been acting like ea and the reason I boycott them. I guess for me they are not acting any differently then before.
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Bethesda has published some of the best games this gen. See Doom, Wolfenstein, Prey, Dishonored and TEW series.
 
Vinc

Vinc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,383
Hmm lets see:

Bethesda:

If anything, these folks have been BETTER than last gen with the id, arkane, and tango gameworks games they put out. I love every single one of those. BGS has disappointed me a little, since FO4 is my least favorite of the modern real Fallout games, and with 76 being... well... not great. But now that they got their online attempt out of their system, I'm overall incredibly excited for everything in their future at the moment.

Activision:

It just kinda feels like they downscaled quite a bit, but I'm happy that they brought back Crash and Spyro! I think those are fantastic and I'll keep buying them. COD is getting a bit stale for me and it's sad that Destiny didn't work out for them. People seem to enjoy Blizzard's output even though it's not as much as it used to be. Seeing them put out games like Sekiro is cool too. Overall needs improvement, but I'm not unhappy.

EA:

Boy oh boy. They started this gen out on such a promising note. Time and time again I've been excited about their games... lets see:

- Battlefield 4: Didn't enjoy it, but it was a launch game so I gave them a pass. It was fine, not bad.
- Titanfall: Really good game, though the lack of SP campaign was a bit of a bummer for me
- Dragon Age Inquisition: I don't think it's a bad game per se, but I found it really dated and had some frustrations with it. It was my first DA game, maybe the series isn't for me.
- Battlefront: I had some fun with it, but the huge lack of content made it feel hollow. Disappointment.
- Titanfall 2: Had big hopes for it... and loved it! It's a shining light in their lineup this gen. Sucks that we're probably not getting a third one anytime soon.
- Mirror's Edge Catalyst: Huge disappointment for me. I was so excited for it, but it didn't meet my expectations. It's really a bummer for me.
- Battlefield 1: I enjoyed this one, though the campaign was hollow.
- Battlefront II: Another huge disappointment. The campaign felt incredibly hollow, the the online controversy didn't help. I had less fun with it than 1.
- Mass Effect Andromeda: I actually mildly enjoyed this one, and it's my favorite Bioware game of the gen, but still remains one of my biggest disappointments of this gen. I'm just a big fan of ME, so waiting this long and not getting a great game hurt. That said, I would buy another one in a heartbeat. Please try again, EA.
- Battlefield V: I found this one about on par with Battlefield 4, just fine, but not great.
- Apex: Really cool game, but again, I'm not really an online player so much. I'm very casual when it comes to that, and I think Fortnite is more appealing to me.
- Anthem: Another giant disappointment. It looked awesome when they first showed it off, but it was a technical mess for me.

Overall, I have to go with EA. It's been disappointment after disappointment. I only enjoyed Respawn's output, so I'm excited for Fallen Order, but this gen is to be written off for them as far as I'm concerned. The biggest disappointment? No Dead Space game.

EA originals are a damn cool initiative though!
 
plié

plié

Alt account
Banned
Jan 10, 2019
1,613
Magic Mushroom said:
Care to explain Sony? I liked their output last gen well enough, but nothing on the level of Bloodborne, The Last Guardian and Astro Bot for me. Just curious. Is it lack of MP games?
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Game output is pretty decent, but the lack of any real multiplayer focused games sucks, and the lack of a gamepass equivalent is really fucking shitty. I'm not interested in their offerings unless they are on a sub service day 1. Its just a backwards thinking publisher. (IMO) I hope their azure deal with Microsoft changes things to the better.
 

DoughBoi

Member
May 7, 2019
115
EA is the clear loser here, though on a personal level, Ubisoft's performance fluctuates massively. They have some really unique output(Mario+Rabbids), though a lot of their core open-world titles are starting to homogenize.

Far Cry 5 felt under-baked. Wildlands felt under-baked. Siege has great core gameplay, but I hate the hero-shooter aspect of it and it's lack of single player is extremely disappointing. I don't play the AC titles, so I couldn't comment on those.

Ubi has been great at consistently pumping "pretty okay" games that fail to live up to their potential. That being said, they've also been the most diverse of the big publishers and while I'm sure their Clancy games will continue to disappoint me, I think they'll also continue to surprise me with other interesting titles that are well executed.
 
Cryoteck

Cryoteck

Member
Nov 2, 2017
1,028
I'd say Bethesda fell the most but mostly because they had much more room to fall. EA fell from the curb to the gutter which isn't that far. Bethesda went from preorder worthy to wait for reviews and general consensus which is quite a fall. Blizzard comes in second mostly because they had decent output in general but the future looks grim.
 
Dusker

Dusker

Member
Jul 6, 2018
123
EA without a doubt. Between releasing crappy undercooked stuff (It's such a shame what they did to Mirrors Edge with Catalyst) and their "Single player games are no longer popular" stance... sigh...

I was going to say Bethesda but as a publisher they have given me Dishonored 1/2 & Prey and those are some of my favorite games this gen. However, as developers, they have been a major let down with Fallout 4 & 76.
 
Semfry

Semfry

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,951
I had low expectations for EA and they still somehow managed to be much worse than that, so them easily.
 
get2sammyb

get2sammyb

Editor at Push Square
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
3,006
UK
EA's had a very poor generation, I think. Their sports games are pretty good, and they have had some decent efforts outside of them, but generally they've been very weak overall.
 
Elandyll

Elandyll

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,805
I'm a bit puzzled to see Bethesda so high behind EA (though nowhere close)...
Is this just about Fallout 4 and 76 backlash?
 
Kerotan

Kerotan

Banned
Oct 31, 2018
3,951
Microsoft followed by EA.

Microsoft have been terrible since the second half of the 360 gen. EA this gen really let me down. Star wars and BF4 have been decent but bar that terrible for me.

Ubisoft and Sony are my favourite now.
 
Hippopuncher12

Hippopuncher12

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,245
Cincinnati
EA for sure, like I haven't really bought much of what they have put out. Another, and before people blast me, this is just a personal opinion, but I have not been a fan of anything Nintendo has put out on the Switch yet, I am sure that won't last but so far I have been whelmed, ignoring any ports of Wii U games obviously.
 
Herey

Herey

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Jan 10, 2019
3,407
EA give me gems here and there and I buy FIFA most years.

Activision are so disappointing. They should get more shit than EA imo.
 
Goldenroad

Goldenroad

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Nov 2, 2017
9,475
I choose to abstain from voting until Valve gets added to the poll. Not only should the be on the poll, but they should be #1 by a wide margin.

They went from

Last Gen: The Orange Box (Portal, HL2 Ep. 2, TF2), Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2, Counterstrike GO and DOTA 2

This Gen: Artifact (some porno card game I guess), and some VR demos

Say what you will about the quality of EA's games, at least they are still putting out something, and it's not like EA released any games as good as Left 4 Dead last gen (I know they published some of those Valve games on console).
 
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