Feature: 'Game Developer's Top 20 Publishers, 2006'

For today's main Gamasutra feature, and for the first time online, we've made available sister publication Game Developer magazine's annual Top 20 Publishers feature, revealing 2006's countdown, calculated empirically from revenue, review scores, and more. The introduction to the feature explains: "2006 brings the fourth annual Game Developer Top 20 Publishers ranking, and along with it evidence of an industry in flux as it prepares for the next generation of console hardware. Some publishers have sought to beef up their existing talents and resources to handle the oncoming storm, while others have contributed to the constant consolidation the industry has been experiencing. Some familiar faces have joined forces with others (Bandai and Namco), and some have shaken up others’ spots on the ranking (notably Take-Two and Nintendo). There are two newcomers to the list, and one graceful exit: Buena Vista Games and NCsoft both made respectable first showings this year, bumping off Codemasters. And while this ranking arguably marks the end of a console generation, the next will show just who has been most effective in making the transition, so there can only be more rise, fall, and shakeup as the industry matures." You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the subject to see all twenty of 2006's top publishers (no registration required, please feel free to link to this column from external websites).