Developers

Video game developers are the companies that make the game and produce the game to
the public. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Sony's
PlayStation 3, PSP, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, Nintendo DS, or may develop for a
variety of systems, including personal computers.

Most developers also specialize in certain types of games, such as computer role-playing
games or first-person shooters. Some focus on porting games from one system to another.
Some focus on translating games from one language to another. An unusual few do other
kinds of software development work in addition to games.

Third party developers

Third-party developers are usually called upon by a video game publisher to develop a title
for one or more systems. Both the publisher and the developer have a great deal of say as
to the design and content of the game.

In general, though, the publisher's wishes trump the developer's, as the publisher is paying
the developer to create the game. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_developer)

This is an example of a third party game developer.

In-house

In-house development teams tend to have more freedom as to the design and content of a game,
compared to the third-party developer’s teams. Part of the reason for this is that since the
developers are employees of the publisher, their interests are as exactly aligned with those of the
publisher as is possible.

The publisher can therefore spend much less effort making sure that the developer's
decisions do not enrich the developer at the ultimate expense of the publisher.

Independent developers

They are video game developers that are not supported by a publisher. They are usually self-
funded small teams that operate over the Internet. They can retain creative control over the
games that they make because they need not answer to an outside funder. Their games are
then self-published over the Internet or, at times, sold to a publisher once it is completed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_independent_game_developers)
 Here are examples of independent game developers:

Types of game developer

There are many different game developers such as EA sports/EA games, Konami and also
Sega. In this assignment I will be focusing on three, theses three are very successfully game
developers and the one thing that they all have in common is that they are all British based
companies; and they are Codemasters, Rockstar north and Eidos

Codemasters logo

This is the first game developer that I will be researching, this game developer have made
many games.

Codemasters is one of the oldest British video game developers. The CEO is Rod Cousens,
formerly of Acclaim. In 2005, Codemasters was named as the top independent games
developer by Develop Magazine, an international monthly journal for video game
developers. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codemasters)

Codemasters have developed many games with different genres from adventure games to
sport. Here are some of the main games that Codemasters produce:

Best games - In this section I will be looking at the three games that scored high points
when they were reviewed by game critics and reviewers
Here is F1 2010 this game has received good reviews from all the game critics and also from
fans.

The game was received positively, with developer Codemasters receiving praise for their
attention to detail when it comes to developing racing games. The weather system which
Codemasters aimed would be "the most comprehensive and impressive weather system
ever seen in a racing game and the execution was given a rave reception by reviewers
including Official PlayStation Magazine (UK) who said "It's one of the most terrifying and
intense racers ever made", giving the game 9 out of 10 overall.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F1_2010_(video_game)#Reception)

Here is Ashes cricket 2009 this game also is ranked high by many
game reviewers and was published by Codemasters in the UK.

Official PlayStation Magazine awarded the game an 8 out of 10. IGN

UK scored it at 8.2, The Guardian and Times newspapers each giving it 4 out of 5 stars.
Planetcricket.net gave it 7.5.

The 360, PS3 and PC version ranked at the top of the all format UK charts according to Chart
Track during the first week of release. The Wii version ranked first during the week
beginning 15 August. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashes_Cricket_2009#Reception)

Here is the logo of Overload Raising Hell

As an expansion, Raising Hell was met with a positive reception with

an 8/10 from Euro gamer and Official Xbox Magazine UK.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overlord:_Raising_Hell#Reception
Codemasters was founded in 1986 and there headquarters is in Warwickshire United
Kingdom. They are an independent company, In 2005, Codemasters was named as the top
independent games developer by Develop Magazine, an international monthly journal for video game
developers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codemasters

Between 1998 and 2003 Codemasters dominated one area of Game Console entertainment
when they teamed up with Jester Interactive Limited to publish their range of music
creation software, for PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PC, namely MUSICtm, Music 2000, MTV
Music Generator and MTV Music Generator 2. In 2003 this partnership was dissolved, with
Jester releasing their own Music 3000 product. Codemasters released their final music
based product called MTV Music Generator 3 in 2004.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codemasters#Music_software
Is a Scottish video game developer, best known for creating the Grand Theft
Auto and Lemmings franchises in its earlier guise as DMA. The company is a part of Rockstar
Games, owned by Take-Two Interactive.

The second game researcher that I will be looking at is Rockstar North; this is also a British
company. From my research Rockstar North is fairly a new company, it being renamed and
re developed in 2002.

Whereas GTA2 had been an incremental improvement on the original, keeping the top-

down 2D perspective and adding a few new features, 2001's Grand Theft Auto III brought
the series into 3D. It became the PlayStation 2's biggest system seller in both the U.S. and
Europe; Sony, realising that the game was a sure-fire success, paid Rockstar to keep it a PS2
exclusive for some time. Rockstar bought DMA outright, renaming the company "Rockstar
North" in early 2002. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockstar_North#2000s

There is no big argument which games Rockstar have been most successful with which is the
GTA series.

Here are Rockstar North best selling games:

By March 3, 2005, the game had sold over 12 million units for the
PlayStation 2 alone, making it the highest selling game for PlayStation 2. As
of September 26, 2007, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has sold 20 million units according to Take-Two
Interactive.

It was praised as one of the PlayStation 2's best games, with an average review score of
95%, according to Metacritic.

The game received positive reviews, with a 9.0/10 from IGN. In the United States,
the PlayStation 2 version of Liberty City Stories had sold 1 million copies by February 6,
2007; as of December 27, 2007, the PSP version has sold 1.83 million copies and the PS2
version has sold 1.32 million in the United States alone. As of March 26, 2008, Liberty City
Stories has sold 8 million copies according to Take-Two Interactive
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_Liberty_City_Stories#Development
The May 2008 issue of Official Xbox Magazine (UK) published the first Grand Theft Auto
IV review, giving the game the maximum score of 10/10. The magazine also stated that the
game has an "amazingly realistic world; stunning action set pieces; genuinely engrossing
storyline; hugely entertaining multiplayer;" and that it is "vast in every respect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_IV#Critical_reception

Rockstar North was founded in 2001 in Edinburgh Scotland , after it was re developed and re
named, the former name being DMA designer.

Owned by Take-Two Interactive it is the primary developer of the Grand Theft Auto series,

including Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San
Andreas, which are three of the best-selling games on sixth-generation consoles, in addition
to the best-selling Grand Theft Auto IV in the current generation of consoles.

An interesting fact that I found was that in the Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's
Edition lists it as the videogame with the largest voice cast, with 861 credited voice actors,
including 174 actors and 687 additional performers, many of those performers being fans of
the series who wanted to appear on the game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_San_Andreas
The next game developer that I will be analysing will be Eidos interactive, as the other two
this game developer was a British based company until it became part of Square Enix Europe.
And was famous for making most of the Football manager games.

Eidos officially became part of Square Enix on 22 April 2009. Following a reorganization of Square
Enix's European operations, Eidos is slated to be consolidated into a new branch, named Square Enix
Europe. The Eidos Interactive brand will cease to be used for game publishing thereafter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidos_Interactive
Here are Eidos interactive best games:

Blood Money received generally favourable reviews upon

release, with an average critic score of 83% for the Xbox
360and PlayStation 2 versions and 82% for the Xbox and
PC at Game Rankings.

Many critics felt the game was an improvement over the

previous Hitman titles, with Official PlayStation Magazine
UK calling it "without question the best Hitman yet".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitman:_Blood_Money#Reception_and_awards

Final Fantasy VII was both a critical and commercial success, and set several sales records.
Within three days of its release in Japan, the game had sold 2.3 million copies. This
popularity inspired thousands of retailers in North America to break street dates in
September to meet public demand for the title. In the game's debut weekend in North
America, it sold 330,000 copies, and had reached sales of 500,000 units in less than three
weeks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII#Reception
Arkham Asylum has received universal acclaim from critics, and holds a 93% at Game
Rankings, with PC version becoming the highest ranked PC game of 2009 on the site, and
91% at Metacritic. Game Stats currently holds the game at 9.1/10. The game also holds
a Guinness World Record for Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Arkham_Asylum

Eidos Interactive was established

in 1990 and although it is owned
by a European company the
headquarters are based in
Wimbledon in London England.

Bibliography
Websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_developer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_independent_game_developers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codemasters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F1_2010_(video_game)#Reception

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashes_Cricket_2009#Reception

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overlord:_Raising_Hell#Reception

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codemasters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codemasters#Music_software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockstar_North#2000s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_Liberty_City_Stories#Development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_IV#Critical_reception

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_San_Andreas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidos_Interactive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitman:_Blood_Money#Reception_and_awards

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII#Reception

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Arkham_Asylum