21: Sony Online Entertainment (PR: 15)
SOE slips a bit due to the saturation in the MMOG industry, as well as Turbine's rise to prominence, but the developer/publisher still does an amiable job of avoiding Blizzard's mighty wake. They've carved out a decent niche for themselves, and once ruled the MMOG field by way of EverQuest, WoW's spiritual predecessor. Nowadays, their premiere property is EverQuest 2, though they've also made it a habit to buy out smaller MMOG developers and offer their games on the Station Pass, which gives gamers access to a number of different games for one fee. They've also been placed within SCEA to work on the PlayStation Home.
Showdown prediction: They're up against Rockstar San Diego in the first round, which will likely get by on name alone. It could go either way.
22: Turbine (PR: 16)
Turbine drops in rank for reasons similar to SOE, but continue to enjoy the success of Lord of the Rings Online and reemergence of Dungeons & Dragons Online to keep them from dropping off the list. They've also kept the fires burning for Asheron's Call, more out of respect than for the bottom line, and that's worth notice. On the horizon is the recently announced expansion Mines of Moria which comes at a time when LOTRO was beginning to fade from the public eye.
Showdown prediction: Turbine doesn't run into overwhelming competition until the 16, when they'll likely face off against Capcom.
23: CCP (PR: Unranked)
CCP's EVE Online is still growing, and they've got a year of White Wolf under their belt. The two companies are getting along famously, and something about a bunch of Vikings and Georgians with a goth streak getting together to make games tickles me in the places I only talk about at parties. And really, CCP bringing on a group of tabletop developers not only expands what the company can offer, it keeps them honest: Most MMOGs are bad pen-and-paper emulators; CCP has the real thing doing it right.
Showdown prediction: CCP will likely advance to the 32, at which point it gets interesting. They've got SEGA and then likely Bungie, if they get by.
24: NCsoft (PR: 14, as NCsoft Austin)
NCsoft rounds out the MMOG bloc, but they're sinking like a stone. Tabula Rasa's failure to impress all but finished off NCsoft Austin, which was reeling from Auto Assault's previous failure to impress. Also failing to impress was Dungeon Runners. Luckily for them, they're bringing in some cabbage from ArenaNet's Guild Wars, and NCsoft's Lineage 2 is still doing well in Asia.
Showdown prediction: Assuming they get by TimeGate, they run headlong into Bethesda. Ouch.
25: Lionhead (PR: Unranked)
Lionhead rounds out the 25, and coasts in because Peter Molyneux is bound by the law of averages (and diminishing returns) to live up to Fable 2's hype. Despite all the post-release animosity directed Lionhead's way, they're kings of the god-game field, and I still believe their vision is still held back by technological constraints. Someday, every machine will think like Peter Molyneux, and everything will be wonderful.
Showdown prediction: They'll likely make it past Red Storm in the first round, but Bungie looms in the 32.
If you'd like to try these rankings out for size, or create your own, just check out The Escapist's March Mayhem: Developers' Showdown, which is running right now!
