Microsoft VS Blizzard - On games

[TerresqueÜ]

My friends and I have been arguing what company makes better games?


80% percent of us say Blizzard rocks the world but the other two are stone-cold hold outs to Microsft.


SOOOOO I'm taking this arguement to you, my associates on tilted gaming.


Vote for the company you like best and why.


Edit - I meant to make this a poll but I forgot to his the 'post a poll' button and I don't wanna make another one.

[Gortexfogg]

Blizzard - Since Warcraft, they have made great games. Diablo. Diablo 2, Starcraft, Warcraft II & III. They last couple games they've released have been very popular and made Blizzard tons of money...they got it down to a science for making hits.

Microsoft - They have made their share of good games (Age of Empires) and their share of bad games. Of course, as they get more into games their games get better and better.

In terms of a ratio, Blizzard always makes great games (if only a few) and Mircosoft sometimes makes great games out of the many it produces. Blizzard is the best.

[juanvaldes]

Blizzard.

Microsoft dosen't make games, they publish a few.

[mcbain415]

Blizzard. I can't even think of one game made by Blizzard that I didn't like. They prefer quality over quantity which is an admirable business practice in a society where many companies are just looking to make a quick buck. Microsoft is OK i guess. But Blizzard is up there with the best.

[elaphe]

Blizzard. Never had to download a patch on a Blizzard game because the damn thing would crash to desktop.

Microsoft puts too much pressure on its gaming houses to kick the game out to meet a deadline. Besides, the bastards made us PC Gamming heads wait TWO years for Halo!

[Antagony]

I second juanvaldes. It's the only choice because Microsoft doesn't make games.

Don't call us impudent for pointing out a technicality, though. Even if we change it to accep the games that MS has published, it's still an unfair arena because then you're putting up several game studios against Blizzard.

edit -- Actually, I wasn't entirely correct. There are a *few* games that were developed and published by MS. The only examples I can immediately find are the Flight Simulator series and Inside Pitch 2003.

However, for most of the games I'm sure you are thinking about, my previous statements hold true.

[Soothe]

Looking Glass Studios was the only game developer that could rival Blizzards game quality. They're long gone and no one else really can make games as great as Blizzards because they have eager publishers that interfere and push the product out the door and onto shelves way too early. Blizzard is it's own publisher, which gives them the opportunity to fool around with things like balancing, bugs squashing, and fun factor whereas other developers don't have that sort of time and have to resort to last minute lazy patches.

There really is no company that can compete with any game genre Blizzard enters. They've dominated RTS's and hack and slash with Diablo and they're about to dominate the MMORPG scene because I doubt SWG or EQ2 will be any good. If Starcraft: Ghost is done well it could even put MSG, Tenchu, and Thief to shame.

[Prophecy]

i also have to go with Blizzard. They've add alot to all the genres that they've published there games under. Most of the new games in RTS are clones of Blizzard games. I know Blizzard wasn't the first but they currently are the best.

[peppy]

Nintendo.

[RaDiAn]

Blizzard is my Fav,every game that I have had from them is a blast!

[Mr Scorcex]

If we overlook, for the sake of argument, the technicality, I'd have to say blizzard. While I did enjoy all the age of empires games, I still play Starcraft.

[BBtB]

Blizzard. All the way. Even if you count all of the games MS has mearly published it is still no contest. I mean there are a few good games under the MS name (though none come to mind) ALL Blizzard games rock (Well I was a bit disapointed with Warcraft III... but hoping that was just a fluke) They also have replay value. I can not tell you how many times I have replayed Warcraft one. Let alone Warcraft II (My fav game... ever) I am currently replaying Starcraft.

[juanvaldes]

Originally posted by Soothe
They've dominated RTS's and hack and slash with Diablo and they're about to dominate the MMORPG scene because I doubt SWG or EQ2 will be any good. If Starcraft: Ghost is done well it could even put MSG, Tenchu, and Thief to shame.

I don't know, I think the Orc's vs Humans dynamic could limit any MMORPG of theirs. anyway, Ghost is not being done by Blizzard. They are licencing out there name to another company and then publishing the title. I think they also outsourced their "classic" series for the GBA but am not 100% on that.

[Uuudar]

Not to sound like a fanboi, but Blizzard is the win!

[Sparhawk]

Originally posted by Soothe
Looking Glass Studios was the only game developer that could rival Blizzards game quality. They're long gone and no one else really can make games as great as Blizzards because they have eager publishers that interfere and push the product out the door and onto shelves way too early. Blizzard is it's own publisher, which gives them the opportunity to fool around with things like balancing, bugs squashing, and fun factor whereas other developers don't have that sort of time and have to resort to last minute lazy patches.

There really is no company that can compete with any game genre Blizzard enters. They've dominated RTS's and hack and slash with Diablo and they're about to dominate the MMORPG scene because I doubt SWG or EQ2 will be any good. If Starcraft: Ghost is done well it could even put MSG, Tenchu, and Thief to shame.

*sniff*
This one's for my dead homies over at Looking Glass
<img src="http://users.vnet.net/confused/malt/ME.JPG">

[FunHater]

I'm wondering how this debate even got started. Who in their right mind would even try to compare Blizzard and Microsoft? Blizzard is far superior. It's like comparing a BMW to a Kia.

[TenDeuChen]

MS Word is freaking awesome...and MS Outlook...whew...fuhgettaboutit...MS all the way...

hehhehheh...

seriously...i did like dungeon siege though...

[Optimus80]

I'm gonna have to go with Blizzard.

I will admit that Motocross Madness was fun for a while, and so was Halo, but Blizzard has never let me down.

I've played the online demo for Rock n Roll Racing too many times to count, because it just rock THAT much. Not to mention Blizzard's standard of Quality over the past years. Sure, their games may not come out as rapidly as other game developers, but goddamn is it worth the wait.

[Arm]

Gonna have to say Blizzard as well.

IMO, there's almost no contest between blizzard and anyone else in terms of quality. Every single game that I can remember (even hearkening back to stuff like the Lost Vikings) has been insanely well made.

[freedomdowntime]

HA! Like microsoft can even BEGIN to rival Blizzard's operating system! I mean come on Word,Excel,and Powerpoint have nothing on Blood, Glory, and BrightLight. Microsoft's GUI is years behind Blizzard's new OrcSmash +5 XP. Which company has their OS on every major Business and home computer? Blizzard of course!




Ok, I'll stop. Give me credit for attempting to be funny. =)

[Tanerax]

Theres an excellent reason why games like Diablo 2 and Starcraft and such are Still being played as much as they are... And why it still costs 39 Bucks (canadian) to buy either Brand new.. Cause people are still buying them... even after 5+ years

[Hojo]

Blizzard, hands down.

I didn't think that Microsoft really makes games, just that they publish them. Or am I wrong, and Ensemble (Age of Empires/Mythology) is exclusively owned by Microsoft? Either way, both make some excellent games.

[ydmos]

Blizzard makes better games, although I don't consider them particularly innovative. At least not lately. They tend to swerve more towards what will sell, and be popular. In fact, while I believe blizzard's games to be more interesting than Microsoft's, neither company is particularly good at coming up with new stuff. Blizzard takes concepts they've seen work in the past, and try to turn them into a hit game. And they're largely successful at that. Microsoft, while attempting to do the same thing, comes up with games that are simply not as interesting. So in the end, Blizzard wins.

[zer010gic]

Blizzard makes better games Microsoft does not even really mesure up.

[portwineboy]

And now that some serious personnel changes have happened at Blizzard, will people still agree? This seems to me a serious blow to the Blizzard name.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030630/media...i_games_1.html

[juanvaldes]

Originally posted by portwineboy
And now that some serious personnel changes have happened at Blizzard, will people still agree? This seems to me a serious blow to the Blizzard name.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030630/media...i_games_1.html

All Blizzard North ever made was Diablo & Diablo2. So dont' expect Diablo 3 anytime soon... (probably why they left, didn't want to make the same game again...)

[redrum]

Blizzard by a long shot, I still play Diablo 2 from time to time.

[Mondak]

I agree with FunHater. How can these two even be compared. Blizz is the best. The fact that I am 29 and was seriously considering going to Fry's at Midnight last night to get my copy shows that in Spades

[collide]

Don't forget that Blizzard also made The Lost Vikings and a sequel! That alone makes Blizzard > Miscrosoft.

[nothingx]

Solitare and minesweeper vs. Warcraft and Diablo? Are you serious? There's no contest here IMHO.

[acidburn]

Starcraft is the reason that I will always say Blizzard is far greater then Microsoft. Then number of hours wasted away on this game cannot be accounted for...

[charlesesl]

i think you are comparing the wrong companies
Blizzard makes and publishes games whereas microsoft just buy other small complanies to make games for it.

Serious its not the publisher that determine the quality of the games

[t3m3st]

Diablo 2 kicks Minesweepers a55!!!

I'll take Starcraft over Halo any day. Unless Halo comes with a mouse and keyboard... and more than one patch of grass...

[Looften]

I don't see what all the hype about blizzard games are.

Warcraft and Warcraft II back in the day were a lot of fun, and they didn't need any large innovations when the RTS genre was new.

Starcraft... sucked. I hated that game, and I had been eagerly waiting for it as well. Each side has a wealth of 5 units to draw on, 3 of which are used. Blizzard said they didn't want orcs-in-space, but that's exactly how the game plays. When there are only a couple units on each side the gameplay is no more "dynamic" then paper-rocks-scissors.

What game did I play instead of Starcraft? Total Annihilation, still the best RTS by far.

I didn't find Diablo fun either, a game can be logged as: click click click click click /hack click click. It's like saying... I'd like a game featuring an interface similar to Baldur's gate, only instead of success hinging on utilizing my abilities, I'd just like to click a lot.

Warcraft III and Diablo 2 are the same, only new graphics.

I guess these are good games... but I can't see why Blizzard is considered so Godlike. Perhaps it's just a lack of a title they truely bombed on.

[CaptainFluffer]

Microsoft has good games, but Blizzard's replay value is super high on their games. I'll go with blizzard.

[pancakerabbit]

Blizzard. That's not even a fair match-up =p

[aeturnum]

Yah, definitely Blizzard. As people have said before, Microsoft doesn't make any games, it just funds other people to make them. Blizzard actually makes games.

[ningato]

Blizzard had a bunch of poorly selling console games before they made warcraft 1. I still remember reading the review of warcraft 1 and going that sounds good then at the end of the review they said that there was a map editor that had just been released in the patch download. Well an hour later warcraft 1 was on my machine and I was hooked. Ever since I played Dune I thought you know this would be so much better if I could just make the maps that I want to play. Then the roller coaster ride of game announcement and then years later getting a release started. I expect that world of warcraft will be in development for 2 to 5 more years before release. It will require directx11. You will also be able to make ring tones for your cell phone with the game sounds.

Unfortunately all the external news releases that I have read since the warcraft 1 days shows that management there needs modern training or actually carnegie business training. I expect that its just a matter of time for that dimension of the company to destroy the capability of the workforce. Then again as long as they are not doing anything financially illegal they should be able to churn through new blood. Of course even that will start to show in your product.

[ningato]

oh i still vote for blizzard. I got sidetracked...

[Drider_it]

Actually Blizzard for game creativity and such.. but its the after sales that drops my opinion of them.. with all the hacks they "wont" prevent. If your playing a tournament or LAN party then its ok..