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Whether you’re an avid gamer with over 100 titles in your library or you prefer to buy only new installments of your favorite series, chances are you have a favorite video game developer or two in mind. In an attempt to draw out the most popular names, one recent internet poll asked 500 Japanese men and women to share their opinions about their favorite game developers.

Can you guess the top three in the correct order? 

MyNavi Student conducted an online poll throughout June among 500 Japanese professionals (male and female) in their 20s and 30s. When asked if they played video games for personal enjoyment, 138 answered yes.

Those 138 people were then asked, “Is there a particular game developer that you like?,” to which 73 (52.9%) responded “yes” and 65 (47.1%) responded “no.”

The 73 who answered “yes” then provided details about their top game developers, with only one vote per person. Are you ready for the results? 

1) Nintendo: 30 votes (41.1%)

▼How many of these iconic characters can you name?

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Fanpop – Dave Jarbo

You probably saw this one coming, and for good reason. This video game giant single-handedly addicted millions of children to video games and became a household name. Some of the most epic video game series of all time are thanks to the creative minds at Nintendo, and characters such as Mario and Zelda are recognizable to people all around the world. Dare we mention a little craze from back in the day called Pokémon? Japanese respondents to the poll also pointed out some slightly lesser-known series like Animal Crossing which have sizable fanbases in certain parts of the globe. What would we be doing in our spare time if we weren’t all on a quest to “catch ’em all”??

2) Square Enix: 18 votes (24.7%)

▼How many video games that you know can spawn their own periodic table?

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Gamebud – Budi Kurniawan

The legendary Final Fantasy franchise springs to mind here, along with the internationally successful Dragon Quest series. Prepare for many sleepless nights in a row if you want to play these epics from start to finish…you might want to get good at reading Roman numerals, too (heck, how many main installments of FF are there now? I lost count with all the spinoffs…). The company has also gained acclaim for its Kingdom Hearts series of crossover games.

Final Fantasy fans should also check out the new Final Fantasy XIV Cafe in Tokyo. Stay tuned to our site for more details!

3) Capcom: 6 votes (8.2%)

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Video Game Gallery

Street Fighter, with its humble origins as an arcade game, along with Monster Hunter, Sengoku Basara, Resident Evil, Mega Man… the list of Capcom’s contributions to video gaming goes on and on! On a side note, who here has seen this year’s Street Fighter: Assasin’s Fist film? 

4) Koei Tecmo Games: 5 votes: (6.8%)

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Wikipedia – WolfenSilva

Poll respondents were quick to point out the popularity of Koei Tecmo’s ancient Japan-themed games such as the Nobunaga’s Ambition saga and Samurai Warriors.

5) Atlus: 3 votes (4.1%)

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Wikipedia – Bloodios

Rounding out fifth place, Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and Persona 4 proved popular with Japanese respondents.

6) (Three-way tie!)

Sony Computer Entertainment: 2 votes (2.7%)

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Wikipedia – Theo’s Little Bot

As one 30-year-old woman wrote, “Although the genre is action, I really enjoy their games like Soul Sacrifice with carefully-crafted storylines.” 

6) Konami Digital Entertainment: 2 votes (2.7%)

▼Don’t forget this little guy, developed by Konami!

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Wikipedia – McLoaf

Do Metal Gear, Castlevania, Dance Dance Revolution or Suikoden ring a bell? In Japan, Konami is also well-known for its baseball games like Power Pro and Pro Yakyū Spirits.

6) Level-5: 2 votes (2.7%)

▼Yo-Kai Watch: the newest generation’s answer to Pokémon?

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Wikipedia – Ryulong

“I like them because they’re making the recent Dragon Quest games,” said one 30-year-old male respondent. Also: the puzzle adventure Professor Layton series of games and Yo-Kai Watch are courtesy of Level-5.

9) (Three-way tie!) 

Spike Chunsoft: 1 vote (1.4%)

▼On the hit list: 2013’s Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind for the 3DS

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Wikia – Attack on Titan 

“I picked them because I often find interesting games,” as a 28-year-old female poll respondent suggested. Seems like a legitimate reason to us.

9) Sega: 1 vote (1.4%)

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DeviantART – NobunagaSmash94

Was I the only one disappointed to see Sega with only one vote on this list? I would have thought that Japanese people in their 20s and 30s would have more appreciation for all those addictive Sega games of the early 90s. Oh well, excuse me as I go play Sonic the Hedgehog II for a few hours against my better judgement…

9) Bandai Namco Games: 1 vote (1.4%)

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Wikipedia – Calamity-Ace

Perhaps most famous under this name is the “Tales of” series, including Tales of Symphonia. It also boasts lots of collaborations with CyberConnect2 for the .hack// line of games and the video game adaptations of the popular manga series Naruto.

Note: Apparently two of the 73 people abstained from naming their favorite video game developer in the above poll.

But that’s not all. When asked to name all of their favorite game developers (multiple votes OK), the results shifted a bit: 

1) Nintendo: 41 votes (56.2%)
2) Square Enix: 31 votes (42.5%)
3) Capcom: 22 votes (30.1%)
4) Sony Computer Entertainment: 20 votes (27.4%)
5) Koei Tecmo Games: 14 votes (19.2%)
6) Konami Digital Entertainment: 13 votes (17.8%)
7) Sega: 12 votes (16.4%)
8) Level-5: 10 votes (13.7%)
9) (Two-way tie!)
Atlus: 9 votes (12.3%)
Bandai Namco Games: 9 votes (12.3)
11) Electronic Arts: 5 votes (6.8%)
12) (Four-way tie!)
Spike Chunsoft: 3 votes (4.1%)
From Software: 3 votes (4.1%)
Nippon Ichi Software: 3 votes (4.1%)
Microsoft: 3 votes (4.1%)
16) (Three-way tie!)
MarvelousAQL: 2 votes (2.7%)
Arc System Works: 2 votes (2.7%)
Other: 2 votes (2.7%)
19) (Two-way tie!)
SNK Playmore: 1 vote (1.4%)
Takara Tomy Arts: 1 vote (1.4%)

This poll makes us curious about how a ranking of the most popular video game developers would turn out in other parts of the world. Would Nintendo still reign supreme in 95 percent of the cases? Let us know your thoughts below! And perhaps next time MyNavi will come out with a poll about the top video game characters of all time…

Source: NicoNico News
Top Image: Dodongo’s Cavern