Fortune Magazine's Best Companies to Work For: No Apple, No Microsoft and only two game companies

The latest edition of Fortune Magazine includes the 2016 revision of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" list.

Google takes the number one spot again, but entirely absent from the list are both Apple and Microsoft, a sad testament to just how far each of the companies has fallen since losing its original, visionary CEO.

To add insult to injury, Adobe Systems does make the list at rank 87, even though its most recognizable product, Macromedia Flash, is basically malware.

Only two dedicated game companies appear: Riot Games ("League of Legends") at rank 39 and Activision Blizzard at rank 77.

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Wow, no Nintendo? Damnit, i knew i should have took that job at Publix's.

Seems like it is the 100 best american companies to work for and not the 100 best companies to work for ´.

Id say Microsoft is still a nice place to work if you live in Washington (not counting internships).

Why would you think Nintendo would be on the list? Most of Nintendo business is centralized in Japan and work condition and culture there is shit.

@bmanva: Just from how the people are. But after further thought and looking at the list, i can see why. The are talking about Nintendo as a whole, to where i was thinking of working for a top Nintendo studio.

Even still, Nintendo studios are predominantly if not all, Japanese. By western standards (Fortune is a western publication), no Japanese company would come close to getting on that list. Just because you enjoy their games it doesn't mean the development process or environment would also be as fun; it's a common misconception.

@bmanva: I dont see why it wouldnt be fun, every developer i know praises Nintendo for not rushing dead lines and allowing creative freedom and the ability to change mechanics drastically. I remember the legendary Xenoblade dude stated he bout hit the floor when Nintendo told him to take his time after he missed his deadline for Chronicles. And then on Chronicles X Nintendo allowed him to bout completely change the way the game was played. Most companies do not allow such risks, to where Nintendo seems to feed off them.

But yeah, with it being Western focused, makes sense too.

@iandizion713: that comes at a price. many of the staff working on smash, for example would work themselves to exhaustion and those delays would still put further pressure on anyone at the xenoblade team to do the same.

its grand as long as you are prepared to forgo everything else in life in the pursuit of games development (which, in many areas of the industry, is expected. not just japan.).

im surprised to see activision blizzard on that list. bobby kotick has gone on record saying that games development should not be fun. they were certainly taking flack for unpleasent conditions a few years ago.

maybe its the blizzard side that scores them brownie points :P.

@osan0: Yeah, i guess from the day to day look of it might not be as fun.

I take all of these best of things with a grain of salt, since they are designed to provide as much value to the entity granting the so called best of status as they are to the recipients, they typically require the target companies or organizations to register with them and put in some time and money, which most do not, meaning it is the best of those that applied, they have questionable and often broken assessment methodology, and the whole thing is a self serving farce that has organizations chasing awards... instead of actually being the best.

You could apply to Nintendo of America. They're based in Redmond, WA, very close to Microsoft's main campus. Actually, it's sort of ominous the way the Nintendo of America campus is surrounded by Microsoft buildings. :-)

I suppose spying on people can be fun. =P

You do know right that the list is entirely subjective and based on subjective criteria and that it´s therefore as useful as a 100 year old COD.

I for one would hate to work in a open PC environment as there is in Google, so for me that place would probably be the worst place to work.

@Stesilaus: Tri-Force!

Agreed. I've worked in such an environment (albeit not at Google) and it can be very distracting for somebody who needs silence to concentrate. In my (admittedly biased) opinion, it also seemed to lend itself to a culture where personal popularity and "force of personality" were disproportionately influential.

Most people just get used to it, really. But I don't think it accomplishes what managers want it to. Rather than fostering greater collaboration, it just coaches workers to get tunnel vision in order to focus. At this point, if you want my attention you have to walk over to my desk anyway.

But that's OK. I've learned that half of what management does is change things for the sake of changing it so they can take credit for improved earnings/costs that may or may not coincide with those changes. That's why things like open offices are all the rage this decade, out the next, and then back again the following decade.

Managers need things to change in order to justify their presence in the absence of meaningful change. Workers just adapt and roll with the punches.

People work at Google? From what I've seen, they spend more time taking in recreational activities than actually working.

But then what do I know, I just drive for a living. I just sit on my ass and hold a steering wheel. *rolls eyes*

Because Japan has a culture of a no fun work environment that stresses perfection and long hours.

@Stesilaus said:

@iandizion713 said:

@bmanva: I dont see why it wouldnt be fun, every developer i know praises Nintendo for not rushing dead lines and allowing creative freedom and the ability to change mechanics drastically.

...

You could apply to Nintendo of America. They're based in Redmond, WA, very close to Microsoft's main campus. Actually, it's sort of ominous the way the Nintendo of America campus is surrounded by Microsoft buildings. :-)

When was the last time you played a Nintendo game developed by Nintendo of America? They are a satellite office; they handle sales, customer services and liaison for local contractors (mostly for localization efforts). Unlike Sony.

Also it's not just Redmond, which is the epicenter but MS is practically omnipresent in the entire Seattle area.