Just curious, what are your guys&gals favorate development teams? Dev teams as in those talented ba****** who make teh games we all love? As always, I welcome your comments and thoughts on mine.
For me (in no real order):
Free Radical Design - It's core members were behind the likes of 007 Golden Eye (N64) and Perfect Dark (N64) and left to start FRD bringing life to the timesplitters series (various consoles), a very interesting Second Sight and are currently working on Haze (PS3). I have thouroughly enjoyed just about everything they've done and I can't wait for their future projects.
-------
Team Ico - A group of Japanese developers working for Sony who have been give the name "Team Ico". They're made up of quite the diverse collection of people as a project to bring new talent to game developing, most of them - including the director of both projects - never worked on a video game before. They have released 2 titles to date, including the enchanting castle puzzle adventure game; Ico (PS2) and the spectacular giant killing behemoth; Shadow of the Colossus (PS2).
-------
Criterion - The European based (I think they're in Denmark..) developer who have made big waves with their Burnout Series have got to be my fav team for racing games ever (formally, the Canadian team that developes NFS) and they've also proved themselves with Black (PS2, Xbox), showing that they can make things other than racing fun. Interested to see what they can branch out an do beside burnout.
-------
Ubisoft Montreal - Are veterans to the gaming industry and make some of the best selling IPs ever. They had their hands in the Prince of Persia series, Splinter Cell, Rainbox Six, Assassin's Creed, Myst, and FarCry (on the consoles) among others. They know how to do what they do and usually quickly, releasing games left right and center.
-------
Kojima Productions - Lead by Hedio Kojima himself, they're the insane people behind the Metal Gear / Solid series(many systems). It's astounding, their attention to detail, their story telling skills and their ability to make their games feel like more than a game.
-------
Naughty Dog - Knows how to get the most out of the systems they develop for. This team is behind such goodies as Crash Bandicoot (the earlier PS1 titles), Jak & Daxter franchise (PS2) and more recently Uncharted: Drakes Fortune (PS3). I also respect them for their great story telling, incredible characters and overall engaging gameplay.
-------
Rockstar (North) - I belive it's the North section that does the GTA titles of which I've played... every except Vice City Stories are kinds in the world of open world, gun toten games. I have prob spent more time with the GTA titles combine than any other series in existance, they provide so much random fun, it's scary. Also, rockstar in general does a very good job, no matter which section it is developing. With other devsions doing games like Bully (aka Canis Canem Edit) and The Warriors, rockstar is a very popular collection of studios.
-------
Harmonix - Have always done music rythm games and just can't be stopped. They started with Frequency (PS2) then improved the experience with Amplitude (PS2) and then blew everyone away with Guitar Hero 1 & 2 (PS2, then 360) before moving onto RockBand (PS3, 360, PS2). They know their stuff and it equals a lot of fun for us gamers.
-------
One's I'm keeping an eye on (cuz they've impressed me):
Quantic Dream - Don't remember where this team is positioned in the world but they know what they're doing! With only two titles under their belt in their... 15 or so years as developers, they've always jumped into making engaging and unique titles with the likes of Omikron (PC) and Indigo Prophecy (aka Farenheit - PS2/Xbox/PC) . I havn't seen such ambition and attention to the simple things that make a game more than a sum of it's parts ... just about ever. I can't wait for future projects such as Heavy Rain (PS3) and rumors of Omikron2.
-------
Ninja Theory - Are behind Heavenly Sword (PS3) and previously a small minigame whose name escapse me at the moment. They've really impressed me with their story telling and overall epic - movie like presentation. Interested to see what they'll do next.
-------
Ready At Dawn Studios - Are a fairly new dev team, as far as I know and are already developing a great track record. Their spectacular renditions of established series brought to the PSP with titles like Daxter and Ratchet & Clank Size matters proved their ability and they were given the job of bringing that same level of quality to God of War with Chains of Olympus being finished up as we speak with a release date this spring. Quality is the name of the game and this team keeps delivering, can't wait to see them expand.
-------
Insomniac - Simply because I'm not a huge fan of Ratchet and Clank games, they get put into the "looking at" pile. Insomniac started out with a forgetable shooter (PS1) whos name escapes me, moved onto Spyro the Dragon (PS1) and then to Ratchet and Clank (PS2, PS3) and more Recently Resistance fall of man. They're incredibly talented, know how to work the hardware they work on and again work fast! In 3 short years they've worked on 3 massive games for the PS3, including Resistance, R&C Tools of Destruction and coming this Fall, Resistance 2.
-------
Gurrellia - The Killzone team. Some like their games, others don't, but I am one who does. I liked Killzone (PS2) and really liked Killzone Liberation (PSP) and everyone is itching to see what Killzone2 (PS3) will do - Yeah, everyone, even if they don't care to play it :P