Bioware or Blizzard?

[Lockdown]

I'm curious if there is data out there somewhere that shows the number of employees each of these company's have.

A friend and I were discussing this today, and although we both assumed it was Blizzard, we thought we'd check.

Problem is...I don't know where to look.  Do they break it down within Activision and EA somewhere on the net to show Blizzard and Bioware specifically?

Help, GT forum.  (I'm not sure if Wiki is reliable, and that is the only place I thought of to look)

[Gratch]

I would guess that the WoW team alone is probably far larger than Bioware in it's entirety, but I could be wrong.  I can't imagine keeping up the infrastructure for an MMO that huge can be done without some massive (no pun intended) manpower.

[Moliere]

Blizzard = 4600 employees

Bioware = 500 employees

[SkyLander]

And yet Bioware seems to realease more games than Blizzard. I guess 4500 of that 4600 is all WoW.

[Daehawk]

And yet Bioware seems to realease more games than Blizzard. I guess 4500 of that 4600 is all WoW.

Thats what iw as thinking. Both make great games but Blizzard hasn't really made many. If I could only have one I would pick Bioware. I think I love all their games. Plan to buy DAO soon and tomorrow Im going to put money down on Mass Effect 2. I even just replayed ME1 for the third time just to have a save for ME2 when it gets here

[CeeKay]

with WoW Blizzard could probably never make another game again (other than WoW2) and still be fine.  I'm hoping the same thing doesn't happen with Bioware and The old Republic.

[Lockdown]

The difference in number of employees (assuming the Bioware # is still correct) astounds me.  

I guess I had no idea how many employees it took to maintain a fully operational MMO.  

[Redfive]

The difference in number of employees (assuming the Bioware # is still correct) astounds me.  

I guess I had no idea how many employees it took to maintain a fully operational MMO.  

I don't have the energy to photoshop a horde insignia on top of the Death Star

[Lockdown]

You missed a golden opportunity, Redfive.  I left it wide open...

[coopasonic]

with WoW Blizzard could probably never make another game again (other than WoW2) and still be fine.  I'm hoping the same thing doesn't happen with Bioware and The old Republic.

Without checking the actual numbers, I don't think the pace of Blizzard releases has slowed as a result of WoW. They were always this slow.

[ATB]

I havent gamed on a pc since 2002 and i would still take blizzard over bioware.  blizzard has never stumbled...ever.  bioware has released several mediocre games  (jade empire, mass effect). blizzard is considered one of if not the best game devs there is for a reason. they innovate and enhance and then polish polish polish. i wondersometimes if bioware even has a qa dept.   

[Gratch]

I havent gamed on a pc since 2002 and i would still take blizzard over bioware.  blizzard has never stumbled...ever.  bioware has released several mediocre games  (jade empire, mass effect). blizzard is considered one of if not the best game devs there is for a reason. they innovate and enhance and then polish polish polish. i wondersometimes if bioware even has a qa dept.   

Wow, I could not possibly disagree more.  Bioware is the Pixar of gaming:  they simply never miss for me.  By comparison, outside of Diablo II, there isn't a Blizzard game that I would even put in my top 50.

[ATB]

No offense but jade empire was a steaming turd.

[Ridah]

I havent gamed on a pc since 2002 and i would still take blizzard over bioware.  blizzard has never stumbled...ever.  bioware has released several mediocre games  (jade empire, mass effect). blizzard is considered one of if not the best game devs there is for a reason. they innovate and enhance and then polish polish polish. i wondersometimes if bioware even has a qa dept.   

Wow, I could not possibly disagree more.  Bioware is the Pixar of gaming:  they simply never miss for me.  By comparison, outside of Diablo II, there isn't a Blizzard game that I would even put in my top 50.

The way I see it, Bioware does better single-player and Blizzard better multi.

[TiLT]

I havent gamed on a pc since 2002 and i would still take blizzard over bioware.  blizzard has never stumbled...ever.  bioware has released several mediocre games  (jade empire, mass effect). blizzard is considered one of if not the best game devs there is for a reason. they innovate and enhance and then polish polish polish. i wondersometimes if bioware even has a qa dept.   

Remove the "innovate" part of your sentence and I might agree with you. I have issues with both Bioware and Blizzard though, but particularly Blizzard. The more success they have, the less innovation we see in the industry. Every time they have released a major new game, other companies have rushed out to copy them, despite them not really doing anything new.

[Gratch]

No offense but jade empire was a steaming turd.

Sez you...I thought it was fantastic.

[coopasonic]

Jade Empire and Mass Effect were both excellent games IMO.

Bioware puts out games faster than Blizzard and I feel as a direct results they tend to be less polished/bug-free. On the other hand, I find Blizzard games pretty shallow beyond the cutscenes. Do you have any story choices in Diablo? Starcraft? Warcraft? Seems like it should be pretty easy to craft a polished story when there's only one path.

I love Blizzard games when they eventually come out and Bioware games. Don't make me pick!

[Lockdown]

Jade Empire and Mass Effect were both excellent games IMO.

Bioware puts out games faster than Blizzard and I feel as a direct results they tend to be less polished/bug-free. On the other hand, I find Blizzard games pretty shallow beyond the cutscenes. Do you have any story choices in Diablo? Starcraft? Warcraft? Seems like it should be pretty easy to craft a polished story when there's only one path.
I love Blizzard games when they eventually come out and Bioware games. Don't make me pick!

That's an interesting point I hadn't thought of.

[pr0ner]

And yet Bioware seems to realease more games than Blizzard. I guess 4500 of that 4600 is all WoW.

Thats what iw as thinking. Both make great games but Blizzard hasn't really made many. If I could only have one I would pick Bioware. I think I love all their games. Plan to buy DAO soon and tomorrow Im going to put money down on Mass Effect 2. I even just replayed ME1 for the third time just to have a save for ME2 when it gets here

Why are you putting money down on video games when you have a glass stove top to replace (that you supposedly can't afford to replace)?

[ATB]

What concern is it of yours?

[Daehawk]

What concern is it of yours?

true that.

But I have the $50 for a new top. And $5 aint much to put down.

[Chaz]

I'll agree that while Blizzard is incredibly good at polishing the hell out of a game, they haven't innovated since Diablo, and even that borrowed heavily from Nethack.  Basically, they've been making the same two games over and over again.  They almost did something really interesting with Warcraft 3 when it was going to be more along the lines of Sacred, and then they chickened out and went the standard RTS route. 

Bioware has always been very good at innovating.  Baldur's Gate was very new for its time, the combat system in KotoR was similar but more fluid, and like it or not (I did), Jade Empire did a really good job of putting a hands-on kung fu fighting system into an RPG.  Hell, Jade Empire was a pretty damn risky setting to do in the first place.  They've always done a great deal to push the RPG genre, which is excellent. 

For my money, I'd much rather have Bioware than Blizzard.

[Azhag]

I love me some Blizzard, but I appreciate that I can enjoy a new bioware game or two every year so I have to go with them. Plus, I gave my wife a stuffed bear that I named KOTOR.

[ScubaV]

Jade Empire and Mass Effect were both excellent games IMO.

Bioware puts out games faster than Blizzard and I feel as a direct results they tend to be less polished/bug-free. On the other hand, I find Blizzard games pretty shallow beyond the cutscenes. Do you have any story choices in Diablo? Starcraft? Warcraft? Seems like it should be pretty easy to craft a polished story when there's only one path.

I love Blizzard games when they eventually come out and Bioware games. Don't make me pick!

That's because Blizzard doesn't make RPG's, Bioware does.  Action RPG's (Diablo) and MMORPG's (WoW) aren't what I'd consider "true" RPG's, thus the story restrictions.  Still for their genres, I'd say Blizzard takes the story cake hands down.  I wouldn't say Bioware is innovative either.  All their stories are cut and paste formulas.  I'll give them some credit on gameplay.  Overall, I'd take Blizzard easily.  Other than Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 I never replay Bioware games.  The hours I've sunk into Blizzard games, even excluding WoW, is probably order(s) of magnitude higher than the hours spent on Bioware epics.

[Blackjack]

I'm sort of an "old" Blizzard fan who loved Diablo and SC, loved D2 less than Diablo, was lukewarm on Warcraft III, and didn't like WoW at all (I did buy it). It's sort of, the more massively successful Blizz has become, the less I enjoy their games (I realize I'm in a microsopic minority in that feeling  ). I don't spend much time posting links about SC2 and Diablo 3 anymore cause well, they don't need my blowhard support as much as smaller entities might.  

I'd just keep in mind Blizzard has virtual armies working on Starcraft 2 (which is basically 3 separate games) and Diablo 3 (which at this rate, might not come out 'til the next Aught).   There was a time when you could look forward to a new non-MMO Blizzard release every couple of years or so, and I really do miss those days but WoW pretty much blots out the sun with its success and they don't need the revenue from a new release every couple years anymore (aside from WoW expansions), so I understand it.

Bioware's bigger than it used to be but it's pretty clear it's a studio of EA (which worried me but so far EA seems very hands-off) while Blizzard is so monolithic at this point that they seem more of an equal footing partner in Activision Blizzard.

[Daehawk]

I still worry for Bioware. I have this nagging EA hate in my head that some day Ill see the 2 docs leave Bioware and try to get the name, fail, and have to start a new company under a new name and their great days will be over. *Looks over at Mr Garriott*

[Gratch]

That's because Blizzard doesn't make RPG's, Bioware does.  Action RPG's (Diablo) and MMORPG's (WoW) aren't what I'd consider "true" RPG's, thus the story restrictions.  Still for their genres, I'd say Blizzard takes the story cake hands down.  I wouldn't say Bioware is innovative either.  All their stories are cut and paste formulas.  I'll give them some credit on gameplay.  Overall, I'd take Blizzard easily.  Other than Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 I never replay Bioware games.  The hours I've sunk into Blizzard games, even excluding WoW, is probably order(s) of magnitude higher than the hours spent on Bioware epics.

Blizzard games have stories? 

[warning]

That's because Blizzard doesn't make RPG's, Bioware does.  Action RPG's (Diablo) and MMORPG's (WoW) aren't what I'd consider "true" RPG's, thus the story restrictions.  Still for their genres, I'd say Blizzard takes the story cake hands down.  I wouldn't say Bioware is innovative either.  All their stories are cut and paste formulas.  I'll give them some credit on gameplay.  Overall, I'd take Blizzard easily.  Other than Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 I never replay Bioware games.  The hours I've sunk into Blizzard games, even excluding WoW, is probably order(s) of magnitude higher than the hours spent on Bioware epics.

Blizzard games have stories? 

Sure they do.  Even just Warcraft III had an amazingly involved backstory that intertwined with the story of Arthas as it played out in the game.

[Dante Rising]

I havent gamed on a pc since 2002 and i would still take blizzard over bioware.  blizzard has never stumbled...ever.  bioware has released several mediocre games  (jade empire, mass effect). blizzard is considered one of if not the best game devs there is for a reason. they innovate and enhance and then polish polish polish. i wondersometimes if bioware even has a qa dept.  

Wow, I could not possibly disagree more.  Bioware is the Pixar of gaming:  they simply never miss for me.  By comparison, outside of Diablo II, there isn't a Blizzard game that I would even put in my top 50.

From a gaming standpoint I would agree with you. I would take Bioware over Blizzard any day of the week. The Baldur's Gate series are my favorite RPGs ever, and I enjoyed Mass Effect and Jade Empire immensely. I'm praying the rumors of a Jade Empire 2 are true. I've only dabbled in Dragon Age, but it looks fabulous. I can't call them the Pixar of gaming, however. Pixar would never have made Neverwinter Nights. Only the fan mods saved those titles from mediocrity. And that Sonic RPG on the DS......

I'm also really, really concerned about the direction EA will take Bioware. I foresee them trying to turn Bioware into a MMO house if the Knights MMO does well.

[Toe]

I like the games of both studios equally well I would say. Each of them has had some games that did not strike a true chord with me, but if I had to choose which one I would want around over the other it would be Blizzard, hands down. They've got their shit together and it shows in their products since they began.

[CeeKay]

I havent gamed on a pc since 2002 and i would still take blizzard over bioware.  blizzard has never stumbled...ever.  bioware has released several mediocre games  (jade empire, mass effect). blizzard is considered one of if not the best game devs there is for a reason. they innovate and enhance and then polish polish polish. i wondersometimes if bioware even has a qa dept.   

Wow, I could not possibly disagree more.  Bioware is the Pixar of gaming:  they simply never miss for me.  By comparison, outside of Diablo II, there isn't a Blizzard game that I would even put in my top 50.

this, minus the part about any Blizzard game being in my top 50.

[Koz]

I like both companies as well, but if I had to choose I would pick Blizzard over Bioware. Blizzard hasn't released a poor effort yet whereas Bioware has put out some good-but-not-great games (NWN, Jade Empire, Mass Effect).

[Chaz]

I like both companies as well, but if I had to choose I would pick Blizzard over Bioware. Blizzard hasn't released a poor effort yet whereas Bioware has put out some good-but-not-great games (NWN, Jade Empire, Mass Effect).

I'm the opposite.  I'd rather have a lot of releases that do new things and maybe aren't all perfect (though I definitely wouldn't put Jade and ME in the good-but-not-great category), but that frequently do something different.  Blizzard puts out a small number of games that are very good, but very much the same thing that I've played before.  I seriously doubt that Starcraft 2.1, .2, or .3 will do anything dramatically different than Starcraft 1 or Warcraft 3.

[Freezer-TPF-]

For me, Bioware by 1,000 since RPGs are my favorite genre overall.  Blizzard's games haven't really caught my interest.  For some reason, I just never tried Diablo, etc back in the day.

[morlac]

No offense but jade empire was a steaming turd.

Metaxritic has it at 89 based off of 84 reviews.
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbx/jadeempire

Hardly turd worthy or really mediocre.

Mass Effect got a 91 which is mediocre how?

Neither one of these companies seems to miss.

 

[Blackadar]

I like both companies and they're on a very short list of companies and games that I'll buy sight-unseen (meaning on release).  CA was on that list, until they released Empire: Total Pile of Suck. 

My preference is RPGs and I loathe RTS games, so I probably lean a tad towards Bioware.  But in terms of gaming hours, nothing has occupied my time like WoW and I probably ran through Diablo half a dozen times.  I think Blizz products are probably more polished and overall better than Bioware's but that's like saying that Cohibas are better than Montecristos (for cuban cigar buffs). 

Needless to say, I hope that both continue to release some of the most awesome games ever seen on the PC. 

[cheeba]

Valve.