Every year we like to recognize the best in gaming on Nintendo consoles.
Publisher of the Year
Let's face it: outside of Professor Layton and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, Nintendo didn't release much for its handheld in 2008 in North America. Fortunately, third parties really delivered on the platform—especially this year's winner for Best Publisher, Square Enix. The Japanese giant put its full weight behind Nintendo DS, releasing quality remakes of Final Fantasy IV, Chrono Trigger, and Dragon Quest IV. And since they own the Taito brand, they are even responsible for the popular Arkanoid DS and Space Invaders Extreme.
But perhaps more notable is how Square Enix's Wii support also expanded in 2008. We saw the release of Secret of Mana and Super Mario RPG for the Virtual Console, with the latter being released for the first time in Europe. We also saw Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King on WiiWare, and near the year's end they announced that Dragon Quest X will be released on Wii. In a market of expanding demographics, Square Enix shows that there's still plenty of room for traditional gaming on Nintendo platforms.
