So EA crowed that it had 17 games scoring 80 or better on Metacritic (I love it; we're officially into Wine Spectator-style rating snobbery with video game criticism). How'd other major publishers do?
MTV Multiplayer took a look and found that, while no one beat EA, Sony was close behind with 15 grabbing 80 or better, an out-and-out wallop of Nintendo (six games) Ubisoft and Activision (5) and Microsoft (4) — interesting considering how Nintendo and Activision cleaned up in sales this year.
It would be good to know what percentage this represents of a publisher's total releases. EA, of course, had the panned Mirror's Edge and Need for Speed:Underground, as well as average moneymakers coming out of its sports division. But an average of these scores also shows EA leading, with 89.52, followed by Activision (86.78), Microsoft (86.50), Nintendo (84.50), Sony (84.13) and Ubisoft (82.93).
2008 Market Winners Nintendo and Activision Crushed In Quality By EA and Sony, According To Metacritic [MTV Multiplayer]