When did the definition of 1st party change? 1st party has always been a OWNED studio. Published is 2nd party, anything else is 3rd party. If you're going to classify 1st party as ANY game that was published, it completely dissolves the meaning of 1st party....which I suspect is the reason for the attempted change in definition to begin with.
ME1 is first party? LOL
Here's how the classification SHOULD work, since it actual creates distinction which is the whole fucking point of classification to begin with.
1st party: owned studio, owned IP
2nd party: published game, owned IP
3rd party: published or non-published game, don't own IP
Look at that, they actually create some distinct meaning!
2nd-party is a colloquial term to describe a developer's relationship, not the type of game that is produced. a 2nd-party company is actually a 3rd-party company who works exclusively with a 1st-party company and may make games with a 1st-party intellectual property.
the term '2nd-party' is really confusing because developer relationships can change all the time. is thatgamecompany a 2nd-party sony studio? what about next-level games? it's a really nebulous definition that has no meaning in the real world and we shouldn't use it anymore.
edit: fuck yeah top of the page. this is going to replace the whales in my nightmares.