I made a similar thread 1-2 years ago, but I can't find it or remember what the general response was. So I've made this one. 

Insomniac used to be as acclaimed/respected as Naughty Dog. During the PS2 era, Insomniac was considered by many as the most talented developer of Sony's "platforming trio" which also included Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch. I think it was generally believed that Ratchet & Clank was a better game than both Jak & Dexter and Sly Cooper. There may have been a few that preferred Naughty Dog or Sucker Punch, but most people would agree that Insomniac was at least comparable to ND or SP. Most people regarded Ratchet & Clank as being on par with Sly and Jak, if not better.

These days, Insomniac is rarely even compared to Naughty Dog. Now, during the PS3 era, things are much different. Naughty Dog skyrocketed past Insomniac in terms of acclaim & success. Ask ten people to list their top 5 games on the PS3 and I'd wager nine of them would include Uncharted. On the other hand, you'd be lucky to get one or two people to mention Insomniacs new IP, Resistance. Uncharted is held by many as the PS3's signature franchise, while very few people feel similarly for Resistance. But during the PS2 era, Insomniac recieved as much, if not more, acclaim than Naughty Dog. What happened?

Naughty Dog's transition to this gen was smooth and allowed them to implement their learned skills. I think the change this generation has nothing to do with developer talent and all  do with the different genres they chose for the PS3.  Coming off of a third-person platforming shooter, Jak & Dexter, Naughty Dog already had experience with Uncharted's genre. They were already experienced with platforming, jumping, and the general design guidelines that came with making a third-person shooter. All they had to do was change the camera a bit to implement an over-the-shoulder view, add more realistic characters, animations, etc. and it was a fairly smooth transition.

Insomniac chose a genre were they were limited and inexperienced. Unlike Naughty Dog, Insomniac had to make more drastic design changes with Resistance. Resistance would be a first-person-shooter. Therefore, Insomniac really couldn't implement the platforming strategies that they were skilled at with Ratchet & Clank.  They were also flat out inexperienced with making first-person games. They had thrived with third-person platformers and were experienced with all the strategies that came with it. It seems like Naughty had the much easier transition for their PS3-era IP.

Insomniac could have potentially been as acclaimed/respected as Naughty Dog, this gene. I still think Insomniac has as much talent as they did in the past. This can be seen with the recent Ratchet & Clank: Future games. Many consider A Crack in Time to be the greatest Ratchet & Clank game of the franchise, or at least close to it. With that said, I think they had the talent to make a new IP this generation as great as Uncharted, if not greater. Had they made a game where they could utilize their platforming skills, and perhaps one from a 3rd person perspective, I think Insomniac could have been the developers of the PS3's signature franchise. The moderately received Resistance could have been replaced by one of the generation's greatest series. 

What do you think?

I agree. I think that from the get go Sony was expecting a series from them, and unfortunately Resistance just wasn't that awesome. It was GOOD, just not GREAT. So Insomniac kind of got stuck with a less than stellar series, while Naughty Dog hit it out of the park with uncharted.

And I agree about last gen:

PS2 = Insomniac > Naughty Dog > Sucker Punch
PS3 = Naughty Dog > Sucker Punch > Insomniac

I would agree that ND are/have been superior to Insomniac this gen but I dont think it has anything to do with ND transitioning well or the other stuff you mentioned. If you compare both developers 1st game - Resistance for Insomniac and Uncharted for ND, I would put the quality of both at about the same. Both which scored about 80-90. However if you looked at their second efforts the quality is totally different. ND saw whats wrong with Uncharted and improved UC to such an extent with the graphics/gameplay/story to such an extent that it won GotY AND gave ND a huge reputation as one of the top devs. Resistance 2 on the other hand was considered inferior to Resistance as the changes they made to try and improve the game were almost universally disliked by a number of people and while they tried to rectify this with R3 (which imo was the best game) it was too little too late.

Putting it simply, I do think ND are more talented but not according to your reasons.

I think people tend to hype Resistance because it was a launch title. Going to back to play Resistance is pretty much a chore fore me. On the other hand, I can still play Uncharted and have a lot of fun. That's probably just me though. 

The only problem I saw was Resistance 2. The first one is still a blast to this day, the third is also a very good game. R&C has been reliable as ever, but they lost all of their momentum with R2. Gamers turned their backs on them, and so did the media.

In an alternate reality where R2 did not swing so far away from what made R1 great, I think Insomniac would be doing great. I think Resistance turned from being a 5+M seller per title to a ip on life support with one very big mess of a game.

So Uncharted 2 built momentum, and Resistance 2 killed it. That is my take.

No, they're the opposite.

I don't know how much is about the management and how much is about the grass root talent, but Insomniac is finished.

They will close a few months after Fuse has released. You read it here first.

They went for the wrong audience, with the wrong IP.

Resistance is poor. Really poor.

Yes, they had a good head start with R:FoM, then they spat in every fans face with R2.

The founder of both Naughty Dog and Insomniac went to school together, and apparently are friends. They both started out small and resided in the same corperate building when they began. Crash was more popular than Spyro, but both were really good. Then after ND lost their break out hit, they evened out with Jak vs Ratchet. Uncharted and Resistance both started at the same level, loaded with potential but just a tad average.

What really helps ND shine over insomniac is that they have a giant publisher backing their every move. Yes, most of Insomniac's games have been published by Sony, yet they still do not reap all the financial and production benefits ND will be able to. Sony seems much more lenient on time tables for their 1st Party then they are for their second. This allows more creativity to blossom. If IG was owned by Sony I think Resistance would have turned out quite differently. Yet Ted Price stated multiple times, he prefered the freedom to run his company as he saw fit, and then make the games that he wanted. ND can't just decide to start a new IP without Sony's approval. IG can, Sony or whomever might not publish it, but they can probably find another that will.

PS. Does anyone else notice the sharp parallels between them?
Nathan Drake vs. Nathan Hale
cartoon duos.
Anthropamorphic creature titles

They have always been in sharp competition with one another but in a friendly cheeky way.