Apple Voted Largest Influence On Gaming Industry

[Char-Nobyl]

That doesn't seem right. And the statistics seem rather...bizarre. Not just in their distribution, but they just seem like weird questions. How many options were there on the first statistic? And what were they asking voters to measure? It has the Playstation One, Steam, and the iPhone on the same list. One is a console, one is a distribution/gaming program, and the other is a phone that happens to play games. Why are these put into the same question?

And the other one? The fact that Mark Zuckerberg is on the list seals the deal: this was a poorly-made survey. The guy who created a social networking site that later allowed users to post games they created is not in the same category as someone like Miyamoto, who actually, you know, makes games.

I wanted to check the source and get some kind of point of reference, but, lo and behold, the only source is a sourceless article on the same subject. Goddamnit, Escapist.

 

[aashell13]

well, it's probably skewed by several things. first off, steve died recently and was probably the most prominent of the people listed to begin with, so he benefited most from name recognition. second off, iphone and ipad games have made a big impact in the casual arena. they're an entirely different breed from the more traditional PC+console markets, but they are there and they are significant.

I'm not saying that jobs deserves to be remembered as particularly significant to games specifically, just guessing at an explanation of the poll results.

 

[geizr]

So much conditioned hatred, it's not even funny; juxtapose "Apple" or "Steve Jobs" with any kind of positive commentary and watch the torrent of hatred flow across the forums.

Even so, however, after reading the Forbes article one person linked, even as a user of Apple products, I have to agree that the survey is clearly biased by vested interest and can't be taken too seriously, not without some significant qualification of the bounds of applicability.

 

[snfonseka]

industry professionals? in which industry? because it seems like normal gamers have a clear idea about the gaming industry that those so called professionals.

 

[Nouw]

Giving Steve Jobs respect because he died has just gone way too damn far. Yes Angry Birds is one of the best-selling videogames of all time and yes there are hundreds of 'videogames' on the I-Pod Touch and IPhone but that doesn't rank them higher than the guys who made some of the earliest freaking consoles!

 

[TheDooD]

snip

The funny thing this wasn't positive commentary it was complete bullshit. No shit he just died but it's messed up to shine merit where he himself has done nothing to truly impact it. Those developers that chose to make games on the iPhone. Those men and women should be on the list not Steve Jobs. Apple got lucky damn lucky they shouldn't dare claim all the credit to that because it could as easily been on other outlets.

OT

666 posts hell yea

 

[emeraldrafael]

Yeah, im not seeing it. maybe if you said this decade (well... maybe last decade, this one is still pretty young), I'd be inclined to agree.

I think people are just trying to load on more "awards" to now passed mr. jobs to justify the argument of him being one of the greatest human beings to have lived. Which isnt to necessarily say he isnt, but this seems a bit of a stretch.

 

[Pegghead]

Blergh, industry "professionals" just want to look hip and like they're supporting the little guys with stuff like this. So Apple produced a phone that could handle games that weren't fodder tripe? Big whoop, doesn't change the fact that they're all just mini-games (and the few that actually try/i] to hold up as serious games either fail hard or reek of something that could've made it elsewhere if not forcing it onto the trendy platform).

 

[Merlark]

really...steve jobs influenced gaming more than Shigeru Miyamoto...Shigeru Mi-ya-friggen-moto?
REALLY?

I mean, alright. Jobs is dead and we want to remember the positive things here but comparing this marketing guy to someone that not already revived then defined the gaming industry but actually CREATED the largest icons in gaming and not to mention fathered the very medium in which games are played...The D-pad, the analog-stick, hand held gaming, motion controls...

But Steve jobs actually influenced gaming more?

Wow...I tell you, I certainly don't know enough about steve jobs thats weighing the scale so much.

I call BS on this survey.

 

[geizr]

snip

The funny thing this wasn't positive commentary it was complete bullshit. No shit he just died but it's messed up to shine merit where he himself has done nothing to truly impact it. Those developers that chose to make games on the iPhone. Those men and women should be on the list not Steve Jobs. Apple got lucky damn lucky they shouldn't dare claim all the credit to that because it could as easily been on other outlets.

OT

666 posts hell yea

I agree with you that the survey is significantly skewed, and that skewing is clearly being caused by vested interest(i.e. those whose livelihoods have become dependent upon iPhone gaming); thus, the survey's results require significant qualification to bound its applicability. I said as much in the second passage of my post. Even so, you do have to admit that there is a certain conditioned reflex among posters in gaming and tech forums toward extreme vitriol whenever "Apple" or "Steve Jobs" is mentioned in any way that paints a picture that is positive or advantageous to the company, bullshit or not.

 

[Ashley Blalock]

I think perhaps a good deal of it has to do with Steve Jobs being such a famous front man. It's a bit like when Colonel Sanders was the front guy for KFC, sure other people sold chicken but he stood out from the crowd in his white suit. So the survey seems more like quick name the first person who comes to mind instead of how important are they in the history of gaming.

The newest i-Phone is kind of the rage right now as well and surveys can lean toward whatever seems to be the latest greatest product of the moment.

Other companies introduced ideas like portable gaming, quick simple games, or buying games from home instead of the store so I don't think Apple is the great influence on games as just a company that was able to cash in on the innovation other companies brought to gaming.

If I'm giving top credit I'd have to say Nintendo for introducing the 2600 to make gaming at home a reality for the early gaming generation and Game Boy for popularizing the idea that gaming could be portable.

 

[Comando96]

Hey look.

Jim Sterling was right

 

[Comando96]

I'm pretty sure that the playstation reinvented the wheel, not steve jobs and angry birds.

The playstation may well have re-invented the wheel but thats no good if they can't sell the so miraculous reinvention as it doesn't reach others.
Angry birds sold half a billion. 1/14 people on the fucking planet could own angry birds.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Uhhh...what? Did I fall asleep for 100 years and Apple took over the universe?

 

[NicoDK]

Spoiler

I still refuse to acknowledge mobile gaming as anything but a gimmick that needs to gtfo.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

I have a feeling this vote was taken in an Apple store where a majority of the people voting have only touched Apple products.

 

[Doom972]

Until recent years, apple products (Macs) had very little to do with gaming.
Gaming became big back in the Atari days , not when Apple released the iPhone.
In the devices I would expect to see the Atari 2600, IBM PC, NES and Playstation 2. These made a real difference.
In the list of people I'm surprised that there's no mention of John Carmack. Steve Jobs definitely has nothing to do with games, even if there are many games for the iDevices.
These industry professionals seem to have fish-like memory. If you don't know the history of the gaming industry you aren't an industry professional.

 

[Anaphyis]

A bunch of tossers said something in an incredibly stupid survey. Good thing gaming journalism is on the ball here, I don't want to miss a single piece of irrelevant bullshit going on somewhere.

 

[The White Hunter]

Yes, Apple influenced the industry as a whole more than nintendo or sony ever did. Yes, of course. c://sarcasm....

[Edit] Surveys like this should really be asking gamers what they think, since really only we know what's been the biggest influence on us in the last few decades of gaming. How many people who game more than 5 minutes a week on a bus would actually class steve jobs as more important than people who created mario or sonic or steam?

 

[Dark Knifer]

When the videogame market crumbled the only ones who were willing to release a console was a little known Japanese company called nintendo.

That thought brought a smile to my face for some reason and I'm not even much of a nintendo fan.

OT: Obviously biased poll is obvious. Nothing really more to say.