Steve Jobs may be considered as one of the most influential people in modern technology, but is he influential in gaming?
An opinion piece on Forbes states "to give Jobs the top honors over Gabe Newell (of Valve) and Shigeru Miyamoto (of Nintendo) is blasphemy, plain and simple."
This was a reaction to the fact that a survey of 1,000 London Games Conference attendees concluded that 26% of those who took the survey believed the most influential person was the former Apple CEO himself.
The man has helped craft a philosophy for tech and helped produce the iPod line of products. That itself has impacted gaming in an important way. The iOS has changed what mobile gaming represents. The App Store has become one of the most innovative platforms for gamers as it has allowed a tremendous amount of developers to publish their applications with much ease. It has certainly changed how we perceive "short-burst" gaming with quick shots at Angry Birds or Cut the Rope.
Steve Jobs may have laid the path that led up to this innovation, but was he directly involved with how the iPhone would change how others view gaming? Of course not. This vitalization on the mobile platform was sparked by the iPhone but does not appear to be something that Apple or Jobs ever intended to occur.
While I believe that Jobs has greatly shifted mobile gaming, he seems to be a kind of unwanted hero. Whether he expected it or not, he has influenced what we play in one way or another.
Also note the difference between console games and ipod apps. While console games require time and patience to finish and become skilled at, ipod apps reward playing for a minute or two between meetings or right before school.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to heard about Jobs being an "unwanted hero" in some respects. Often times, people need to put a face to a creation, idea, etc. Whether it be an idol or a scapegoat. I wonder how Jobs would have seen himself as this kind of hero.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I would have never considered Jobs to be directly associated with gaming. I also agree, yes he has created some technology that allows gaming more accessible.
ReplyDeleteSteve Jobs is really a genius man. Without him, handheld gaming wouldn't rise until the next decade. He has set a new bar for other game producers to achieve.
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