Nintendo if we're talking company. There's really no question there. Atari was the first company to foray into consoles, but Nintendo's path was leaning towards games regardless so I can't say Atari had any influence on Nintendo. I CAN say, however, that Nintendo had an influence on Sony, and Sony is the only one who comes close in terms of influence. Without Nintendo's awful handling of the SNES CD, we never get the PlayStation. Without Sony to take the helm of the mature gamer group from a freefalling Sega, gaming loses the teen crowd and beyond. Gaming then becomes even more linked as a toy item in the public eye, and never develops as we know it. Nintendo, therefore, has the most influence on our industry today.
Now, person? I'm going to say NOT Miyamoto. Instead Gunpei Yokoi. Without Yokoi Miyamoto never gets a shot and is never convinced to rework Radarscope. Then there's no Mario. Boom, industry dies with the crash for a good couple years and never fully recovers in America.
You should check out my YouTube channel, The Golden Bolt! I review all types of video games, both classic and modern, and I also give short flyover reviews of the free games each month on PlayStation Plus to tell you if they're worth downloading. After all, the games may be free, but your time is valuable!
