the_dengle on 04 August 2012
I'd definitely put Iwata on top. Nintendo is the most influential video game company. They've sold more dedicated gaming hardware than any two other companies combined, and they are consistently one of the top 3 (usually #1) video game publishers every year. And Satoru Iwata is the man in charge of that company, calling the shots, directing the development of the DS and Wii, now 3DS and Wii U.
It's a combination of Iwata's business savy and the simple scale of Nintendo as a company. Nintendo owns Mario. There are scarce few icons in ANY medium that can compete with Mario in terms of cultural recognition, and Apple doesn't own any of them.
