Technology big-wigs gamers should know about

Game developers are almost like celebrities in the gaming world. Mention Gabe Newell or Peter Molyneux and gaming fans around the world will be quick or praise or scorn or opine about these creators of immersive alternate realities.

Games would not be possible without the hardware to run them, though you don’t see crowds of fanboys flocking around Paul Otellini. This is probably because no one knows who Paul Otellini is.

With that in mind, here are 6 titans of the tech industry that you should probably know about:

Paul Otellini (Intel)

Look inside your PC. You see that processor? There’s a good chance it’s made by Intel, which means you should know this man’s face.

Paul Otellini joined Microsoft in 1974, where he worked his way through the unwashed ranks. He was in charge of Intels microprocesssor products group at one point, and was instrumental in maintaining the company’s relationship with IBM.

Otellini became Intel’s chief executive in 2005, replacing previous CEO Craig Barrett. As head of Intel, Otellini was a driving force behind convincing Apple to move away from PowerPC processors in favour of Intel x86 chips.

Paul Otellini

Rory Read (AMD)

Didn’t your PC have an Intel CPU? Well then it probably has an AMD one, making Rory Read relevant to you. Is that an AMD graphics card next to your AMD CPU? Well pay double the attention then.

Rory Read is the chief executive at AMD, who joined the company in 2011 after former CEO Hector Ruiz left.

The company was in a bad way financially when Read took over. This wasn’t a problem for the man who headed up Lenovo during the time when it was the fastest growing PC maker in the world.

AMD is doing better these days, in part due to Read’s leadership. So next time you buy a new AMD processor, spare a moment to thank this unassuming gentleman.

Rory Read

Jen-Hsun Huang (Nvidia)

This dashing individual is responsible for directing graphics powerhouse Nvidia, which he co-founded back in 1993.

Jen-Hsun Huang worked for LSI Logic, and spent time at AMD as a microprocessor designer before deciding founding one of the biggest graphics companies in the world sounded more fun.

A charitable man, Huang gave Stanford University $30 million to build a school of engineering ~~in his honour~~ named after him. He will also kick your ass at doubles table tennis.

Jen-Hsun Huang

Steve Ballmer (Microsoft)

Steve Ballmer is Microsoft’s “enthusiastic” Chief executive, known for his wide speeches at public events and “Developers, developers, developers!” chanting.

Bill Gates convinced him to drop out of Stanford Graduate School of business to join a small company called Microsoft, which now has a finger in markets ranging from mobile phones to gaming.

A wise move, considering Ballmer is now worth around $15.7 billion.

Steve Ballmer

Kazuo Hirai (Sony)

Kazuo Hirai is the chief executive of Sony Corporation, a position he has held since 1 April 2012.

Hirai is not your average CEO though; his roots lie in gaming rather than management or hardware development. He joined Sony Computer entertainment in 1995, and was credited on his first video game two years later.

He ended up as head of the Sony Computer Entertainment division, and played a “fundamental role” in the rise of the PlayStation in America.

His history and success in the gaming section of the company will hopefully ensure that as CEO he takes a personal interest in the PlayStation 4, making it awesome for gamers.

Kazuo Hirai

Satoru Iwata (Nintendo)

You were expecting Reggie Fils-Aime weren’t you? Well sorry America, the Japanese CEO/President is more important than your guy.

Satoru Iwata is the Nintendo president and CEO, and is probably the closest thing to a gamer on this list.

Iwata first joined HAL laboratory, where he worked on games including Balloon Fight, EarthBound and Kirby.

Joining Nintendo in 2000, it was only two years before Iwata succeeded Hiroshi Yamauchi as president of the company.

Despite heading up one of the largest gaming companies in the world, Iwata is said to still work at HAL as an artist, contributing concept art for the Kirby series of games.

Iwata has worked on game series including The Legend of Zelda and Mario, and played a cameo part in the video game WarioWare: Smooth moves. We salute you, Shop Manager Iwata.