Apple thanks game devs for App Store success

Apple says the success of the App Store "couldn’t have happened" without the support of games developers.

That’s according to Greg Joswiak, Apple’s VP of iPhone and iOS product marketing, as he collects the Technical Impact Award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Servcies, Polygon reports.

Joswiak said that Apple was confident its mobile marketplace was something new and unique when building the platform, but could never know how big and influential with would be.

"It’s just gigantic," he said. "The App Store has forever changed software development, software distribution, because it levels the playing field between the big developers [and] the small developers.

"The success of the App Store is really tied to this incredibly diverse developer community we have. They make it happen with their incredible apps, their amazing games. And it’s because games are so much fun and addictive. Users love them and they do pay for them.

"Thank you for honouring us, thank you for honouring the App Store and thanks to you guys for making it the success it is because it couldn’t have happened without you."

The award was presented to Apple by former Epic Games president Mike Capps, who said the App Store had helped democratise game development and distribution, and described the iPhone as a mobile games console.

"Thanks to the App Store, I’m never going anywhere without it," he said. "You made a ding in our universe and for that we thank you."