Dev poll: Molyneux is #1 industry "hero"

Fable and Populous mastermind Peter Molyneux is the video game industry's top developer "hero", according to a poll of his peers.

As reported by USA Today, 9000 developers were asked to name their development hero in a PeekScore survey.

The Lionhead boss came out on top, followed by Nintendo talisman Shigeru Miyamoto and Braid creator Jonathan Blow.

[Christopher]

Mine would have been a tie between Muzyka and Zeschuk. Sure, my favorite games of theirs are from the 90s, early 2000s, but they did so much in their time in gaming that it's even lead to blending the genres and enhancing player directed gameplay.

[NukaCola]

My hero is Lorne Lanning, but that is because he created the Oddworld series. The guy is a bit of a liberal douche, but is a true artist and one of the smartest visionaries in the industry.

[Sunhammer]

This overrated fool's last two games were utter failures. How does he continue to get praise?

I firmly believe in giving credit where it's due and so without further ado...

Fumito Ueda (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus)
Hideo Kojima (Snatcher, Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, 3, 4)
Amy Hennig (Uncharted, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver)
Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry, Resident Evil 2, Okami, Viewtiful Joe)
David Jaffe (God of War, Twisted Metal)

Seriously. Peter Molyneux is a douche bag who doesn't deserve any recognition. His games only manage to get worse and worse as he gets more and more cocky.

[DaTruth]

This is not a "what have you done for me lately" industry! These devs grew up playing his games and so in their eyes he's a legend!

Jordan and Gretzky would still be no.1 even if their last few years were meh!

Guys we don't think are important today literally built this industry!

[HolyOrangeCows]

I see Pete more as a villain. Not fulfilling expectations that he creates, he speaks against consumer rights ("used = piracy, herp derp derp!"), hurting his own series to appeal to a new audience...

My hero would probably be David Jaffe. He's also a bit of a liberal douche (ala NukaCola's example), but he has constantly created masterpieces (okay, maybe not Calling All Cars...).

Almost ALL of his work has stayed relevant to this day:
God of War? Sequels are still being made.
Twisted Metal? Same.
Mickey Mania? Inspired parts of Epic Mickey (some side-scrolling missions were next to identical at parts).
Kinetica? Obvious inspiration for several similar games.

Sometimes he runs his mouth too much, but he often makes good points about stuff. And I don't really care that much about what he says, not when he's making such great games. When he talks about his games, he talks about improvements, not ridiculous overpromising; you'd never hear Jaffe say something ridiculous about acorn trees growing throughout the game.

[captain-obvious]

give me a break
the guy does make good games
but they are not the best in the world

i think Molyneux is way too overrated

[Istanbull]

"Fumito Ueda (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus)
Hideo Kojima (Snatcher, Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, 3, 4)
Amy Hennig (Uncharted, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver)
Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry, Resident Evil 2, Okami, Viewtiful Joe)
David Jaffe (God of War, Twisted Metal) "

Couldnt agree more with this list, Peter Molyneux is a big failure, he always over promises and under delivers, f*ck him

[LOGICWINS]

Off the top of my head, Cory Barlog and Dylan Jobe would have to be the top guys for me.

If you see the behind the scenes of making God of War 2, Barlog wasn't afraid to be an asshole and tell devs, artists, and level designers, "No, thats not good enough!"

THIS is the reason God of War 2 is STILL the best hack and slash game/best God of War game out there IMO...especially at today's discounted price.

I like Dylan Jobe because hes a gamer that makes games. He knows what works..and what doesn't work and more importantly he KNOWS how to make AAA multiplayer experiences that are based on freedom and SKILL rather than bullshit boosters like COD and Uncharted 2.

[Etseix]

Mine us Hideo Kojima, or Fumito Ueda,

those guys created the top games on my list.

Edit: apparently some people are disagreeing whit me , because im lying about my top game list??
ha. bunch of stalkers, :o

[Reibooi]

I personally call BS on this. Not only is the 9000 devs number a total wtf Molyneux isn't close to number one in the industry and probably isn't considered such by many in the industry.

Yeah he has made some great games but his best quality is promising countless things he never delivers in his games.

If I had to pick one it would be Sakuguchi or Kojima just because they had great impacts on the industry with the games that made them household names.

[BrianC6234]

Peter Molyneux sure is overhyped. What has he really done? Nothing that should make developers think he's the best.

[StanLee]

You two can shut the hell up. Peter Molyneux doesn't over promise. What he is, is, incredibly ambitious and sometimes his ideas are more than current technology can allow him to articulate. He's more open that any other Creative Director during the development process and what happens is what he wants, what he wishes, gets misconstrued by an overzealous media as what he intends to deliver. They're just ideas, ideas he wants to implement and sometimes in development they don't get implemented due to tech, time or budget constraints. That's part of the process of game development. Again, it's all a measure of how incredibly ambitious and daring he is as a creater. So how about you two idiots go bury your head in the sand?! M'kay?!

[Reibooi]

@Stanlee

Yes he does over promise he does on almost every game he makes and to be frank the last few games he has made have no lived up to someone with his past pedigree. Don't get me wrong I think he is a incredibly smart and talented guy but he honestly doesn't know when to shut his mouth. He Doesn't need to talk about everything he does and yet he does.

You would think after over promising a time or two he would stop talking or at the very least be a little bit more reserved. Again I'm not trying to bash him or anything(Dungeon Keeper 2 is one of my favorite games ever made and he was part of that) but really he is over hyped as a dev and that goes more so for his recent games.

[TheoreticalParticle]

Reibooi is right. 9000 actual developers? I'm guessing this was fact-checked or verified like, ZERO times.

Molyneux completely overpromises. You can't say, "I've made the greatest game of all time" and then chalk that up to a translation error or misspeaking. That's the definition of overpromising.

[MysticStrummer]

@StanLee - Molyneux has made a career out of overpromising.

[wicko]

I must have missed this poll at work

[gamingdroid]

I like Peter, he is ambitious and isn't afraid to speak his mind. He is a visionary and unfortunately, the media loves to embellish his statements.

[Valk]

" He's more open that any other Creative Director during the development process and what happens is what he wants, what he wishes"

How can you claim someone who always gets their way is open minded?

[TBM]

really? this dude just over promises, and overhypes his stuff; then he procedes to bash his own creations.

to me he's a world class douche.

[ATiElite]

Mark Laidlaw + Gabe Newell = Gordon Freeman.

greatest video game hero of ALL time.

[Shok]

What? Peter Molyneux?

I'd say:

Suda51 or
Miyamoto or
Yoshio Sakamoto (Metroid Creator) or
Hideo Kojima

[Nugan]

I can't believe I had to scroll down several page lengths before I saw Miyamoto mentioned.

I don't know what constitutes a "hero," but there would be no industry today without Shigeru Miyamoto, and I'm not sure how many other developers we could say that about.

[Shok]

People just don't have respect for Nintendo anymore. This includes Miyamoto, the man who created the face of gaming (Mario.)

Sad, but true.

[Valk]

Without Miyamoto there probably would be any cosnoles for people to make games for.

[Panthers]

What has Peter done lately thats made waves? I mean Fable 1 was the biggest let down ever (I was so hyped for it and I hated it) so I missed out on the next 2, but didnt hear amazing things about either.

[stuntman_mike]

I dont think gaming would be as good today if it wasnt for Miyamoto.

but I would also add Yu Suzuki he done the same for Sega back in the day.

And I know he aint a dev but Nobou Uematsu for making the final fantasy games what they are (plus countless of others).

God bless all thier little cotton socks lol.

[LoaMcLoa]

That list matches perfect with mine! :D You've got great taste, sir

[Megaton]

9,000? Molyneux #1? Excellent troll.

[OllieBoy]

Molyneux wouldn't even be in my top 20.

Let's see what he's done this generation...two Fable sequels! Wow, what a hero!

[Etseix]

dont forget Milo, and i know you love that little bastard

[OC_MurphysLaw]

@OllieBoy and what have you done over the past 20 yrs in gaming?

[wicko]

not made 2 shitty games apparently

[OC_MurphysLaw]

@wicko please... fable 2 & 3 are hardly shitty games. They both are solid enough but far from perfect.

[guigsy]

Dungeon Keeper, Populous, Black & White, all considered among the best of their genre. Fable may not be held in such high esteem but is still a very unique game that does things no other RPG does.

Unfortunately he's created a slightly negative persona though many exaggerated statements, but his work speaks for itself.

[stealth500k]

peter isnt fit to shine miyamoto's shoes..........

neither are any of these guys

[NLGSean]

None of these developers could carry Shigeru Miyamoto's jock... It is not opinion.. its FACT... even people like Suda, Kojima, Ueda and Sakuguchi would tell you that Miyamoto is the man...

[thebudgetgamer]

why because he always overhypes his games and then is forced to aplogize for it.

[TheoreticalParticle]

Sid Meier. They asked the wrong developers.

[tiphanycufflink]

Oh god, this ^^^^^

Why doesn't he get any love?

[Pedobear Rocks]

I never knew 'hero' meant blowhard douchebag. Learn something new everyday I guess.

[Fallouts]

9000 plus ppl have a hero?! why?

[NinjaSp33d]

This a joke right?

[DragonKnight]

They have to be asking "new" developers. That is, people who have just come out of development school, or have made indie games. I mean, the Braid creator got in 3rd? Seriously? Out of all the developers around, he got in 3rd? I'd love to see who they actually asked.

[Etseix]

MS developers maybe?

among MS exclusive devs, Molyneux REALLY stands out, and Braid creator too.

(hey its just my guess..)

[DragonKnight]

That's possible, but still. I could see Molyneux in first in that event, but the Braid creator in 3rd... I mean even if you only thought of Western Devs, you gotta think people like John Carmack would be a better choice for 3rd than the Braid creator. I mean, you even have to mention that this guy created Braid just to get people to recognize who you're talking about. That right there should tell you something.

But hey, there's no accounting for taste I guess.

[bozebo]

Yeah, I think the same thing DragonKnight.

The games industry is expanding incredibly fast. Good developers are reducing in percentage.

You should see some of the idiots graduating from my [game development] course lol. They make junk like APB... yeah.

[DragonKnight]

Seriously? Oh lord. If people like that are the future of this industry, say hello to the future Atari's and ET's.

[stealth500k]

They can all thank miyamoto for creating and perfecting the genres they take for granted.

[NLGSean]

I have to laugh at the 3 people that disagreed with you. Like him or not, Shigeru Miyamoto is one of the most respected developers in the industry... Metroid... Mario... Zelda... The guy revolutionized this industry... And if you disagree then you obviously do not know your history...

[Nugan]

Amen sir, amen.

[Ninver]

What a joke.

[gypsygib]

Yep, no wonder the majority of developers' games fail miserably.

They're modelling themselves after a guy who hasn't won a gaming award in like 10 years and whose games have gotten progressively worse since Fable 1 in user and magazine reviews.

[TheHater]

Fumito Ueda isn't even in the top 10? This is a joke right?

[the_kutaragi_baka]

kojima-san, yu suzuki and hideki kamiya pwnds this guy.

[thebudgetgamer]

shouldn't nolan bushnel be included for making gaming popular in the first place.

[yewles1]

No Yu Suzuki, no Hideo Kojima, no Jenova Chen, Moly-no-no OVER Miyamoto? *toilet flush*

[majiebeast]

I think they forgot a part of the title which was. At overhyping his own games.

[kaveti6616]

Gabe Newell!

[bozebo]

John Carmack should be #1.

All Molyneux did that was good was Fable and B&W. The new Fables are junk compared to the first. And he just lead/designed, he didn't properly pull his weight like Carmak does as a graphics programmer.

Shigeru Miyamoto and Dave Jones should also be above Molyneux.

And Dave Jones should go along with Sam and Dan Houser (the pair who still lead Rockstar North's design to this day, they are credited for every 3D GTA, Red Dead and L.A. Noire).

And David Doak for Goldeneye-Perfect Dark-Timesplitters, then Haze forced by Ubisoft which ended his career and he is now stuck making facebook games to make ends meet.

What about all the unnamed people. I bet it was certain individuals that ensured Rare's games were so great.

Then there's Satoshi Tajiri for Pokemon, Hideo Kojima for MGS and Ironobu Sakaguchi for FF. All better people than Molyneux. Oh and Alex Seropian for Halo too.

[bozebo]

Oh and Marc Laidlaw for Half Life (not Gabe). Though Carmack* (typo above lol) was involved in that too of course.

[Ducky]

Yea, some of the names on the list were odd choices.

I was hoping to see Ken Levine on it. Though he's not much of a poster boy for his games in the same way that some other devs are, but he's had a hand in a lot of awesome games.

[bozebo]

System Shock 2. So amazing.

I don't see how that Braid guy got on there. It's using XNA, that's an instant fail. (when you consider other indie/tiny-dev games with engines made entirely in-house from scratch, like Notch).

Oh, also Will Wright for Sim City &... The Sims - u know... for capturing casual gamers.

[Valk]

You obviously never played any type of "Sims" game. They are not simple casual games. Lot of depth and thought goes into some of those games.

Just because something doesnt have sex or swearing doesnt mean it is for casuals. Even "The Sims" took a lot of effort to actually get anywhere in the game.

[Imalwaysright]

Carmack is without any doubt the best programmer in the industry but he is hardly the best developer! Myamoto, Kamya, Kojima, Feargus Urquhart or Ueda are imo much better developers than Carmack.

[DrFUD]

sort of makes sense.
in a way he has a free ride and who wouldn't want one.

[Son_Lee]

What?! IT'S OVER 9,000!!

[DragonKnight]

Nope, it's exactly 9000, your scouter doesn't need to be smashed.

[NLGSean]

Shigeru Miyamoto> Everybody else...

[LoaMcLoa]

The savior of gaming.

Amen!

[gypsygib]

Very strange, considering the last Molyneux game I bought was Fable 1 on Xbox1. The man has lost his touch, his games simply get worse and worse.

If he was so good why don't his games win any awards or get A plus ratings???

This is the same guy that LIED to everyone about Kinect's magical applications for videogames and completely fabricated the Milo demo right saying it was real?

This poll sound like BS, most people probably just didn't know the name of the person who made their favourite games or the poll options were limited.

Oh wait, it's PeakScore so it means nothing, I thought it was a real professional study for second.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Jesus... butt hurt much? The poll asked developers who the looked to as a hero in their industry. Not the best developer, not the guy the Fanboys think it should be... but someone they want to be like. Peter M is charismatic and passionate for gaming all the while being successful on many platforms and genres. Why wouldn't you want to be like him? Has he had flops and over promised? Sure...but it hasn't kept him from pushing new ideas and energy into and industry that needs that.

[Biggest]

The entire poll result doesn't make sense. The obvious fall guy is Molyneux because he's at the top of an obviously fake list. As people have already stated. . . When you have to give a disclaimer as to who a person is, the person isn't worthy of being on the list.

[magicwalnuts]

I think Molyneux is totally overrated too but we're all missing the point here. That this is a poll done by developers.

[matey]

Myamoto is No1 easy he hasnt just created the best reviewed games ever he invented 3D gaming on a 2D plane when Molyneux was not even involved in gaming FACTS R FACTS Myamoto invented the foundations of gameplay 4 every other developer to use.

[Tyre]

Don't forget, Molyneux isn't scared of making complements about another man's work and he is not a threat to anyone anymore in the industry, he just has this cuddle factor(Disney factor)....oh yeah recently he made that statement about used games being worse than piracy and apparently all developers rewarded him for it....because he can't be nr.1 that's just a mistake.

[yamzilla]

Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce.

Dudes that founded Blizzard

also;

Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip, dudes that founded bioware

thats it for me, all the other guys are great too, but for me, if i could only play two companies games for eternity, it would be blizzard and bioware

Bethesda is in there too, they rock

[Alos88]

I'm sorry, but no dev outshines Miyamoto, ecspecially not Captain Letdown.

[TheKayle]

u guys dont know what r u talking about...

populous
magic carpet
dungeon keeper
syndicate
theme park
black & white
fable

god of war...also if is wonderfull under the tech aspect...is just an hack'n'slash...nothing more nothing less..innovation = 0
every game that peter done in the past...was an eartquake on the videogames world...i think u r just too young and u dont know really what that games done...
today if we know EA like this (with all of this money) is just thnx to peter..

[madjedi]

I think nintendo fb's over praise miyamoto & nintendo more than they deserve personally, but still peter molyneux give me a f*cking break, his last 2 fables haven't been up to par.

And miyamoto's only bomb to my knowledge was wii music, every other game he does is usually a good game.

I don't even really like nintendo anymore, but miyamoto is in a league few other developers can match, and peter is definitely no where near him.

I'll grant you personal opinion, but when is the last time you remember nintendo game fans, saying anything about miyamoto's projects not being good enough or lacking substance?

It's not an issue of age but, we aren't impressed. There is a reason miyamoto is held in such high regards by alot of older and newer developers and gamers.

"god of war...also if is wonderfull under the tech aspect...is just an hack'n'slash...nothing more nothing less..innovation = 0"

Funny because fable can't even maintain itself as a reasonable hack and slash action rpg. I'll take no innovation vs dumbing down the difficulty and combat to where a 3 yr old can beat the game without dying.

So if your going to question other people's age, can you at least try to not leave a post with the spelling and grammar of a junior high or lower drop out thank you.

[El_Assenso]

For me its got to be Myamoto. Nobody even comes close to him (maybe Hideo Kojima) but Myamoto is a video game legend, defo the best.

[chrisgay]

Molyneux is the industry's number 1 salesman- he can flog mediocre game after mediocre game as if they're sent by God.
He's an important part of the canon for sure and I can appreciate the work he's done, but Miyamoto blows him out of the water in terms of impact and overall consistency of fantastic output. A more apt comparison is to Todd Howard, who is also a western RPG designer- far more daring and inventive; his games are of such a better quality than Molyneux and all the while, he is far more humble.
I'd say that Ken Levine is my industry hero- Bioshock, a revolution in game design embracing political and social themes and storytelling which set games on their way towards more sophisticated forms of creativity such as art, literature and film.
Obviously we're nowhere near yet, but Bioshock set things in motion and one day, we may have a game that stands up to the classics.

[pcz]

david perry, john romero and this molyneux are so over rated.

they are only held in such high regard because they are influential figures in the west. their games have been successful or their companies have.

its basically racism from the western media/journalists, because everybody knows the real masters and heroes of gaming are from the east. those are the people who deserve recognition for their classic and timeless games!

david perry, john romero and the like make mediocre games, bottom line. people should get recognition for being masters, not just for being western.

[MasterD919]

He promises more than he can deliver.

Mr. Over-hype IMO...

[Carnage]

Shigeru Miyamoto Pretty much set up the console gaming industry with Mario and Link. I mean who hasn't played as those guys when consoles were getting steam? Nes, Snes, N64, Gamecube, and finally the Wii. Mario and Link were there.

[theunleashed64]

he overhypes his games, makes promise's he doesn't keep. big woop good for him he made two games this gen that were average at best. he is a developer in rare case's who overhypes the products he makes and in the end, the game doesn't deliver on huge expectations.

[YodaCracker]

Looking at the comments, I think: should I trust 9,000 actuall game developers or a few PS3 fanboys?