Apple to be honored with first Technical Impact Award at DICE
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences adds new awards category, praises Apple for democratizing content
In advance of next week's D.I.C.E. Summit, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences added a new category to its annual awards, noting that Apple's App Store would be the first recipient of its Technical Impact Award. The new award category is meant to "celebrate unique innovations that contribute to the ongoing progress of interactive media in all its forms, and celebrates technical achievements that are expanding and redefining our industry."
The first Technical Impact Award will be presented to the App Store by Dr. Michael Capps, former Epic Games executive and member of the AIAS Board of Directors, during the 18th D.I.C.E. Awards on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, at The Joint in the Hard Rock Resort and Casino Las Vegas.
"When we set out to expand the scope of how the Academy celebrates industry achievement, we made a decision to concentrate on significant contributions in technological innovation," said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. "The App Store represents Apple's commitment to delivering the seamless marriage of devices and services - democratizing content distribution and allowing anyone to become a publisher. The technological impact of the App Store is felt by consumers and professionals every day."
"We are honored to be selected for the first ever AIAS Technical Impact Award," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing. "We could never have imagined the impact the App Store would have today. This award is a testament to all of the hard work our teams have put in, and to the amazing apps that our incredible developer community have created over the years."
Since launching with 500 apps on July 10, 2008 alongside the second-generation iPhone, the App Store was an instant success, garnering 10 million app downloads in its first week. Now in 2015 it's seen more than 85 billion downloads, $25 billion paid out to developers, and continues to be one of the go-to digital storefronts for developers to distribute their content.