John Carmack, creator of the classic PC game, Doom, described working with Apple as a “rollercoaster ride,” and suggested that company executives are not happy about the popularity of gaming on the iPhone and iPod touch.

“My relationship with Apple has been long standing, but it’s a rollercoaster ride,” he recently told Kotaku. “I’ll be invited up on stage for a keynote one month and then I’ll say something they don’t like and I can be blacklisted for six months.”

Doom Classic was rejected twice before Apple allowed it to appear in the App store. Carmack believes his run-ins with the company are because those in its highest positions look down on games. While the popularity of gaming on the iPhone has forced them to accept that it’s is a part of what it is, they’re not happy about it.

“At the highest level of Apple, in their heart of hearts,” Carmack said, “they’re not proud of the iPhone being a game machine, they wish it was something else.”

Source: Kotaku