Well, Nolan Bushnell made a celebrity out of himself of late, he may still have the magic touch from the old Atari days. Of course, Shigeru Miyamoto has become world famous with his creations in the gaming world. Hideo Kojima, on top of that, becoming a household name with the Metal Gear franchise, and Metal Gear Solid. So, there's another way to look at it, programmers that become celebrities. On both sides of the globe, no less. Oh, yeah, Yu Suzuki, with Virtua Fighter. Maybe George Broussard from 3DR (get done with DNF already!).