Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has lured another gaming executive to its ranks, this time from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). The maker of the iPhone and iPad has hired Robin Burrowes, Microsoft’s former product marketing chief to promote its iTunes service and App Store in Europe.

Previously, Burrowes was responsible for the product, business, and marketing management of Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE across the Europe, Middle East and the Africa (EMEA) region. He was a key player behind the promotion of Microsoft’s recent Xbox dashboard update and previously worked for MSN and United Kingdom retailer HMV.

It’s the fourth high-profile hire from the gaming and electronics industries that Apple has made in Europe in less than two years. Former Nintendo (PINK:NTDOY) executive Robert Saunders joined Apple last year to promote its hardware products, with an emphasis on their gaming capabilities. Also joining Apple last year: Nick Grange, formerly of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA), and Microsoft’s Xbox PR team.

Meanwhile, John Browett is stepping down as chief executive of electronics retailer Dixons to join Apple in April. Browett–who replaces Ron Johnson, recently hired as CEO of J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP)–will take charge of Apple’s retail strategy and continue the expansion of Apple stores around the world.

All this activity could well be making specialists in gaming hardware and software, both for dedicated consoles and mobile devices, a bit apprehensive about where Apple is headed. Apple’s multifunction iPhone, iTouch, and iPad already have already put a dent in gaming industry sales and earnings. Although fourth-quarter sales of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game console and Kinect hands-free controller were strong, overall video game hardware and software sales fell last year.

Awaiting more disruption from Apple

Nintendo and Sony (NYSE:SNE) were the hardest hit largely because they didn’t offer anything new and because mobile gaming sales grew at relatively a rapid pace, and while that pace may vary over the next few years, it’s unlikely sales will diminish. In a report released last month, Juniper Research predicted that revenue generated by mobile games will reach $18.3 billion by 2016.

The prospect of Apple entry into game development raises some critical questions for the industry. If Apple’s latest hires are a sign that the company is developing its own mobile and social games, will that reduce its interest in game apps from other producers? Even if Apple continues to sell those producers’ games on its devices, will a game’s popularity determine its positioning in the Apple App store, or will marketing fees influence its position on the list?

Obviously, game apps for Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android phones and social games for Facebook and Google+ offer mobile game producers another outlet for their products. But with Facebook taking a 30% cut of purchases made via its Facebook Credits payment system, fewer game developers have turned to it than they have to mobile devices.

The pace at which Apple has snatched up executives from the gaming industry leaves little doubt that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is looking to shake up the gaming world as much as it has the smartphone and PC markets. Its success could bring Apple another step closer to becoming the Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) of the technology device and app world. Whether that turns out to be good for business and consumers, is another matter entirely.