Hey there,
A few points: first of all, I'm not sure Bungie has HAD a chance to openly acknowledge their inspirations/source material. Unlike Lucas, they aren't media icons, and therefore aren't constantly interviewed and asked such questions, especially since computer game interviews rarely deal with story in any depth (tending instead to emphasize graphics, gameplay, etc.), since computer games are still rarely recognized as legitimate vehicles for conveying a story (rather like gaming fiction, which is often scorned by writers' organizations). Certainly they can't be expected to actually credit their inspirations in the game's credits...you only have to do that if you sample/quote. So without an interview in which to give a "nod"...they don't really have a chance to fulfill your criteria.
Which leads to my second point: you're right, they are basically computer people. I think, especially for their early games, that they were coming from a position of simply wanting to create a cool story to go along with their game. If the result was unconsciously, subconsciously, semiconsciously, or even consciously derivative...they probably just assumed that the story doesn't make the game. Of course, they happened to make the story good enough that it got analyzed, and now they're in hot water!
Anyway, I really don't think they've reaped great success from other people's work. They stood on the shoulders of giants, and that surely got them better stories faster. But given the quality of the games, which is much higher than that of similar games with virtually no story whatsoever, I think they still would have been successful. In other words, I don't think, for example, that having Cthulhu-like names and themes allowed them to sell any more copies of their games. (At least, not a measurable amount.)
-Max
