Visionary behind Sony’s Playstation, Ken Kutaragi, will retire from his executive position at Sony come this June. Kazuo Hirai, who is now president and chief operating officer of the division, will replace him.
Sony Corp. said on Thursday that Kutaragi, hailed by millions of gamers around the world as the ‘father of the Playstation,’ would indeed retire from his post as Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.’s chairman and group chief executive on June 19. After that, he will be ‘honorary chairman’ of the entertainment division and would continue to advise chairman and CEO Howard Stringer.
The news comes on the back of slack performance of Kutaragi’s latest creation Playstation 3. Launched in November last year, PS 3 sales have been hampered by its steep price and increasing popularity of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. His retirement is also being analyzed in light of last November’s reshuffle at Sony. The reorganization saw him move from the position of SCE president to that of chairman and group CEO.
Kutaragi, now 56, had this to say:
I am happy to graduate from Sony Computer Entertainment after introducing four platforms to the PlayStation family. It has been an exciting experience to change the world of computer entertainment by marrying cutting edge technologies with creative minds from all over the world. I’m looking forward to building on this vision in my next endeavors.
His retirement would draw curtains over the illustrious career of a visionary who transformed the gaming industry.
Farewell ‘Mr. Playstation...’
Source: NYTimes
