Father of Playstation Ken Kutaragi Retires From Sony

Mr. Katuragi aka the “Father of the PlayStation” is retiring. This is sad news out of Sony considering the man may be the most important person in their company. He will continue with Sony in an advisory role. Ken Katuragi changed Sony and the world of video games. I am sure he will be missed and this could definitely change the way things are done over at Sony.
[Via GamersReports.com]
TOKYO, JAPAN, April 26, 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) and Sony Corporation (Sony) have jointly announced today that Ken Kutaragi, Representative Director, Chairman and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., will retire from his executive position at SCEI effective June 19, 2007, when SCEI’s annual shareholders’ meeting will take place. Mr. Kutaragi will pass on the torch to the next generation, stepping back from his executive management responsibility of the company to serve as Honorary Chairman of SCEI. With his deep and instinctive insight into future technology, Mr. Kutaragi will also continue to support Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation, as senior technology advisor.
Concurrently, Kazuo Hirai, currently President and Group COO, SCEI, will be promoted to President and Group CEO, continuing his responsibility as the leader of the PlayStation® business worldwide.
Mr. Kutaragi, well known as the “Father of PlayStation”, invented and launched the original PlayStation in 1994 and its successor, PlayStation 2, in 2000. Since the introduction of PlayStation and subsequently PlayStation 2, these platforms opened up a vast market of computer entertainment. The two platforms combined now have an installed base of more than 200 million units in homes around the world, with more than 2 billion units of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 software titles shipped worldwide. The third generation of the company’s home computer entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3, launched in November 2006 in Japan and North America and in March 2007 in Europe, will continue to revolutionize the computer entertainment experience with its immense computational power connected to the network.
After completing the launch of PLAYSTATION 3 worldwide, Mr. Kutaragi has decided to pursue his dreams beyond PlayStation and to accelerate his network vision. “I am happy to graduate from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. after introducing four platforms to the PlayStation family,” said Ken Kutaragi, Chairman and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “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.” “Ken Kutaragi is a rare combination of a powerful visionary and entrepreneur in one figure,” said Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation. “Not only has he created a multi-billion dollar business for the Sony Group, he has brought the industry into a new dimension. Sony has benefited tremendously from his vision, his creative genius, and from the very strong team he assembled and nurtured. As Ken moves forward to pursue new opportunities, we will encourage and support him. My support also goes to Kazuo Hirai, who is a terrific executive with a proven track record with PlayStation business in the US. I am confident that he will inspire and lead SCEI to new heights.”
Ken Kutaragi, Sony, father of the playstation




April 26th, 2007 at 11:52 am
His famous grill will live on for eternity….
God bless you Ken your forced Blu-Ray drive was revolutionary.
April 26th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Isn’t the captain supposed to go down with his ship?
Ps3 is sinking worse than the Titanic.
May 1st, 2007 at 9:52 am
[...] Ken Kutaragi is that very person. Last week, Sony announced Kutaragi’s retirement as CEO of SCEA. Even though Kutaragi is retiring, he still has his heart set on Sony succeeding. He has supplied Sony designers with ideas on how to cut PS3 manufacturing costs, given design ideas for PS3 models two years in the future, and now has his eyes set on the future of the Playstation console. [...]