Kutaragi steps down today
- June 19, 2007 13:18 PM PST
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The "Father of the PlayStation" has officially departed from SCEI today, leaving behind a brilliant, yet tarnished legacy.
By Eugene Huang
Although his retirement was originally announced nearly two months in advance, Ken Kutaragi has officially stepped down today from his position as Chairman, Group CEO and Representative Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Just as we reported shortly after the initial announcement, SCEI's Kazuo Hirai will assume control of the company as both President and Group CEO.
Kutaragi has been known throughout his career at Sony as the "Father of the PlayStation", due to his invention of both the PlayStation console in 1994 and the PlayStation 2 in 2000. Both machines went on to become immense successes, catapulting SCEI into its dominant position as the industry leader in home console hardware.
However, Kutaragi may be more recently remembered over his failures linked with his bespeckled PlayStation 3 console, which has so far underperformed sales-wise due to a number of issues, including its high-end price tag and its current shortage of must-have software. In addition, increased pressure from its primary competitors, Microsoft and Nintendo, have caused the company to lose its grip on the majority market share it so comfortably held due to the dominance of the PS2.
Although Kutaragi no longer maintains his executive status, he will not completely part ways with the company, as he has agreed to stay on board as a special senior technology advisor to Sony Corp. Meanwhile, Kutaragi plans to be deeply involved with a number of side projects, which include the creation of PlayStations 4, 5, and 6. In previous interviews, Kutaragi has admitted that the "vision" of the next three consoles and how they will "merge into the network" have already been mapped out.
