Ken Kutaragi Steps Down as SCE Executive

[Eric]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3159017

Ah, Ken Kutaragi. The father of PlayStation probably hasn't had it easy within the walls of Sony as the company's struggled with PlayStation 3's birthing pains. They shuffled him from Sony Computer Entertainment President to Group CEO last November, right around the launch of Wii, and now he's leaving the company as an executive entirely.

Instead, he's becoming an honorary chairman -- what does that even mean? -- senior technology advisor to Sony CEO Howard Stringer. Clearly, however, he will not exert the same influence on the future of the PlayStation brand he once did. What this means for the ongoing development of PlayStation 4 and PSP 2 is entirely unknown.

"I am happy to graduate from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. after introducing four platforms to the PlayStation family," said Kutaragi. "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."

Kazuo Hirai, currently SCE President and Group COO, will be taking Kutaragi's place.

The worst part: no more crazy Kutaragi quotes.

[Nev]

I'm just fine without the crazy Kutaragi quotes if it means that the same kind of craziness in actual business decisions is less likely to rear its head at Sony.

[Julius Seeker]

Hahaha, Kaz Hirai is a bitch =P
This should be interesting.

[Zeus]

I'm curious to see what they'll do for the PS4 now. If they get beat up this gen (I still think they'll win in the end), what do they do? This guy who started it all is gone, do they take the shackles off and do something completely different or continue on the same path? I'm pretty certain the PS3 was his baby all the way after the success of the first two platforms and the relative success of the PSP (although that one's slowing down a bit).

Then we'll see jus how much of an influence he really had on the PS "family".

[Julius Seeker]

I'm curious to see what they'll do for the PS4 now. If they get beat up this gen (I still think they'll win in the end), what do they do? This guy who started it all is gone, do they take the shackles off and do something completely different or continue on the same path? I'm pretty certain the PS3 was his baby all the way after the success of the first two platforms and the relative success of the PSP (although that one's slowing down a bit).

Then we'll see jus how much of an influence he really had on the PS "family".

I'll have Ridge Racer! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidge racer!!!!

[Zeus]

I'm curious to see what they'll do for the PS4 now. If they get beat up this gen (I still think they'll win in the end), what do they do? This guy who started it all is gone, do they take the shackles off and do something completely different or continue on the same path? I'm pretty certain the PS3 was his baby all the way after the success of the first two platforms and the relative success of the PSP (although that one's slowing down a bit).

Then we'll see jus how much of an influence he really had on the PS "family".

I'll have Ridge Racer! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidge racer!!!!

Ridge Racer is a very well handled mediocre series by Namco. They basically only release it at launch now and don't do much with it. Cheaper that way and with little competition, sales better than normal at launch. They can't compete with real racing games so this strategy is perfect for the series.

[Nev]

Zeus, I challenge you to a fight to the death.

You know entirely too much about the game industry these days, and my indie dev ass is getting insecure!

Therefore we must battle, to the death, hopefully with axes. Lemme know when you want to make this happen!

[Zeus]

Zeus, I challenge you to a fight to the death.

You know entirely too much about the game industry these days, and my indie dev ass is getting insecure!

Therefore we must battle, to the death, hopefully with axes. Lemme know when you want to make this happen!

About 99.8% of my words are just my opinion. Occasionally I get some info from my buds at Ubisoft and Warppipe, but that's about it. It's just something I've noticed with the series.

Your real post should have been "Zeus, you spend far too much of your life thinking about this useless stuff, start filling your mind with more useful things like TV or porn" :-)

[Eric]

Ridge Racer is actually pretty fun, and it has a unique feel to it since they added that drifting aspect.

[Zeus]

Ridge Racer is actually pretty fun, and it has a unique feel to it since they added that drifting aspect.

Yeah, but does it really stand up to Burnout or PGR or Gran Turismo? Not really, it's just another racing game with drifting now. It doesn't stand out and if up against any of these titles, it gets exposed. That's why you've seen it as launch only the last couple of generations. Smart move IMO

[Julius Seeker]

Heh, Kaz Hirai =P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJElsNaC6yQ