Playstation boss Jim Ryan resigns
After almost 30 years at Sony, Playstation boss Jim Ryan is leaving the company. He was largely responsible for the success of the Playstation brand. His successor remains unclear.
Sony announces in a press release that Jim Ryan, CEO and President of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE for short), will retire in March next year. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the video game industry. Hiroki Totoki, COO and CFO of Sony Group Corporation, will take over Ryan's role ad interim. A definitive successor has not yet been determined.
Ryan started his career at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in 1994. Among other things, he was responsible for the success of the Playstation brand in Europe in the function of President. In the PS3 era, Sony was able to expand its dominance in Europe, while sales in the USA and Japan were sluggish.
He took over the role of CEO at SIE from John Kodera in 2018. During his time in office, he oversaw the market launch of the Playstation 5 and Playstation VR2. Despite difficult conditions due to the coronavirus pandemic and supply bottlenecks, the new Sony console has been a complete success. In July 2023, the PS5 had already sold 40 million units. This puts it just behind the PS4 in the same period since launch.
Ryan thanks the fans
In a blog post, Ryan speaks out personally. Ryan cites a lack of balance between his place of work and home as the reason for his early retirement. SIE's headquarters are located in San Mateo, California. Ryan still lives in the UK. Ryan also writes that he is extremely proud of what his team has achieved with the Playstation 5. He describes Sony as "something truly special" and thanks the loyal Playstation fans who have been there since the beginning.
Ryan's leadership style has sometimes been controversial in the Playstation community. Prior to his tenure as CEO, he made negative comments about "outdated" Playstation games and backwards compatibility https://www.ign.com/articles/jim-ryan-wasnt-trying-disrespectful-ps1-ps2-games-ancient-2017. Under his leadership, Sony has largely withdrawn from major trade fairs and grandiose press conferences. Ryan has significantly scaled back direct communication with fans. "Playstation Showcases" or "State of Play" streams with updates on Playstation games have been few and far between in recent years. The ever-increasing PC focus of Playstation studios has also been criticised in some quarters.
Ryan has recently been increasingly in the public eye due to the Activision takeover by Microsoft. Sony and Ryan vehemently opposed the deal during the acquisition process - partly due to the potential loss of the "Call of Duty" franchise on Playstation consoles. Sony finally relented and signed a deal with Microsoft that ensures that the mega franchise will continue to appear on Playstation in the future.
Cover image: Youtube / Playstation 5 Showcase
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