It's been quite an interesting year for Ken Kutaragi, aka
"Father of PlayStation." The PlayStation 3 was delayed during spring 2006
and component shortages resulted in reduced availability for Japanese and North American
launches of the console. The shortages also resulted in the PS3 seeing a lengthy delay in Europe
and other regions around the world.
With Kutaragi overseeing PS3 development, heads surely were
rolling at Sony headquarters. In November 2006, shortly after the launch of the
PS3, Kutaragi was moved
from his position as President of Global Operations for SCEI and
"promoted" to Chairman and Group CEO for SCEI. The move effectively
moved Kutaragi away from having direct “hands-on” control over the PlayStation
division.
In early March, the internal turmoil within
Sony was aired by Sony CEO Howard Stringer. Stringer placed most of the
blame with regards to the PS3's problems squarely on Kutaragi. Stringer noted
that Kutaragi went over budget with PS3 development, failed to keep co-workers
abreast of problems that crept up during the development of the console and was
notorious for shunning key executives in other Sony divisions.
Stringer cited the pre-launch 20 percent
price cut of the Japanese-market 20GB PlayStation 3 as a one of the prime
reasons why Kutaragi was a thorn in his side. Kutaragi blindsided Stringer with
the news in a board room meeting. "It wasn't financially one of my best
moments," said Stringer. "The budget implications were self-evident.
[But] I agreed because I wanted the launch to be successful," Stringer
told the Wall Street Journal.
Today it was announced that Kutaragi will be retiring from his
position as Chairman and Group CEO of SCEI on June 19. Kutaragi's roles
will be taken over by Kazuo Hirai. Kutaragi will, however, maintain the role
of Honorary Chairman of SCEI.
"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."
Despite their past troubles, Howard Stringer had nothing but
kind words for Kutaragi. "Ken Kutaragi is a rare combination of a powerful
visionary and entrepreneur in one figure. 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 2/2
creative genius, and from the very strong team he assembled and nurtured,"
said Stringer.
"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."