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GRTV News - PlayStation head Jim Ryan steps down
After four years at the top of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Audio transcription
"Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of GRTV News. Today we have a really surprising news story for you and it's concerning one of the most prominent figures in the entire gaming industry because Jim Ryan, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, has announced that he is going to be stepping down from that role. He's going to be moving on from being the head of PlayStation and, well, it means we're going to have a bit of a shake up at the top of the Sony gaming side of things. So, with that being the case, let's dive into the news piece and see what's happening."
"PlayStation head Jim Ryan steps down. Could this be the change many have been asking for?
It has almost been four years on the day since Sean Layden, the previous PlayStation boss, suddenly and mysteriously left Sony. This led to quite a few changes at the company as the Japanese company's gaming division started to seem more focused on Europe by appointing the Dutch Herman Holst head of PlayStation Studios and replacing Layden with British Jim Ryan. The last change has left many disappointed. Ryan just hasn't seemed like a gamer and far more businessy and uptight. Well, we'll soon learn how PlayStation evolves without him. Jim Ryan reveals that he is retiring and, with that, will be leaving PlayStation and Sony Interactive Entertainment on the 31st of March after 30 years at the company. On the 1st of April, Hiroki Totoki will take over as the interim CEO of SIE while the company finds a suitable replacement, a.k.a. promotes Shuei Yoshida if he wants it. So who do you think wants to take over and what kind of changes do you hope to see?
So yeah, quite big news there. Jim Ryan, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, sort of Sony's gaming division, i.e. PlayStation, is leaving the company after 30 years of working there and four years of being the head honcho. It will become official on the 31st of March 2024, i.e. basically the start of a new fiscal year from Ryan Sane. And then, yes, the interim CEO will be Hiroki Totoki before Sony officially names a full replacement, which we've yet to hear about yet. Iric puts in the news piece there. Shuei Yoshida, if he wants it, maybe he will. Maybe Yoshida will take it. Who knows? We'll find out soon. But yeah, perhaps this is a change that Sony needs. Sony have been making a few different missteps as of late, I want to say. They've got a great portfolio of first party titles, which is basically almost unrivaled unless you compare it to Nintendo's sort of lineup of games. But pretty much everywhere else, Sony seems to be sort of falling behind a little bit. Yes, its console sales are through the roof and it's going to be like that because they've got all the first party titles driving it. And they have many marketing deals that push that as well."
"But when you look at what Xbox is doing with Game Pass and really sort of redefining the space with cloud gaming as well. And when you look at all the recent announcements of PlayStation games where there's a huge focus on live service projects, which people seem to be already getting quite tired of, and Sony hasn't even released many of these games."
"You have to look at it and say the direction that is taken under Jim Ryan's rule hasn't been the most ideal for consumers or for the PlayStation and Sony brand. But again, we'll see who's going to come in and take over the role here. Perhaps it's going to be a Japanese interim CEO. Maybe it will be a full time Japanese CEO in the future as well, which would be a massive change considering, again, the last four years has been a British CEO."
"And before that was Shawn Layden, who's American. So yeah, but as we know more, we're sure to keep you posted and updated. It's a huge change and no doubt there'll be a bit of a shake up around Sony as well following this. And as we know more, we'll be sure to keep you posted. So until then, I hope you enjoy the rest of your Thursday and we'll see you on the next episode. Take care, everyone."
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