On the heels of Reggie Fils Aime, CEO of Nintendo of America, announcing his well-earned retirement, the Chairman of Sony Entertainment wants to join the Regginator in the post-work good life. Today, Kazuo Hirai revealed that he would be retiring as of early June. This comes only a year after Hirai stepped down from the CEO role at Sony.
The Face of a Generation
There’s no arguing that Hirai is a beloved member of the video game community and industry. Once the face of Sony on-stage at many different events around the world including E3, and CES, Hirai has been a big player, but quietly behind the scenes for the past few years. Hirai has spent the last 35 years as a major part of the Japan-based tech company and took up the role as CEO in 2012.
Hirai and his hit-squad took the reigns of Sony in the darkest era for the PlayStation brand’s life. The PlayStation 3 had done little to build on a history bloodline and relinquished nearly all of Sony’s hold on the console market.
In the six years that Hirai was at the helm, Sony regained notoriety and sales. Once again they were the go-to home video game and entertainment console maker. Hirai joined Sony Computer Entertainment America in 1995 and was a huge part in the launch of the PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3, and much more. It was his success in the gaming division that earned his reputation as a leader, which led to his appointment as Sony CEO almost two decades later.
In a brief statement regarding his retirement, Hirai thanked the employees and stakeholders who supported him and assured Sony fans that the future is still as bright as it ever was.
"I am confident that everyone at Sony is fully aligned under Yoshida-san’s strong leadership, and are ready to build an even brighter future for Sony," added Hirari.
The State of Play
Removed from the day-to-day life of work at Sony, Hirai will maintain a strong relationship with the tech giant. He will move into retirement this summer, but retain a title as a “Senior Advisor”, which may play a key role as we move towards the announcement and launch of the PlayStation’s next console in the coming years.
With Shawn Layden as the face of Sony Interactive Entertainment, things on the public side won’t be changing now that Hirai is stepping down. However, the world of gaming will never be the same without Hirai.
Sony is skipping this year’s E3 Press Conference line-up, but have since shifted things into a “State of Play” direct-style announcement format. On the verge of the big boys bringing the home console gaming world into the next generation of systems, we can wish Hirai a happy retirement with the full knowledge that he most likely had a lot to do with the development and vision of the PlayStation 5.
