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Ken Kutaragi steps down; Kaz takes the helm photo

After years of holding products aloft at industry events and acting as head honcho for SCEI, Ken Kutaragi is finally stepping down for real, the Associated Press reports. Having already been relieved of duties as president last year and announcing his intention to retire as chief executive and chairman, the torch has finally been passed to Kaz "Riiiiiiiiiidge Racer!" Hirai, who will helm SCEI activity from here on out. 

Known as "the Father of PlayStation", Kutaragi oversaw the development and release of every PlayStation-branded platform released thus far. Kutaragi's departure ain't exactly a happy one -- Sony's profits have been steeped in the red for quite awhile and aren't expected to climb back up the ladder 'til 2009. But we'll always remember the good times, Ken -- all those big, sleek and oh-so-expensive electronics, y'know, held up on a stage and displayed to the teeming throngs of tech-hungry journalists at the E3s of years past. 

Kutaragi will no longer be on the SCEI's board, but will serve on in an advisory capacity at the company. Will his departure mark a sharp turn in Sony's console strategies? Will Sony rediscover their chokehold on consumers after letting substantial shares of the market slip to its competitors? I'm sure they certainly hope so -- the rest of us will just have to wait and see.

[AP, Via Yahoo








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17 comments | showing # 1 to 17
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ArrestedDeveloper's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/19/2007 23:07
ArrestedDeveloper
That might be the creepiest picture I've seen in the year 2007, congratulations.
SuperDave's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/19/2007 23:34
SuperDave
Just talking about him holding things up isn't giving the man enough credit, like you know, how he said the PS3 is probably too cheap - things like that.
Joe Burling's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/19/2007 23:49
Joe Burling
Ken, I'll miss you. It's memories like these I'll never forget...


"It’s probably too cheap…"


"(the PS3) is not a game machine…"


"…for consumers to think to themselves ‘I will work more hours to buy one’. We want people to feel that they want it, irrespective of anything else."


"The name of the game is not market share, it’s how fast we (Sony) can grow the industry."


...you will be missed.
Colette Bennett's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/19/2007 23:50
Colette Bennett
I love you, Aaron Linde.
Crunshii's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 00:40
Crunshii
BuckF1tches lol, u missed the architect one, forgot how it went. But ya... that picture is like str8 from one of those 80's crazy Japaneses movies... I still have nightmares...
bleep's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 00:57
bleep
this post inspired me to create this:
Tron Knotts's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 06:27
Tron Knotts
Why would anyone want Sony to return to power? They were evil dictators.
908peruvian's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 06:30
908peruvian
i wonder why he went crazy??

maybe it was that that EVIL TWISTED PS3
telling him what to do...

like Moon Knight and Konshu...

NICE PIC !!!
wardrox's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 07:03
wardrox
*lifts up Ken Kutaragito to shoulder height*
Gameboi's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 08:44
Gameboi
Ken is an ass. I respect what he did, and hold the PSone and PS2 in high regard (notice what's missing here?), but I can't find it in myself to like the guy. Maybe it's due mostly to the bad quotes he's made over the past few years, but that guy rubs me the wrong way.
Das Inchworm's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 09:08
Das Inchworm
dude, the crying baby could SO be a garbage pail kid. "Possessed Ps3"
emotaku's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 10:46
emotaku
What is that picture even from?
Trevor McGee's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 11:38
Trevor McGee
*Does a Flying Clothesline knocking him off wardrox's shoulders*

Doomsday Device!!! OMFGBBQ!!!!!
thisissami's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 14:22
thisissami
i like the guy.. he's just an old japanese chap that isn't in touch with the new generations of todays world (people i mean, not videogame systems)
CypherVR's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 15:25
CypherVR
<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/9456/fired2dy4.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>
CypherVR's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/20/2007 15:25
CypherVR
<a href="http://img518.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fired2dy4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/9456/fired2dy4.th.jpg" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>
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