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]