If you’re a fan of a lovely Welsh accent, Andrew House’s occasional appearances during Sony’s press conferences will be missed as it was announced today that he is stepping down from his role as President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment – AKA PlayStation – effective immediately. His shoes will be filled by current Deputy President of SIE, John (Tsuyoshi) Kodera, while House will remain as Chairman until the end of the year to ease the transition.
He’s leaving on a high, having been PlayStation boss for the last six years, overseeing the development and monumentally successful release of the PlayStation 4 in that time. He’s been at Sony for a monumental 27 years, though, helping to launch the first PlayStation and holding senior positions ever since then. Kodera is similarly well experienced, having been at the company since 1992.
Kazuo Hirai, President and CEO of Sony as a whole and House’s predecessor at SIE, said, “When I passed the baton of leadership for Sony Computer Entertainment to Andrew House in 2011, I was confident that I was leaving the PlayStation business in the best possible hands, and so it has proved. I’m extremely grateful to Andy for the great contribution he has made to evolving the PlayStation business, and firmly positioning it as one of the drivers of our future growth. Andy and I go back more than 20 years and spent much of this time together, dedicating ourselves to ensuring the success of the PlayStation business. I would like to thank Andy for his contribution over many years, and wish him every success in the future.”
While House himself explained that “PlayStation has been a huge part of my life for more than 20 years but with the business having achieved record-breaking success, now seemed to be the right time for me to pursue new challenges. I shall always treasure the friendships and people that have made SIE such a wonderful place to work. I’m also grateful to PlayStation fans and gamers around the world for their loyalty and support.
Source: SIE
bunimomike
Will miss him and his enthusiasm. It always felt genuine. Also, huge respect for him speaking Japanese and the child-like wonder of talking with Hideo Kojima. He could barely contain himself in this clip! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=annuTcmB1rw
TSBonyman
Good call. Initially i found him a bit stiff in presentations but he warmed up as time went on and speaking Japanese won him kudos from me too. Best of luck to him and every success for the future.
gazzagb
I can’t say I’ll miss him at E3 as much as Jack Tretton, but I’m guessing they are gearing up for the next generation of console by starting the cycle?