Beloved PlayStation exec retires after more than 30 years

digitaltrends.com:

Longtime PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida, who became one of the faces of the company during its PlayStation 3 and 4 eras, is retiring after more than 30 years.

Yoshida announced his retirement in a post on the PlayStation Blog and the official PlayStation Podcast on Tuesday. He’s best known as the former president of SIE Worldwide Studios from 2008 to 2019, and had spent the the last few years as the head of the Independent Developer Initiative. His retirement officially begins on January 15, 2025.

“I’ve been with PlayStation from the beginning, and this is my 31st year with PlayStation. And when I hit 30 years, I was thinking, hmm, it may be about time for me to move on,” he said on the official PlayStation Podcast commemorating the move. “So you know, PlayStation is in really good hands. I thought, OK, this is my time.”

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Yoshida has been with PlayStation since 1993 during the development of the first PlayStation, which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its launch this year. He was the lead account executive, connecting with publishers to hopefully get them to make games for the new console. Yoshida said in the interview that it was “challenging” because people didn’t believe in the potential of PlayStation at the time. It ended up revolutionizing the console industry thanks to its capabilities with 3D graphics, its use of the CD-ROM instead of cartridges, and a now legendary batch of games.

However, Yoshida is most known to fans as the face of the PlayStation 4. He made many appearances on stage at presentations and in marketing. He was a huge face for those watching PlayStation’s now famous E3 2013 presentation where the company unveiled the PS4 following a disastrous Xbox One reveal.

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