The man who lifted PlayStation up to PC Gamer standards is about to retire

pcgamer.com:

Long time PlayStation hardware architect and current executive vice president Masayasu Ito is set to retire from Sony Interactive Entertainment at the end of September, after 36 years working with the company. It's been a good run. From mechanical engineering lead for the PSP, to hardware engineering lead for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, Ito has seen Sony grow into the console giant it is today.

This is a man who oversaw the rise of consoles as they transformed into something much more akin to desktop PCs. A man whose work helped to set a trajectory for greatness, and push Sony technology into the ever watchful eye of PC Gamer's tech team. Look, you're right, we're not a console site. But I'll be damned if there's much difference to speak of nowadays. That's in great part thanks to Ito and the work of his diligent engineering teams over the years (via Bloomberg(opens in new tab)).

I was surprised to learn that Ito actually cut his teeth on audio equipment for cars back in 1986, and only began working with Sony's console division 14 years into his career, when the millennium hit. Once there he began working on peripherals for the PlayStation 2, such as network adapters and LCD monitors.

When it came to the PSP, Ito was a big player in improving the thermals so you could actually hold the PlayStation Portable while under full load.

«As our products cling to image quality, heat is inevitably a problem. If it is a stationary machine, still some heat can be tolerated,» Ito told Famitsu(opens in new tab) when asked about some of the difficulties faced (machine translated). «However, since the portable unit can not hold it when it is hot, it is a part that uses the mind of a stationary machine, but it is very difficult