Major shake-ups are happening atSony, as a new corporate CEO has been appointed today, and Sony Interactive Entertainment has a new solo CEO in Hideaki Nishino.
Nishino will take on the top spot at Sony’s PlayStation division, while co-CEOHerman Hulstwill continue to oversee gaming development of Sony’s first-party studios.
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Hideaki Nishino Now President And CEO Of PlayStation
The announcement (viaVariety) confirms the major changes at Sony, with Hiroki Totoki now elevated to the top CEO post, while Hideaki Noshino takes the lead of Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation).
The appointments were approved last Tuesday, and will take effect on April 1. Totoki is a 38-year veteran at Sony who most recently served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer, and will succeed Kenichiro Yoshida as the overall head of Sony.
In terms of the gaming side, Nishino will now act as the sole CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, which is surprising to see given we just got an announcement in May last year of how Nishino and Hulst were named as co-CEOs. In the announcement, Nishino was put in charge of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Platform Business Group, while Herman Hulst was made CEO of the Studio Business Group. That’s all changing starting in April, as Hulst will now directly report to Nishino, though his overall duties remain unchanged.
In response to his ascension, Nishino said, “I am truly honored to take the helm at Sony Interactive Entertainment. Technology and creativity are two of our biggest strengths as we continue to focus on developing experiences that deliver entertainment for everyone. We will continue to grow the PlayStation community in new ways, such as IP expansion, while also delivering the best in technology innovation,” Nishino said. “I want to thank Herman for his expertise and leadership as he continues his role as CEO, Studio Business Group. I am deeply grateful for the PlayStation community and their continued support and I am very excited for what the future holds.”
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Starting in April, Nishino will act as the president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment in addition to serving as the CEO of the Platform Business Group and CEO of the Studio Business Group. According to Sony, Herman Hulst will continue to “lead the development, publishing and business operations of SIE’s first party-content.” Hulst will also be appointed to work with Sony Pictures in adapting its gaming franchise to TV shows, movies and other mediums via PlayStation Productions.
This is a major shake-up, and I am personally wondering whether the failed live service games had anything to do with this decision. While Sony struck gold withHelldivers 2last year, it also saw one of the biggest gaming failures in history with Concord. Not only did the game release toa very tepid response, butthe servers were shutdown less than two weeksafter launch, and the first-party studio was dissolved.
Important to note, in November last year, Totoki himself acknowledged the game’s failures, andsaid that there needs to more detailed “checks"within the company to prevent something like it from happening again.
With Sony being a Japanese company, and given how Japanese people are a lot more conservative when it comes to business and in major decisions, I wouldn’t be surprised if the move to elevate Nishino stemmed from Concord and Sony’s sudden live service push. It’s something the company seems to be walking back from, as Sony hasformally canceled two live service gamesthis year.
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