Sony's Ken Kutaragi steps down
By Paul Miller 
posted Jun 19th 2007 12:19PM
posted Jun 19th 2007 12:19PM
We knew it was coming, but we can't help but shed a tear at the retirement of the man who took consoles out of the cartridge era and into the extravagant and multi-billion dollar polygon war currently taking place in our living rooms -- for better or worse. Ken Kutaragi, father of the PlayStation, is calling it quits today at the ripe old age of 56. It was pretty clear he was on the outs when he left his post as president of SCE last year, with Kazuo Hirai taking his place in most operational duties. Ken announced he was leaving his positions as CEO and chairman in April, and now he's making good on his promise, with little more clarity if it's of his own accord or due to internal Sony pressures for a changing of the guard. As previously announced, Kutaragi will be sticking around in an advisory role, but from here on out the expectations of a struggling company and a few million fanboys will rest squarely on Kaz to steer the faithful through this console generation and beyond. And yes, this also means we're retiring the 'shopped PS3 pic to the right of this post. It will be missed most of all.
Errm, isn't this 4 month old news? Just an excuse to dust of some more Xbot photoshopped nonsense?
Dude, that is hardly photoshopped. That was an EARLY rendition of the PS3. Don't sit there and spray your blind Sony blather with the, "OH THATS PHOTOSHOPPED, zOMG!"
SONY: "AND STAY OUT!!" haha jk I'm glad he was as sony....because he made the ps3 so I can laugh at it. (I do own one I just like it the least.)
So that's how big a PS3 is? I've never seen one in person, as nobody I know has or wants one.
Hah! I'm kidding, but rank me low anyway. :-)
Swing by Wal-Mart, GameStop, EBGames, Target, Circuit City, Best Buy... you should be able to find a couple (at each store). Heck, even our Sam's Club has a small pallet of those things collecting dust.
I liked cartridges.
you do realise that he stole the design for the original playstation and gave it to sony right? Oh and you also realize the N64 had better graphics than the PS1 and the gamecube had better graphics than the ps2 right? Again, before you bash something, make sure you know what you're talking about, people.
PS3 implodes market, they will actually PAY you to take one.
Nevolo, stop talking out your ass to defend your purchase. I can MORE than afford a PS3... I just choose not to until there is a valid reason TO justify spending $600. Right now, theres no compelling reason to buy it seeing as I own a 360. When theres exclusives that people want to play at a price thats reasonable to them in order to play it, then sales will take off. But for now, the exclusives are mediocre, gfx aren't much, if at all, better than 360, and the price is exorbitant to play games that can be played cheaper elsewhere.
Yeah, I saw at Best Buy last night they were giving one away for free if you bought a certain HD flat panel bundle. I was thinking, you know, for $2000, I get an awesome flat panel, and can sell the free PS3 on ebay to recoup some of the cost!
w00t!
I didnt know it was photoshopped, i thought he was just a really small japanese man. im disappointed now.
It's not really photoshopped, it's a parody. It's size is relative it it's cost. That looks like about a thousand bucks. Right?
Hooray. Die Sony.
@ Mark,
Thats actually not completely accurate. The N64 and the Playstation had very similar graphics but due to the N64's Cartridge space limitation it had to produce more simplified textures which made them appear more smooth in comparison to the Playstation with its cd's being able to provide much more detail at the cost of clearity.
im sorry but the PIONEER of video games still and will forever be SEGA... :) first hand held (game gear) first cd gaming (sega cd) first CONSOLE ONLINE (dreamcast)
remember when u had to blow on the cartriges to fix them...that was so much better than wasting time and money getting stupid cleaner shits that dont work
and the gc doesnt have better graphics except for resident evil 4 but every other game is better on ps2
Statistically speaking, the PS2 had the lowest graphic capabilities of the last generation. Second being the GCN and first being the XBox. Its coomon knowledge, fanboy.
Love him or hate him Kutaragi did revolutionize gaming and Nevelo is right, before Sega and the PS1 Nintendo was content giving gamers marginal increases in tech and repackaging it as the new great advance in gaming. Come to think of it they still are, but I digress.
Without Kutaragi and the PS1 we may have been anticipating the arrival of Mario 128 instead of GTA IV, MGS IV and enjoying the HD gaming we have today
He wanted to use the latest and greatest tech (outside of PC's) to make the most immersive gaming experience possible(CD, DVD's, Blu-Ray, Emotion engine, cell processor)He was the first to see consoles as possible entertainment hubs rather than just gaming boxes (i.e. the CD player on the PS1, DVD player on PS2...) and really took the industry from a closed door hobby of tech geeks to the mainstream.
The man is truly a pioneer, and fanboy or no respect is due.
the only intelligent comment in this page, thank you.
@ pretty much every single comment so far:
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Good one Thunder Fist. I LOLed!
is your caps lock key broken or are you retarded?
whats that you say? both?
In general people will pay more attention to what you have to say if it isnt capitalised.
though what youre saying is that people are judging the PS3 too soon and that it represents value really?
its a lovely point but not really connected to this particular post.
The mans done a lot for consoles, whether he went in the right direction, and whether he did so ethically is a matter for some gamer forum somewhere.
Nevelo, maybe you should have saved some of that $600 to buy a keyboard with a capslock key that works properly.
lol. I can't wait till school is back in session. Hey kid, if your PS3 is so badass, why are you on your PC?
and don't forget, a affordable console and one that people are actually buying and having fun with.
In your mom's basement amirite? pfft sdf ftl.
ZOMG IS YOUR CAPS LOCK BUTTON BROKEN TOO?!?!?!111!1
Owned!!!
Is your keyboard broken?You should really have your caps lock button looked at.
Lol @ home theater room.Most likely just a ps3 and a 20 inch tv from the early 90's on a rickety table.Concrete floor etc...
Sony Audio???? HA HA HA HA.
@ Negs,
Lay off Sony, they still make a good product that's why they're still around, and just because you don't like them doesn't mean that they don't. Next, do you even have a home theater system with nice audio etc. cause if you don't you have no room to bash someone elses(and no Kenwood doesn't count). If Sony was really such a bad company they wouldn't have companies like Pioneer, Samsung, LG and others backing and producing their product.
Dude, nothing personal, but you protest way too much. Seem a little insecure there buddy-o. I tried to see your point, but with your EXCELLENT grammar (see I can use caps too) and wonderful fanboy gibberish I am still trying to figure out what you are saying. Truth be told, if you are over 21 I would be embarrassed to admit it, if I were you. You are right, it a year or so the PS3 will be worth it. For now, well, let's face it, it is losing the war to the Wii.
shouldn't you (me too) all be working right now? You do know that these are gaming consoles, and not life saving medical machines that actually deserve this much attention, right? I really don't understand all the arguing, I have a 360 and a PS3 and to be honest neither of them overly impress me. I get better gaming graphics on my PC, and consoles just slow down the evolution of graphic gaming because they are not easily upgradeable to the newer higher performance components. All that said the last game I played was Double Agent 4 months ago... so what do I know, right?
this is friggin hilarious. Mr. Nevelo S, you are more a fanboy than anyone i've seen on Joystiq or any other gaming blog. im glad the Wii is doing so well just because it pisses people like you off. Sony just relied to heavily on the Playstation brand recognition instead of putting thought and time into their console. Seeing as how the GameCube essentially failed Nintendo knew they couldn't just do the same thing they;ve been doing. now look where it got them. over twice the consoles Sony has sold and only a few million behind the 360 which has been out for a whole year longer than the Wii.
i still like Sony's electronics (i just bought an W300i phone and i have nice stereo minisystem) but their games division just shot themselves in the foot. and the head. how can a company push BlueRay and 1080p gaming but not ship an HDMI cable with a $600 system. these people went to business school?
and yes i own a Wii. let the insults roll Nevelo. i know you have nothing better to do. its either this or go play Motorstorm and lets face it, which is more entertaining?
and there it is. this is a new low. you're insulting people with life threatening illnesses now. and did you seriously insult Super Smash Brothers? there are some game you just dont dis. Super Smash Brother, Halo, Final Fantasy to name a few. no matter what console you swear allegiance to.
i also own a fairly high-end gaming PC that i built myself. and that how i get my HD max poly shader super anti-aliasing fix. and guess what i can upgrade it when the graphics are out dated! looks like you're gonna have to drop $1000 on a PS4 when yours are obsolete. and i get DX10. you dont
i have a Wii because its different from the others. i see no point in owning a PC and a PS3 or even a 360. too similar
Seeing as this is the last time that picture will be used, how about linking to a larger high-quality file, so that I cne make that my wallpaper?
Always laughed when I saw it...
Mr. Nevelo S, keep posting please. Your comments make puppies and kittens smile when it's raining out.
That is the best thing I've ever read on this site. Bravo, sir. :)
"the gamecube had better graphics than the ps2"
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAH are you on crack???
btw no the ps3 is not as big as the one in the photo!!
I'm an ass man myself although a nice pair of tits will stop me dead in my tracks.
Make fun of PS3 if you want but you CANNOT name another product which was able to artificialy inflate its price (and still be sold) at the prices PS3's were being sold during the 5 months following its release.
YOU CAN NOT argue that PS3 is the superior hardware compared to Xbox 360 and Wii.
You cannot argue that SONY is still making millions off the PS2.
You cannot argue that Blu Ray Dvd is more succesful than HDDVD in part by SONY.
You cannot argue that the future of the PS3 will be more succesful than the present - and by the way... despite the fact the PS3 doesn't have a major game library yet, IT IS STILL SELLING even at its pricepoint.
It blows my minds when people get on Engadget and spew their stupidity. SONY's made billions more than you or your entire family will ever see in all of your lifetimes.
I think Sony's concentration on pushing a proprietary format is what's hurting them this generation; it's what has hurt them in the past, as well.
* Please realize I'm considering the US consumer market only. *
Betamax: Failed.
MiniDisc: Failed.
Memory Stick: Failed.
Quick! Name a non-Sony device that uses this format. No Googling.
UMD: Failed.
When's the last time you saw a prominent UMD display at your local electronics/media store?
Blu-Ray: Faltering.
Why create your console with a built-in next-gen optical drive when the market is just emerging and there's a competing format? That's quite a gamble. Good thing Sony Pictures has quite a library to choose from.
Argue what you will about marginal technical superiority or high definition specifications. At the end of the day, the PS3 is a game console. It's a game console with pretty pitiful content, actually. Without content, without games people want to buy and play for reasons other than to show off their textures, what good is the PS3 to anyone?
It's like a sports car you can only drive around your block.
"Quick! Name a non-Sony device that uses this format. No Googling."
Quick, name another company that supports their formats far after the general acceptance levels make it "a failure". I'm not trolling, just saying. If there's one thing I've learned with Sony is that they don't just drop support for something because it's not selling well. I'd also argue that Blu-Ray is actually picking up in sales and support, so I wouldn't call it faltering just yet....
Blu-ray faltering? Are you insane? As of June 10, Blu-ray accounts for TWO THIRDS of ALL hidef movie sales, since the inception of either BD/HD format. Source:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/hom061707/index.php
All you have to do is put PlayStation, XBox, or Nintendo in the title and the comments section gets filled with "Highest" ranks and "Lowest" ranks. Too funny.
Jeff
While I agree in prinicple that Sony's penchent for proprietary formats is not good for the consumer and has also not worked out for Sony much of the time, I think you are not quite correct in your assessment of some of these.
>>Memory Stick: Failed.
>>Quick! Name a non-Sony device that uses this format. No Googling.
I hate f%$ing Memory Sticks - but I don't you can't say it's a failure for Sony.
>>MiniDisc: Failed.
Really? Well don't tell the Japanese this - because MiniDisc has been the most popular music format/medium in Japan for a decade-and-a-half now. Never caught on in North America (I don't believe in europe either), but in Japan, Minidiscs have long out-sold CDs. Sony licensed the tech to others from the get-go and the result was many, many, different minidisc devices from JVC, Sharp, Pioneer, Panasonic and others.
>>Blu-Ray: Faltering.
I admit that I too thought Sony was going to lose this one and that it was a stupid gamble. Apparently it is a good thing for Sony that I am not in charge, because Blue-Ray appears to now be winning. You heard the news from yesterday about Blockbuster deciding to only support Blue-ray titles in their stores right?? I don't want to exagerate or pretend I am prophet here, but I'd say that is a pretty important battle that Blue-Ray has won in the HD fromat war. I think they have HD-DVD on the run now.
LOL, you really do believe that don't you...
There really are some fools around. But then I figured that there must be at least 10 million fools to have bought the unreliable junk that is the 360.
I can, in fact, argue with you, Big, that the 360 has superior hardware. I won't go over it again, so I'll just link you to a page that you might find interesting.
Read through this entire story. http://dpad.gotfrag.com/portal/story/35372/?spage=1
It is all fact, no opinion.
I love these Apple/Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo/"Insert big brand name here".... The comments are always the most interesting part ^_^ ...
It may be too much for you to learn at once, but on top of not using the caps lock, I'd like to point out the little "reply" button at the bottom of each post, so we can know what the fuck you're talking about.
The best comments I have read in a long time...
@novelo : howd do you program on Blu Ray 4 layers ? Can you actually connect a keyboard ?
I'd better do it on a computer.
The GameCube has techinically, less graphical potential. (23 million polys vs the gamecubes 16 million) however, sony doesn't know what anti-aliasing is. now what is about to follow is the 100% truth.
GRAPHICAL CAPACITY DOES NOT MATTER.
Here is why: resident evil 4 STILL has amazing graphics. and why do you think that is? its because the artists at capcom made every polygon count. and remember a polygon only reefers to a 3+ sided shape. so theoretically, you could create a polygon (albiet a REALLY hard one to draw)that is the shape of a car or something. and with texturing the same deal, if you want to put alot of detail into your textures no one is stopping you. its just time consuming which is why you don't see that many game companies doing it. I played Gran Turismo HD concept and was blown away by the sheer beauty of the graphics (until I saw the edges, and realised that sony STILL doesn't know what anti-aliasing is) there is a very common way of rendering huge detailed environments its called normal mapping, you take a high res figure, and than create a low res figure, you store the difference in polygon counts in whats called a normal map. this does two things, 1: it saves a whole bunch of VRAM and it gives skin that plasticy look. What I'm trying to say, with all of this, is just because the playstation 3 has technically more capabillity does not make it any better graphically speaking than the Xbox 360 or even the Wii (yes I said it) as evidenced by the fact that gamecube can support near-next-gen graphics on its system. (also, take a look at Super Smash Brothers Brawl). they take care with each polygon and make sure none of the capacity is wasted.
A few commas and full-stops here and there wouldn't hurt.
Love him or hate him...he left his touch on the gaming industry...
I'm not trying to be a PS3 fan or Xbox or Wii..but can u tell me, why all people considering a 600$ PS3 is so expensive and will run all to buy the 600$ iPhone?? :D
cause I don't understand why!
Comparing apples to oranges again...
@Pentium: The iPhone is an Apple product, which means we know it isn't going to be a small price, everyone that knows Apple knows this. You know iPods (essentially 80GB USB drives with a nice UI and support) are going to run you over 300$. Going down to the 30GB model? Still expect to pay around 200-250$. Even the Shuffle is like 75$. Macbook Pros... expect 2000$+. Of course, these are all Apple products, so it isn't surprising. It's been this way for a while now, so why should the iPhone's price tag surprise you. Furthermore, look at how much most smartphones or even 'fashionable' phones cost at their release. The Razr V3 was 500$ with a service plan, 800$ without. Relatively speaking, the iPhone is actually priced more closely with competing devices than Apple PCs are with their counter parts. Of course, most phones' price dwindle over time and Apples prices generally do not until another model comes out to replace the 'oldest' one.
Anyhow, there are a select few comments on here that are worth reading, namely Captain Underpants's. I'm a computer technician/programmer and I can tell you that raw power and numbers (RAM, VRAM, HDD, MHz, etc.) do not mean that the games will take advantage of this. How each game is programmed and optimized for performance is just as important, if not more, than the system capacity itself.
Just as he [Capt Underpants] has said, Sony STILL hasn't learned what Anti-Aliasing is. It's absoltely horrid to see the game in such nice texturing and environmental effects... and then see the jagged edges of polygons. While I'm not saying that the PS3's graphics fail solely because of this, it is just the fact that a system that boasts such graphics power ought to have this feature implemented in most games, at least the higher end ones for sure.
While I'm not terribly old (21 years old), I have played console games since I was about 3 or 4 and PC games since I was about 7. I've always looked at games as simply that, games. Before, there were really only two major competitors, Sega and Nintendo. I really don't see the Sega Master System having nearly as much of a competition to the NES, so I tend to focus on the more popular battle: Genesis and SNES. I always thought this was such a great battle, as the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo both had an awesome collection of games and their hardware was similar. I'd say the SNES had better graphics and the Genesis had better sound (the Synth was much better in my opinion); however, they both had killer games and not just a "one-hit wonder" (ie; Halo).
I had a Genesis and my cousin had the SNES. It was a great balance, he had Chrono Trigger, Super Mario, Final Fantasy VI, Super Metroid, Rival Turf, Super Mario RPG, and the works. I had Phantasy Star IV, Streets of Rage 1-3, Gunstar Heroes, Sword of Vermillion, MK II, every Sonic game, and all the other classics. These games didn't have the best graphics ever, hell, the players on Madden for the Genesis looked like 8x8 pixel blobs. The point being that these games kicked ass.
Ok so now nearly two decades ahead, we've place too heavy an emphasis on graphics. While it is only natural for us to want to raise the bar, let us not forget that games are not meant to be movies, they are meant to be fun to interact with and play. Of course many games have accomplished this balance of gameplay and graphics, but I think too many people get drawn in by the latter instead of the former. Who cares if the PS3 or XBOX 360 have downright killer graphics? The question really is are the games worth playing or not.
For example, Prince of Persia for the Wii (I never played the other versions of this semi-'remake') is a pretty fun game while the graphics seem like they are from the late PS1/early PS2 era. Mario Party 8 even still is lacking in 'next gen' graphics, but it is really fun. Zelda:TWP has pretty decent graphics but they are still no 360/PS3, however the game was simply killer.
I'm no fanboy, like I said, I just enjoy games for what they are, regardless of provider/system. For this reason I've bought a Wii, right after my Xbox (not 360) [un]forunately died from a HDD failure. Was it worth it? I definitely think so. Not only are a good few of the Wii games fun (I admit I don't care for many of them at this point in time), but the Virtual Console is so great. True, you could say 'go by the systems for 20$ off ebay and the games for 5$ each and just play them instead,' but I already want a Wii for the future Wii games as well as some of the classic GC games. I never owned a GC, I always borrowed my friends' to play Metroid, SSB Melee, or Ikaruga (which I even bought) so now this is great. The Virtual Console also allows me to consolidate all those old games into a single system I can bring anywhere. The classic controllers are pretty inexpensive, so I don't mind shelling out 20$ each. The remotes are pretty reasonable as well, 40$ each. True, when you factor in the nunchuck it can come to 60$ per 'set,' but you really only need two instead of four, as I have yet to really see the need for all four at once. As a side bonus, I can use the Wiimotes with my laptop via Bluetooth and create some pretty interesting uses such as controlling my iTunes playlist (when my computer is hooked up to my stereo system) from the couch and like.
I'm also a gadget/technology freak (hence my near constant visiting of this site), so the whole innovative motion technology of the Wii controllers really drew me in. Sixaxis really has nothing on the Wiimotes in all honesty (oh yeah, http://gaming.engadget.com/2007/06/17/battery-life-proving-problematic-in-adding-rumble-to-sixaxis/ =p).
Anyhow, game on!
With this kind of publicity, it makes one wonder why Ken didn't retire sooner.
See those two dots in your alias? Use them in speech please.
wow these comments just made my headache 10X worse. So help me if I ever have to read the word "xbot" again.
he left because he knows playstation will fail, smart little guy. good bye playstation.
Love the comments! Personally I'm planning to buy the PS3 when it comes down a couple hundred and has a more extensive library. Plus I plan to buy the XBOX 360 when they finally preinstall the HD drive in it. But for now I'll settle for waiting to buy a Wii.
SiLo, I'm not surprised about iPhone price and I was expecting that (I know Apple very well) but I was thinking...is the PS3 that much expensive? that's my point...!
I'm not so old either (24 years) and I played almost every game u mentioned and also I'm a Tech freak too so to be honest I liked the PS3 from the first time I read about it specifications...so I think it's not expensive!
I think Sony did one BIG mistake...not about the pricing tag..it's about the games...Sony lost big exclusive titles..that's my point! now everybody is thinking why? I can pay less and play most of the Games..!
so Wii will be my hero for the time being :D but when MGS, Final Fantasy are here...I'm on my to PS3 zone!
hey, the gamecube DID have better graphics than the ps2. the emotion engine is a piece of underperforming shit, and makes the ps2 the weakest of all the last-gen consoles.