Jim Ryan
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Feast your eyes on this PS1-themed PlayStation 5
Retiring PlayStation boss Jim Ryan received a custom-made PS5 in the style of a PS1 as a farewell gift.
Sony's Jim Ryan says Microsoft's Call of Duty promise was 'inadequate on many levels'
PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan has revealed that Microsoft offered to keep Call of Duty available on PlayStation for three years beyond its current Activision deal.
Sony says the PS5 would still be sold out without a pandemic
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) CEO Jim Ryan confirmed that the PS5 is completely sold out despite his best efforts to have enough stock. He added that he believes the supply shortage would have happened even without COVID-19.
PlayStation CEO thinks VR's bright future is still years away
PlayStation believes in VR.
Sony exec touts PS5 exclusive games while Xbox pushes 'choice, value'
SIE head Jim Ryan said that Sony will deliver games with "something new, something different, that can really only be enjoyed on PS5," with exclusive titles that don't work on the PS4. That compares to Microsoft's plan for first-party titles, like 'Halo Infinite' that run on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
Mega Pack, Remote Play boost Vita momentum in UK
Sales of the Vita handheld increased by more than 100 percent in the UK over the summer, leaving Sony feeling optimistic for the portable's future. "Vita had a good summer, the Mega Pack is one of the things that has boosted performance by more than 100 per cent," said PlayStation UK managing director Fergal Gara . "It's now in growth year-on-year. And you've seen several pieces of news at Gamescom which will only help. So that means we can feel optimistic." As Gara mentioned, Sony attributes much of this success to the release of the Mega Pack, a collection of 10 Vita games installed on a single 8GB memory card which has a retail price of £35 ($54.57). The Mega Pack is also available as a pack-in game with certain Vita systems for £170 ($265.06). Both the bundle and the standalone game made their retail debut on June 21. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president and CEO Jim Ryan also believes the Remote Play functionality of the PlayStation 4 will provide a boost to the handheld's sales. "The ability to play all 32 PS4 launch titles using Remote Play does a lot for the Vita catalogue," said Ryan.
European broadband issues delaying PS4 Gaikai rollout
PlayStation games streaming is due sometime in 2014 here in North America, but for our friends across the pond, it's a more problematic affair due to the issues surrounding broadband internet availability in Europe. SCEE President and CEO Jim Ryan told Edge during Gamescom that Sony "doesn't yet have a timeline" for rolling out PlayStation cloud services to Europe. "So the plan is to begin with North America next year and the plan is to provide a streaming service that will allow for PS3 content initially to be streamed to firstly PS4, then PS Vita and then PS3," Ryan said. "And so that will happen in 2014 in North America initially. Now – and I touched upon these issues of broadband in Europe during the presentation – Europe is of course on the roadmap for that service to be deployed at some point in the future, but for reasons outside of our control we don't yet have a timeline for it. So at a show which is now pretty global in its reach but primarily aimed at a European audience, we didn't really want to start talking about the virtues of this great cloud-based service without knowing exactly when it'll come to Europe." PlayStation cloud services will be powered by Gaikai, which Sony acquired in 2012 for $380 million. Gaikai, which has been around since late 2008, was founded by iconic game developer David Perry, the founder of Shiny Entertainment and creator of such beloved games as Earthworm Jim and MDK.
Sony Euro boss: Japanese Vita sales not indicative of international reception
Sony Europe president and CEO Jim Ryan isn't worried about the success of PlayStation Vita the US or Europe, despite quickly dwindling sales in Japan, reports MCV. Judging the potential international success of any product based on Japanese reception is difficult, said Ryan. Specifically in regards to PlayStation hardware, Ryan believes it is "dangerous to the point of impossible to take any experience from the Japanese market and try and extrapolate it, and propose upon what will happen in Europe or North America." The various international markets are simply too different, said Ryan, and they are "diverging to a greater extent than they were different in the past – if that's even possible." Ryan makes a good point, but it's worth noting that Japan has long been one of the most enthusiastic markets for the PSP, the Vita's predecessor. It will be interesting to see the reaction in Europe and North America, where the reception of Sony's handhelds has been somewhat cooler. For now, Ryan and Sony are chiefly concerned with preparing for the Vita's European launch on February 22. The Vita will release in North America on the same day.
Sony's new WiFi-free PSP is targeting teens
Watch out, teenagers of Europe -- Sony's new, less costly PlayStation Portable is coming for you! So says Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe head Jim Ryan in an interview with MCV, pointing to the lower price barrier as aimed at a "younger" crowd. "It's all for the audience. If we are going to take PSP very young -- teens and much younger -- they are happy to just play the game," he explains. "If taking Wi-Fi out is the price to pay, we're happy to." Ryan also believes that the price point will give the console a much-needed sales bump, especially during the upcoming holiday season. "At €99/£89 it will make a great Christmas gift." The latest iteration of Sony's PlayStation Portable handheld console, dubbed the E-1000, was unveiled last month in Germany at Gamescom 2011. It should be arriving exclusively in Europe "this fall."
Hirai promoted to Chairman of SCEI, House becomes CEO
Just one day after announcing a new board member, Sony revealed a bit more corporate shuffling, this time at Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Kazuo Hirai, formerly President and Group CEO (and chief apologizer), has been promoted to Chairman, effective September 1. SCEE president Andrew House will take over as Group CEO of SCEI, with SCEE Executive Vice President Jim Ryan taking over his old job at SCEE. While this may seem like an inopportune time to reward executives with promotions, the shifts were prompted by the retirement of current Chairman Akira Sato effective August 31. Also retiring: Ken Kutaragi, who left his role as Honorary Chairman of SCEI yesterday, presumably finding the honorary demands of the position too honorarily strenuous. He will remain at Sony Corporation as "senior technology advisor."
Sony denies PlayStation Phone ... again
Just as quickly as Sony Computer Entertainment co-COO Jim Ryan reignited rumors of a PlayStation Phone has Sony come forward with a denial (via CVG). "Jim Ryan was in fact misquoted by the Economic Times of India about this issue," according to a company spokesperson. "We do have talks with other arms of the Sony family about various topics but I can confirm we are not currently working together on the creation of a PlayStation Phone."The original (mis)quote had Ryan quoted as saying, "The PlayStation is a proven success and so is Sony Ericsson. Convergence with the two arms working together is definitely plausible." How Ryan was misquoted or mistranslated is unclear. [Via Engadget]
Sony exec flirts with PlayStation phone ... again
Has it been a year already? The rumors that Sony Computer Entertainment – the PlayStation folks to you or I – and Sony Ericsson – those are the cellphone folks – are teaming up to make a PlayStation phone are just as "seductive" today as they were back then. This time, it's SCE co-chief operating officer Jim Ryan giving India's Economic Times the following rather noncomittal tease: "The PlayStation is a proven success and so is Sony Ericsson. Convergence with the two arms working together is definitely plausible."We would say it's as plausible now as it was last year when they first teased it ... or in June when Sony Ericsson filed for that PSP-esque gaming phone patent ... or in August when Sony Ericsson said they were "obviously" looking at a PlayStation-branded phone (just not this one). Regardless of how "seductive" the premise is to Sony, Ryan told the Times "it could be a while before a commercial launch of such a device happens... ." So, we'll see you same time next year then, PSP phone rumors?[Via Engadget]
