Sony gaming chief Jim Ryan to retire, group president to be interim head
By Sam Nussey
TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony Group said on Thursday its gaming chief Jim Ryan would retire next March, with group President Hiroki Totoki to become interim CEO during the search for a successor.
Ryan, who is British, become CEO of Sony (NYSE:SONY) Interactive Entertainment (SIE) in 2019 and oversaw initiatives including the launch of the PlayStation 5 console the following year.
«Jim no longer wants to manage the tradeoff between having a job in the U.S. and a home in the UK,» SIE said in a statement.
«He has been an inspirational leader, guiding SIE though the global COVID pandemic while leading the launch of PlayStation 5 and making it PlayStation's most successful platform.»
Totoki would serve as interim CEO for a year at most and it is possible a successor could be appointed by the time Ryan retires, a Sony spokesperson said.
Sony expects to sell a record 25 million PlayStation 5 consoles this financial year following the easing of supply chain snarls but in August said it was resorting to promotions to help momentum due to weaker-than-expected sales.
Ryan's successor faces challenges, including driving a push outside Sony's traditional focus on single-player console games with more titles on PC and smartphone and a ramp-up in live service games, which offer continuous, updated play.
Longer term, the gaming unit, a major profit contributor at the Japanese conglomerate, must navigate an industry in flux as advances in smartphones and cloud technology raise doubts about the need for stand-alone consoles with games that can cost $70 each.
Milestones during Ryan's tenure included acquisitions of studios such as «Destiny» developer, Bungie, to maintain an edge over Xbox maker Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and the
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