He was forced to retire due to the handling of the PS3 launch but his contribution was hard to dismiss so his was giving Honorary Chairman but had no power.
it was sugar coated but the whole industry knew he was fired and forced to step down.
Ken was replaced with immediate effect.
I was hoping for an answer that wasn't a version of "Kutaragi got fired".
PS3's launch/losses had nothing to do with Ken leaving.
Before starting work on PS1, he drew a roadmap that ended at PS3. He's on record a couple years prior to PS3's launch saying
"my first dream was to retire when I was 50". He was 56 when PS3 shipped. Prior to PS3 shipping, he told one of his so-called bosses (
Shigeo Maruyama, 'STOPPING AT THREE')
"[PlayStation 4] is not my responsibility."
Those aren't the words of a man "fired and forced to step down" or "replaced with immediate effect". Those are the words of a man headed for the exit under his own self-determination. The industry's "kUtArAgI WaS OuStEd" narrative is a crock of crap.
Another factor in Ken leaving was that he had other ideas he wanted to explore, some of which were beyond SCE's capacity. Kaz Hirai touched on this and Ken's honorary chairmanship when
he was asked about speculation around Ken's departure.
His honorary chairmanship wasn't some disingenuous public pat on the back. It was an advisory role given out of respect and continuity of purpose for PS3 and PSN. Kutaragi didn't need to hold executive power as Honorary Chairman to effectuate his aims. Holding
one ear in the boardroom and
one ear in the lab is power enough.
Jim Ryan deserves a cookie; but no matter how the pie gets sliced, it's essentially Kutaragi's pie. Ryan (like every CEO after Kutaragi) found his success in a product that was built on the tried-and-true principals of Kutaragi's initial hardware approach (i.e.,
"The objective was a high-performance, low-price videogame system which also had a design which was easy to write games for."), and in a platform vision/group strategy that Kutaragi conjured up and led with:
Ken Kutaragi (Hot Chips 1999: New Millennium for Computer Entertainment)
⦁ Our vision:
music, movie, computer entertainment oval
Jim Ryan (Sony IR Day 2023)
⦁ Where we intend to meet our users:
music, movie, computer entertainment oval
Ken Kutaragi (2003 Transformation 60 Corporate Strategy Meeting)
⦁
Intercompany collaboration to accelerate
'21st century entertainment experience'
Jim Ryan (Sony IR Day 2022)
⦁ Transformative
Sony Group collaboration to 'amplify IP synergies'
CEO percentages aren't important. What's important is that Ryan successfully managed the business and brought SIE closer to achieving Kutaragi's entertainment/network services end goal (i.e., Services 3.0)...
'With a network future in mind, Kutaragi is rapidly making deals he hopes will create the infrastructure for a high-speed broadband network to handle
games and other services for PlayStation. His goal is to establish the PlayStation as a separate brand, not part of a dedicated Sony network
for the online distribution of music, movies, and TV shows'. --
Bloomberg
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Kutaragi's vision for the broadband future is that it will make current excitement about the console wars, and who has what must-have game, irrelevant.
"In the future, broadband will connect all appliances - console, TV, phone, PC, everything. Then exclusivity means nothing." --
Ken Kutaragi
Oh, and one last thing about that pie chart. Tokunaka had the title of CEO, but Kutaragi handled the
Execution...
"There was a meeting with only maybe eight people in it. No other executives. It was just Kutaragi’s team pitching Ohga. Ohga was personally interested in the project. And after Ohga saw the whole presentation, he just said, “Go for it. Do it. This is a project that Sony needs to be in.” He just decided it by himself. No other executives voted, only Ohga. Ohga said “do it” and that became a legendary story. Ken’s career went from almost zero [to essentially running Sony Computer Entertainment]." --
Shuji Utsumi
"As well as being an engineer, I have been involved in the business side of things for many years. I helped start the company, and I have always been involved in business decisions". --
Ken Kutaragi
'Unlike most game consoles at the time, the PlayStation instantly became a showcase for 3D graphics. And unlike most engineers,
Kutaragi had overseen nearly every aspect of the managerial and business deals that brought it together'. --
Polygon