Ken Kutaragi to leave SCEI

[one]

According to this article by Masakazu Honda, Kutaragi revealed his resignation at a regular board meeting at SCE on April 26, 4:00 PM where Stringer and Chubachi attended too. One SCE insider says only Stringer and Chubachi knew it in advance and no one at SCE including Hirai were not informed about it.

http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2007/0427/mobile374.htm

 

[Platon]

Ken had what everyone else is lacking, visions. And he had a drive and will to push those visions and i´m sure he pushed everyone around him hard as well. His competitors have him to thank for the giant Console market that everyone wants a peice of.

And please guys, drop the BR makes the PS3 cost 200 dollars more. We have been around that topic for endless times, anyone claiming that it´s the reason the PS3 is 200$ above a 360 is stupid, surely it must be clear that there is more to the 200 dollars than just a BR drive, 60GB HD,HDMI,WiFi,RSX,CELL,Cooling, INTERNAL PSU,Memeroy Card Reader,Free Access to Playstation Network and of course the Silver Chrome look

I don't think that having a vision is difficult or that others lack it, it is the having a vision and selling that is the difficult thing. I can envision several configurations for a home console, all superior to KKs, however they would make PS3price look really cheap. I think KK went a bit too far, he wanted it all in the console and for a market were the $300 price, well ultimately <$200, is king, you just can't have that.

Maybe the BR is not responsible for the whole rpice difference, and I would not be surpized if Sony, is actually nor loosing on each as much as MS does, or did during launch, as they say that they should be breaking even this fall, however BR is quite indicative of where the PS3 project went wrong and the whole "more, more" mentality of the project. However, I am uncertain whether the BR was at all KKs idea in the first place...

 

[Titanio]

This reuters article has a little commentary from SCE on the news, and what Kutaragi might do next:

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUST14243620070427

Kutaragi said in a statement that he had been considering his decision for some time. SCE said his departure had nothing to do with the slow debut of the PS3.

"Since the early days of the business, his contribution over more than 10 years is beyond any word. No one can compare that with our business over the past few months," SCE spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka said.

...

SCE spokesman Fukuoka said Kutaragi will likely be tackling new challenges in fields that are related to the PS3 or the Cell microchip, which drives that new game console and is dubbed "supercomputer on a chip."

 

[-tkf-]

I don't think that having a vision is difficult or that others lack it, it is the having a vision and selling that is the difficult thing. I can envision several configurations for a home console, all superior to KKs, however they would make PS3price look really cheap. I think KK went a bit too far, he wanted it all in the console and for a market were the $300 price, well ultimately <$200, is king, you just can't have that.

Maybe the BR is not responsible for the whole rpice difference, and I would not be surpized if Sony, is actually nor loosing on each as much as MS does, or did during launch, as they say that they should be breaking even this fall, however BR is quite indicative of where the PS3 project went wrong and the whole "more, more" mentality of the project. However, I am uncertain whether the BR was at all KKs idea in the first place...

I have had this sneaky idea that the PS3 was never meant to be as expensive as it turned out to be at launch. But when Sony saw where it was heading with the few expensive BR drives they had and the Software Emu not ready they made a plan to reduce the loses and sell fewer but expensive consoles until the cost was under control. A $400 PS3 may sound like a fable but i think we will see it before anyone would believe is possible.

 

[TheChefO]

He did perfectly well with the PS1, he did really fine with the PS2, he did OK the PSP (should have been cheaper and marketed another way) and he did wrong with the PS3 (Many reasons, but the main one only suffice to explain it all: too pricey to produce).

I disagree. I think he did a great job.

Others have mentioned BR is not the reason the console is more expensive and while it is true that it isn't the only reason, it is the driving reason. Without BR, the ps3 could have been without a HDD. It also wouldn't need HDMI. These features are useful to some of the demographic, but not all.

A PS3 without the BR, HDD, HDMI, card readers, WIFI, etc would cost significantly less and perform just as well for games. I think they would have been able to get away with a $350 pricepoint with such a configuration.

I think the standard BR mandate came from another source within the company looking to push their agenda into PS3. I don't have evidence other than the fact KK could have used this extra budget on Silicone if he were truly targeting a significantly higher pricepoint. Simple variation of double memory for example which would have shown up in games right of the bat. Two RSX chips instead of one. Two Cells instead of one. etc.

The rest of the PS3 guts were ready to go at about the same time xb360 hit market. This would have not only enabled a cheaper box but a significantly different market dynamic than launching a year later.

The only realm I would say KK "failed" is by not recognizing that his creation (Cell) would take a bit of time to come to grips with and making up for this with a superior SDK.

FTR- KK didn't fail Sony, Sony failed KK.

 

[Nesh]

I have had this sneaky idea that the PS3 was never meant to be as expensive as it turned out to be at launch. But when Sony saw where it was heading with the few expensive BR drives they had and the Software Emu not ready they made a plan to reduce the loses and sell fewer but expensive consoles until the cost was under control. A $400 PS3 may sound like a fable but i think we will see it before anyone would believe is possible.

If thats their strategy I think they did a very bad decision. The userbase is the most important ingredient to ensure that a console will continue to do well.
They would be sacrificing developer support + future support for short term reduction of losses. Which is basically sacrificing possible future profits for short term reduction of losses

 

[Carl B]

Anyway, to be somewhat "fair" to the man, some sources close to SCEI say that Kutaragi initial plan for the PS3 was to sell the console at a "low price" no matter what, but the appointment of Stringer as head honcho and others internal change at Sony Corp. made Kutaragi plans irrelevant.

See that's just it though, I personally feel that if KK had been in charge of the whole thing (Sony corp) a lot of the issues with PS3 would have gone differently. First of all, KK was a known advocate of a single high-def standard, and likely would have smacked the BD developers around a little more than Stringer did to reach a compromise with Toshiba; I mean that was like a full year they were in talks for, obviously everyone wanted to stem the war. And speaking of Toshiba, he has a lot of relationships and respect from a lot of their own engineering staff, so likely they also would have given a bit of ground. Diodes would have been a problem either way, but he may have shoehorned the replication effort with vast equipment expansion just as Sony finally ended up doing leading up to PS3's launch.

And, of course I'd certainly love to see how the Cell-everywhere strategy would have played out (just on a personal level).

He's also the man that was responsible for Sony's sharp turn towards LCD technology and internal capacity roll-out due to the fabs he founded with Samsung; a decision that his successors in electronics continue to receive the credit for.

I don't know, what can I say? I'm just a KK fan at heart...

BUT, that doesn't mean I have a bad feeling about Kaz as head honcho - I think he'll be fine/good/great. I'm just here (or any gaming forum) in the first place because of the novel tech y'know? No KK means less novel tech.

 

[Titanio]

I disagree. I think he did a great job.

Others have mentioned BR is not the reason the console is more expensive and while it is true that it isn't the only reason, it is the driving reason. Without BR, the ps3 could have been without a HDD. It also wouldn't need HDMI. These features are useful to some of the demographic, but not all.

With regard to the HDD, I'm not sure what the link is to BR there, but even if there is one, I think they'd have included the HDD anyway.

A PS3 without the BR, HDD, HDMI, card readers, WIFI, etc would cost significantly less and perform just as well for games.

Yes and no. The HDD in every box affords them freedoms with their digital distribution strategy that has an impact on the games landscape of the console more generally. But even just in terms of technical games performance, it's clearly a debateable point. Whether they're worth the extent of the extra cost they incur, paricularly in BD's case, is another matter again. But we probably won't get clear visibility on that for quite some time. (Anyway, that kind of debate is probably best left outside of this thread).

The rest of the PS3 guts were ready to go at about the same time xb360 hit market. This would have not only enabled a cheaper box but a significantly different market dynamic than launching a year later.

Even if BD hadn't been in the system, for example, I still don't think they'd have been ready to go in Spring 06 even simply looking at the state of the software at that time, from the OS through to the games. Ultimately the BD drive gave them a more tangible scapegoat to point to, but I sincerely don't think other parts of the puzzle were in place either. However, the BD drive could perhaps be more directly blamed for the European delay (though it was just a few months).

 

[TheChefO]

With regard to the HDD, I'm not sure what the link is to BR there, but even if there is one, I think they'd have included the HDD anyway.

Load times.
With a fast (cheap) dvdrom, they wouldn't need the HDD to cache and help reduce load times.

Yes and no. The HDD in every box affords them freedoms with their digital distribution strategy that has an impact on the games landscape of the console more generally. But even just in terms of technical games performance, it's clearly a debateable point. Whether they're worth the extent of the extra cost they incur, paricularly in BD's case, is another matter again. But we probably won't get clear visibility on that for quite some time. (Anyway, that kind of debate is probably best left outside of this thread).

Agreed. These features are beneficial, but not to every user and not for every game.

Even if BD hadn't been in the system, for example, I still don't think they'd have been ready to go in Spring 06 even simply looking at the state of the software at that time, from the OS through to the games. Ultimately the BD drive gave them a more tangible scapegoat to point to, but I sincerely don't think other parts of the puzzle were in place either. However, the BD drive could perhaps be more directly blamed for the European delay (though it was just a few months).

Agreed. However, their timetables may have been dictated at that point by technologies that were mandated, but were not essential for the ps3 experience. Had these not been mandated, the launch timetable may have been different. Also don't forget the ps2 launch in Japan wasn't exactly brimming with software. A repeat could have sufficed. Dev support would have also been stronger knowing the timetable was more aggressive as well as the pricing.

Sorry if any of this is offtopic.
I just think it's a shame that KK seems to be getting the shaft when his portion of the design was on-time and seemingly on budget (sans BR, HDD, etc).

 

[patsu]

It's still too early to judge PS3's performance. No one on the fora knows what the PS3 (Blu-ray) BOM cost is too. Personally I like PS3 the way it is (but Sony needs to polish its system software from usability and consistency perspective). Hope they can surprise us with new content and lower price soon.

SCE spokesman Fukuoka said Kutaragi will likely be tackling new challenges in fields that are related to the PS3 or the Cell microchip, which drives that new game console and is dubbed "supercomputer on a chip."

If Kutaragi wants to work on PS3/Cell related fields for non-games, I know an outfit that would gladly have him as an advisor. They have been trying to reach out to Sony Asia but making slow progress (Working up the chain). Me thinks he probably prefers golfing with his wife these days


Stringer should consolidate Sony's consumer network efforts. Services such as EyeVio and Bravia Internet Video Link fragment Sony's effort internally and externally. From the look of it, they don't seem to understand the importance of critical mass and grassroot network growth. EyeVio looks like a company website and much of its content look like coorperate videos. Bravia IVL is so niche that it will not make any difference.

Might as well save the money... or focus/consolidate them into Grouper. It will be accessible from Playstation Home and other devices anyway. There are also people doing content filtering as we speak.

 

[ManuVlad3.0]

Isn't Kutaragi-san the Cellius' CEO?

Edit: Nevermind.

the CEO is from Bandai and Kutaragi is just one of 3 non-executive directors.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Eurogamer have posted a 4 page tribute. I think the summary most apt.

The sad part of this tale is that Kutaragi will almost certainly be remembered more for his Crazy Ken moments than for the immense, lasting impact which he had on the videogames industry. He risked his career time and time again to pursue his belief that Sony should enter this industry, and was willing to put his own neck on the line in pursuit of a dream - perhaps not the dream of mass-market gaming, but at the very least, the dream which ultimately led to mass market gaming being a reality.
Kutaragi is not only the Father of PlayStation, but the father of modern console gaming. His fall from grace has been rapid, shocking, and yet almost entirely of his own making; an engineer at heart, he was ill-equipped to deal with the executive world which he tried to conquer. However, his contribution to this industry, and this medium, is undeniable...

As for his replacement as the tillerman of PlayStation, is there anything in Hirai's past that can suggest what he'll do? Has he shown a maverick hardware tendency, or super-cautious reserve? Does he value software and services over cutting-edge hardware?

 

[Natoma]

Here come the CNN vultures: http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/27/mag...aystation.biz2/index.htm?section=money_latest

There are a number of lessons we can glean from this -- not just for the future of videogame consoles, but the future of consumer electronics. Decades from now, PS3 vs. Wii will be remembered as a cautionary business tale: how pride, politics, and an overabundance of technology can blind you to the simple truth of what consumers want.

Kuturagi chose to pack the PS3 with as powerful a technological punch as possible. It contains a 60 GB hard drive, a state-of-the-art graphics chip, and the ultimate electronic brain, the Cell processor. Developed by Sony (Charts), Toshiba and IBM (Charts, Fortune 500), the Cell is an amazing beast that can do seven tasks at the same time.

It also helped drive up the cost of the PS3 to $600, a record price for a console, and put Kuturagi's division in the red to the tune of $1.7 billion. The Wii cost just $150.

For all that innovation in the PS3, one thing didn't change: the controller, that handheld mess of buttons so confusing to non-gamers. Sure, Kuturagi made it work wirelessly, which has no doubt saved the world from a few broken ankles and smashed glasses, but the controller itself looks identical to the one found on the PS2.

Why change something that is already installed in 200 million homes worldwide? Answer: because there are more people in those homes that don't play games, and hundreds of millions more homes to win over.

Nintendo's answer to Ken Kuturagi -- Mario Bros. creator and games world legend Shigeru Miyamoto -- knew this better than most. That's why he designed a revolutionary controller that is sensitive to motion, not button-mashing. Everyone knows how to swing a golf club or a boxing glove in a Wii game. You just swing the controller.

Over at Sony, Kuturagi was too busy thinking about how to push the company's other technologies. The PS3 was to create a vast installed base for Blu-Ray DVD, one of the rival formats in the ongoing high-definition DVD wars. All well and good if you're thinking about buying a PS3 as a DVD player, but gamers complained that the speed of the Blu-Ray drive was too slow when doing what drives in consoles are supposed to do: load games.

Indeed, the PS3 may be the chrome-trimmed headstone on the grave of convergence. It has been a long-held, oft-stated dream of both Sony and Microsoft (Charts, Fortune 500), creator of the Xbox and the Xbox 360, that videogame consoles are little Trojan horses.

You buy them for the games, but once inside your home, they take over your life. They become the brains of your TV, your entertainment center, even your main communications device with IP telephony and chat functions. They converge all your technological needs in one box. (Microsoft, at least, didn't assume that we would only want to use its technology in this converged device; it allowed you to plug in your iPod to the Xbox 360.)

Nintendo took a different tack. When you buy a videogame console, the company says, you want to play games. Period. A console is not a Swiss Army knife. It makes sense to squeeze more functionality into your cell phone because you carry that device around everywhere. When it comes to the interactive fun box in your living room, however, it makes sense to simply make that more fun. If you want a DVD player, you'll buy a DVD player.

The Wii may not be the most powerful console ever built, but it is the smallest and lightest. Its chip is not faster than Sony's cell, but it does use less electricity. In short, it looks more like the future.

As Ken Kuturagi moves into the next phase of his career at Sony, as the company's senior technology adviser, he would do well to play a few games on the Wii, and consider how the lessons of this device can help drag Sony away from an even greater defeat.

Rather harsh toward the end if you ask me. Almost vindictive and spiteful in tone. Frankly if it weren't for Sony, there'd be no Xbox or Xbox 360. We probably would've remained on cartridges far longer, and many of the games that were designed for the PS and Xbox woudl have been relegated to the PC only, and not enjoyed nearly the mass market success they did. GTA for example.

For all their faults, Sony, and Kuturagi by extension, helped expand the gaming market. Anyone who's a fan of gaming should recognize his accomplishments and give the guy praise for his entire body of work.

I just hope he doesn't end up like Gunpei Yokoi after the Virtual Boy debacle.

 

[Gradthrawn]

Here come the CNN vultures: http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/27/mag...aystation.biz2/index.htm?section=money_latest

Rather harsh toward the end if you ask me. Almost vindictive and spiteful in tone. Frankly if it weren't for Sony, there'd be no Xbox or Xbox 360. We probably would've remained on cartridges far longer, and many of the games that were designed for the PS and Xbox woudl have been relegated to the PC only, and not enjoyed nearly the mass market success they did. GTA for example.

For all their faults, Sony, and Kuturagi by extension, helped expand the gaming market. Anyone who's a fan of gaming should recognize his accomplishments and give the guy praise for his entire body of work.

I just hope he doesn't end up like Gunpei Yokoi after the Virtual Boy debacle.

$100 price drop for the Wii! CNN Breaking News!

It also helped drive up the cost of the PS3 to $600, a record price for a console, and put Kuturagi's division in the red to the tune of $1.7 billion. The Wii cost just $150.

EDIT

I had to triple check that article, to make sure it wasn't a reader submission on some CNN blog. Good googely, who did the fact checking for this guy? Who did he use for sources? And he's a senior writer?

 

[dobwal]

I don't know if anyone can blame KK for the current situation of the PS3. We don't know if he had final say so on the components or technology incorporated into the PS3 that ultimately led to its high cost and late delivery to the market.

However, he contributed to the perceived disconnect between Sony and gaming consumers. "We don't care" and many other similar as well as dismissive statements in response to the PS3 competitors don't sit well when at least one competitor is currently outcompeting Sony in every market. He lost face definitely but also instilled doubt in him in not only consumers but within Sony's ranks as well.

 

[DUALDISASTER]

"Here's what's on SCE's plate at this very moment: three product lines that must be managed over the next five to six years (PS2, PSP and PS3); two more product lines that are almost certainly already in the planning stages (PS4 and PSP2); an online service, an online store, operating systems and system updates for each of the post-PS2 machines; and one of the world's largest game studio operations. Given that workload, Sony desperately needed to free Ken up to do the vision thing":smile: http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/default.asp?item=375725

The more i look at quotes like "Honorary Chairman of SCEI." and "With his deep and instinctive insight into future technology, Mr. Kutaragi will also continue to support Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation, as senior technology advisor" i think to myself what the hell does this mean? What power does he have now? Senior tech advisor? Maybe it's a way to check him...at any rate nice report.

 

[-tkf-]

Load times.
With a fast (cheap) dvdrom, they wouldn't need the HDD to cache and help reduce load times.

How fast? XBOX 360 fast? 16xspeed? 24xspeed? how about access times? Dual Layer penalties? This http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=2224&p=9 is a nice example of just how slow DVD technology is, the 16xspeed drive averages at 9.3, barely faster than a Blu-Ray drive.

And one thing, Little Big Planet, without a HD impossible.

 

[patsu]

CNN article...

Hmm... I disagree with the article. Besides the wrong Wii price...

The Wii may not be the most powerful console ever built, but it is the smallest and lightest. Its chip is not faster than Sony's cell, but it does use less electricity. In short, it looks more like the future.

It's like saying GameCube looks like the future since it uses less electricity, has smallest footprint and is lightest. Wii is successful for a totally different set of reasons and the article just barely addresses them (Simplicity, fun -- relevant to everyone and price point).

Convergence devices are hard to do because of high price point and confusing message. Both issues can be addressed over next few months and years... as long as the right software and experiences are delivered; like how PC became everyday tool even for lay-person after Internet took off.

The war is still young. I don't think Wii's success naturally spell disaester for MS's and PS3's formulae. It certainly puts pressure on both camps, but I have faith in the developers (like Media Molecule). I will not be surprised if Wii's halo effect got people interested in PS3 and Xbox 360 also over the next few years.

This is why I said MS and Sony are lucky to have Nintendo as their competitor.

 

[DUALDISASTER]

...

So what can/can't he do? Can he control developments of PS4?

 

[patsu]

??? What do you mean ?

If I were to hazard a guess, I would say he cannot:
* Skip meals
* Sleep too late
* Miss family appointments
... by order of his wife and daughter.

He can:
* Golf
* Relax under the Sun
* Visit old friends in Square-Enix, Polyphony, ...
* Watch Blu-ray movies, play games on all 3 platforms; and ponder about his next big thing.
Somehow, I don't think he can stay out of action unless inhibited by medical conditions

Throughout his PS3 move [so far], I do not think he's totally wrong in hardware innovation (even including Blu-ray). It could be more damaging in the long run if they compete only based on software and network services with Microsoft.

I also don't think Nintendo and Microsoft are done yet... (neither is Sony).

For now, the Sony camp has a few hardware differentiators, a Game 3.0 vision and a unifying Playstation Home platform. It's up to Kaz and company to exploit them further (or sideline them). What they sorely lack is proper brand management and PR at this moment.