He’s best known for a wonky camera and a few greatly exaggerated quotes about backwards compatibility, but PlayStation Europe veteran Jim Ryan is the new President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, effective from 1st April. In response to the “relentlessly fast-moving” video game market, incumbent gaffer John Kodera has decided to step down from his current role to Representative Director and Deputy President – but there’s a bit more to the management restructuring than that.
Effectively, Kodera – who was always billed as a network maestro – will focus his efforts on the PlayStation Network, while Ryan will commandeer the rest of the business. Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida explained: “I believe that this new structure – where Jim will manage SIE's overall organisation and operations, and which will allow John to focus on the key mission to further develop PSN that has now grown into an immensely large platform with over 90 million monthly active users worldwide – will enable SIE to accelerate its innovation and evolution even further.”
This is quite a selfless move from Kodera, who clearly feels that his focus will be better dedicated to the services side of the business. “As a result, we have concluded that the best direction is for Jim to take the helm of the overall management of SIE, and for me to spearhead the network area to continue creating innovative services and experiences, where competition continues to intensify with many new players joining the business,” he explained. “Jim has extensive knowledge around the game business and industry, as well as deep understanding of the PlayStation culture and strengths.”
As for Ryan, while he’s not the most popular personality among core gamers for some off-the-cuff comments in the past, he’s been with PlayStation since 1994, and is one of the people responsible for the brand’s utter dominance across Europe. “Working with John and the SIE team around the world, I am committed to strengthening relations with our business partners, and to continuing to provide the ultimate interactive entertainment experiences that make PlayStation the best place to play,” he beamed.
Our view? This makes a lot of sense, even if it is pretty crazy of Kodera to effectively demote himself in order to place his focus on an important part of the business. There’s absolutely no doubt that PSN is becoming something of a cash cow for Sony, and with competition intense then it needs a steady hand. Kodera was promoted to the top position because of his deep understanding of the networking stuff, so with Ryan taking command of the day-to-day tasks, he will now be able to focus on his area of expertise.
[source sony.net]
Comments (49)
Wow.
Oh bloody hell not this dork who cant speak without shoving his foot in his mouth and changing his story seven times per interview.
On the other hand, thank God Kodera stepped away to his comfort zone. His words about MTAs and the such were...concerning.
Everyone has their strengths. Best to play to them.
@Knuckles-Fajita Well they never do interviews anymore so he won't have a problem.
@get2sammyb That's very true.
Let's hope he stays largely behind the scenes because woo boy...he may be good at running a business but he aint good at that whole speaking and PR thing.
Which reminds me, they need to hire a new "Face" for the brand. Kodera went, and will go on, un-noticed, and Jim Ryan damn well better stay out of the spotlight for the most part.
Its well and good to let the games do the talking, but the games are only half a picture.
And cue the bad posting from people who only want to bring up the couple dumb comments he made about Cross-Play and BC.
Jim Ryan is why PlayStation is dominating everyone else in Europe. Not only that but his worldwide marketing is also a huge reason why PlayStation has been so successful. The guy knows his stuff and knows how to do his job. This isn't Don Mattrick who took a good thing and buried it with his bonehead ideas.
@PSfan4Life22 No, but this IS a man who can take a fan request and make a REALLY not PR friendly response to it.
Yes, he made some boneheaded comments.
The thing is he COULD have said things differently. Instead he was rather dismissive, and we simply cannot forget the interview at E3 2017 where he changed his excuse repeatedly and failed to toe a single line, leaving everyone very confused and quite frankly instead of displaying an adequate reason, his public fumbling only highlighted the lack of coherency on his part.
Yes he can run a business, yes he can do his job.
But that doesn't mean we can't hope that like Reggie Fils-Aime needs to stay largely behind the scenes for obvious PR reasons, this guy does too.
Should be interesting. The guy is kind of a jerk but he knows his stuff.
But no one can replace Andrew House.
Lol really?! The worst candidate got this position? There are better ones who could run this job than this short-thinking idiot.
Do you people actually know what required to be a CEO in this kind of job or are people just judging this based on a couple of interviews?
I guess with him on the top sony will dominate not only in europe and worldwide, but usa too
PlayStation dominates Europe, maybe Jim Ryan is one of the reasons for that. Good luck to him!
What is fascinating is, he is right. Or people are going to say they prefer to play GT (PS1) instead of GT Sport.
Man, I miss Andrew House....
Yes! No more censored Anime boobs!
Right?
RIGHT!?
@AdamNovice They think his entire 25 year career is defined by a comment about Gran Turismo 2! 🤣
@get2sammyb Which he's actually right about. I agree that B/C is a good thing but let's face it the vast majority of PS1 games don't hold up today in both graphics and mechanics. I tried playing the original Medievil last year and it's so unplayable for me now, so I'm glad it's been remade.
I miss Jack tretton. he was the best.word up son
@PSfan4Life22 As per community rules
Do not use profanity; Use of unsavoury language including profanity and swearing is not acceptable, please remember that this website has users of all ages.
So let's watch the language from here on out.
Thanks for understanding
I wonder how this will affect John Kodera saying he'd like to try in the portable market alongside the PS5 now that he left?
@Tasuki Apologies.
@Shaney John Kodera isn't leaving. He and JIm basically flipped jobs. John will continue to oversee the PlayStation Network and work to improve their services as that is what he feels he is best at.
@PSfan4Life22 So what John Kodera says is still going on, even the part about a Sony portable alongside PS5?
Sony is so arrogant, they keep bringing us amazing exclusive games, the nerve of this company.
Definitely would not have been my first choice.
Is there a reason for PS dominance in Europe? Like was there a specific time/strategy they used that got them there?
I didn’t realize there was such a strong presence there over the others.
I really liked John Kodera.
Jim Ryan is obviously a man that gets results, so this will be interesting... .
It's strange. Kodera really represented the 'new Sony' for me, whereas Jim Ryan is pretty much the symbol of the 'old Sony'. It seems strange to me to make such a switch now, while decisions considering the next-gen need to be made.
@Knuckles-Fajita
I prefer honest, straightforward responses. Saying what you think people want to hear is just PR BS.
The move makes complete sense. Very logical. I still don't understand what Shawn Layden does. He always seems to be the PS boss to me, at least regarding PR.
@get2sammyb
'they never do interviews anymore'
You just posted articles from SL interview yesterday. 🤔
@Shaney
Did he say that?
I believe a new portable in Japan makes sense and is obviously linked to keeping PSN competitive.
@JJ2 Well I found this video explaining what he could expect for Thai particular handheld but please take it with a grain of salt...
https://youtu.be/tyqOnLZOPtc
So much arguing, y'all need a dancing Knack gif:
What this effectively means is that Sony see their future in their network and online offerings which makes sense. Microsoft utterly dominate the cloud right now and are pivoting to offer Xbox as a service rather than just pure hardware. Sony needs to compete. Kodera looks like a stepdown but probably, they see that as the future and entertainment as ths eventual subsidery, particularly if you look at the age of the two.
I'd rather have seen Kevin Butler as CEO and he isn't even real or bring back Jack Tretton
@Octane dances with Knack
Fair play to you, Jim.
Congratualations Jim!
Now please don't screw up the PS5 launch, thanks!
Oh look the negative vibes are back and even a comment about arrogant Sony ofcourse...
If this guy is a big reason why Sony is king in Europe then why fear for our future? The guy is doing a great job no? And sure he said some stupid stuff,but guess what? That is what will happen if you want a big company to talk more.
@Rudy_Manchego ew I hope not.
(The cloud streaming thing)
But I'm not going to worry about the ps5 since they low-key confirmed that discs won't go anywhere until the ps6. And yesterday's article about Sony planning to offer traditional ways to play games even when streaming takes over.
This comment section is both trust and distrust.
Balanced, as all things should be.
@Stragen8 Smart continued investment and extremely hard work cementing the brand.
Should've known the diehards would love this. Absolutely awful news and he's the most backwards suit I've seen.
@jdv95 I wasn't thinking so much streaming, though you are right, that is going to be a big part but I think just the PS Network and store etc. I could see them mimicking MS a lot more and putting PS on other platforms.
@Rudy_Manchego putting PS on other platforms is the dumbest thing they can do.
They might as well start giving away exclusives.
MS does it because they need that extra reach.
Just let All things PS be exclusive on PS.
@IBeAGamer I should've known you wouldn't agree with the appointment. But then I suspect you don't have a clue what been CEO in a major company actually entails.
SPOILERS: More then a couple of interviews which you and others think is enough to judge the man on both his character or suitability for the job.
@AdamNovice nah, he's backwards mate.
What the hell is Jim Davidson doing running Sony!?!?!
he looks like a football trainer
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