Belthazar
Member
He got his master's degree in 1982 according to google, so he must be at least 60-something.
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PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is retiring March 2024
- Thread starter DForce
- Start date
HeisenbergFX4
Gold Member
Topher
Gold Member
30 years. Mid-50s. Worth north of 250 million. The product he is responsible for is pony-whipping the competition. I wonder if he is going out on top, after a long successful career or if he got fired because "reasons".
Really? He's just a year older than David Jaffe. Hell.....just a year older than me. Is that accurate?
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Luigi Mario
Member
While I agree that Yoshida would be one of the better choices, you have to remember that he was a notorious studio killer during his tenure as president of Worldwide Studios and he fumbled important partnerships with developers like Ready at Dawn or Sumo Digital.If I had a choice...
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FF:Enhanced_Reality
Member
I think he's been given his marching orders. PlayStation's communication under Jim has been very poor and quite honestly the future of PlayStation isn't looking great right now. We have an idea of some immediate plans, but there's so much more unknown it's a little disappointing. I think Jim also handled the ABK situation very poorly and these live service games look like fucking trash. I think he's sold the heads of Sony corp a vision that no longer makes sense. Allowing him to leave gracefully is best for everyone. If he has been sacked, whether pushed or outright, I don't think Sony want it known. If that was the case it would not look very good given how much of a boost in mind share that Microsoft have as Sony's biggest competitor.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Wow. Jim throwing in the towel.
He sold them console sales and record profits. All of what you wrote is pure fanfic.
Reckheim
Member
agh yes, Sony letting a guy announce his retirement 6 months before he actually leaves definitely seems like he got fired.
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ulantan
Member
...what was he supposed to do about abk he got the deal extended by 7 years and started working on competing products?
Badlucktroll
Member
Jim is a great businessman, it won't be easy for Sony to find a replacement with the same business competence and intimate knowledge of Playstation. Actually there just isn't a figure with both qualities.
And that's why the Sony's CFO himself will take the role ad Interim, basically the number two person in the whole group.
But at his age, after thirty years of work and a job that required traveling from NA to UK constantly as he said the PR, the moment was a matter of when.
I doubt that the business strategies laid out internally will see particular changes, those things take years to be changed and given the success they're having there is no reason to change.
Maybe the new CEO will like to do conferences and interviews every week and some fans will now be happy at the marketing level
And that's why the Sony's CFO himself will take the role ad Interim, basically the number two person in the whole group.
But at his age, after thirty years of work and a job that required traveling from NA to UK constantly as he said the PR, the moment was a matter of when.
I doubt that the business strategies laid out internally will see particular changes, those things take years to be changed and given the success they're having there is no reason to change.
Maybe the new CEO will like to do conferences and interviews every week and some fans will now be happy at the marketing level
fart town usa
Gold Member
That's what I'm saying.
So many dumb takes in this thread. I'm critical of Jim Ryan but only because they've been too successful with various IPs that I have no interest in. The man has been an excellent CEO. Me being glad he's gone is 100% selfishness on my part.
Thirty7ven
Banned
You just know they are going to replace him with some douchebag who is all about mobile gaming.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Topher
Gold Member
Yeah, gotta be 60+. Otherwise he would have earned his master's at age 14.
ulantan
Member
He was just that good
Topher
Gold Member
TheDarkPhantom
Member
Big news, a new PlayStation era begins. Lord Jimmy was reading all the GAF hate and it finally got all too much for him 
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Even worse would be the CFO doing the role permanently. Unless a finance person has sales side experience (ie. not a bean counting accountant), finance people as a whole are the worst for business strategy from what I've ever seen in meetings. Most are very black and white just looking at the dollars and ratios with poor sense in strategy. The majority of them dont even know or understand the products. They dont view company products as 12 different size cases of coke and pepsi aimed at different stores. They view it SAP code 123272743, code 020137576, code 14679456. Code 5937625374 is the most profitable product at the company so every sales person should sell that one as much as possible.
The sales and marketing leaders are way more in tune with customers and products.
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Fake
Member
People acting like Jim was some sort of savior to the Playstation. Forgeting what PS4 era was somehow.
If all you people care about are sales and profit, I not gonna deny, Jim is your man.
Hope the next ceo promove new IPs, japanese games, japanese devs and less CoD/FIFA/GAAS.
If all you people care about are sales and profit, I not gonna deny, Jim is your man.
Hope the next ceo promove new IPs, japanese games, japanese devs and less CoD/FIFA/GAAS.
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ReBurn
Gold Member
A regular Doogie HowserDamn child prodigy, that one.
Neon Xenon
Member
Yup. As much as people (understandably) want to celebrate Jim Ryan's departure, I'm not convinced that things at Sony are going to change all that much with whoever replaces him. This is cynical, but I see a case of "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" happening.
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xBlueStonex
Member
He couldn’t handle the heat Xbox has been bringing. I’m not surprised.
Topher
Gold Member
![[Sigma]](/data/avatars/m/701/701747.jpg?1685439978){kind=avatar}
[Sigma]
Member
I agree with the first sentence at least. PlayStation was already train at that point moving full speed ahead thanks to the work of the leaderships before. He just needed to not wreck it. He did make some moves though so I'll give him some credit. But imo, PlayStation has become far too greedy under him because of his mentality. It's not about need, it's about greed. And under him and Hermen, PlayStation has become it's worst creative wise imo despite turnout games at the beginning of the this gen. I only wish he could take Hermen with him.
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Vol5
Member
Interesting wording around reconciling his personal life vs. his work life. Generally you get those types of comments when the business you work for make you redundant with "Your job is available, but only if you are present in [insert country]". It's a way of moving people out, but giving them the choice. Then again I don't see how you could even dream of working remotely when you are the man to greenlight +$100 million video games. You would have to be present almost always and have those face to face meetings and see the product.
Having been at Sony for 30+ years I think it's amazing he was given the opportunity to lead Playstation, but I'm not a huge fan of his vision truth be told.
Having been at Sony for 30+ years I think it's amazing he was given the opportunity to lead Playstation, but I'm not a huge fan of his vision truth be told.
ReBurn
Gold Member
I can see itI mean......
tmlDan
Member
So your hope for the future is less money, smaller dev teams (cutbacks due to less COD/Fifa and more Japanese devs) and potential bankruptcy cause MS is gonna buy up the industry? cool.
ReBurn
Gold Member
Jobs like his are jobs that consume your life. You don't clock out at 5 and turn it off until 9 the next day. It's always being available pretty much all the time. That kind of language is him making work redundant.
Astray
Member
Weird to see speculation that he got fired. Fired CEOs don't spend 6 more months at the company, they get out immediately, even if the company keeps paying them to contract end.
That's at least 3-4 timezones on its own, nevermind other regions of the world he has to fly to occasionally.
His bosses are in Japan, his family is in Europe and his most important supervision work is in the US.
That's at least 3-4 timezones on its own, nevermind other regions of the world he has to fly to occasionally.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Member
This.
You ain't wrong; that's exactly what he's doing
Big ups Bryank.
I got caught up in the surprise announcement hype, ngl.
It's not just about console sales though; MS have shown they're willing to over-pay to just...completely own the company altogether. Alleviate shareholders and BoD of the "stress" of needing to generate their own revenue and profits anymore, because that becomes Microsoft's issue going forward. And if ABK, who were one of Sony's strongest 3P partners by far, was willing to cave in, what makes these other publishers invulnerable to doing the same?
MS are like a vulture; they will wait until a target starts showing signs of bleeding out, then dying, before swooping in to claim them for their own. They can, literally, wait it out for ages in that case. That's what makes them a problem. Like I've heard Capcom's statements, but you never know if 10, or even 5, years from now their fiscal situation takes a horrid turn. And guess who'll be right there offering a buyout?
Yeah, you guessed it. Mascot Spencer™.
Thirty7ven
Banned
Guys kidding aside its most likely health reasons.
STARSBarry
Gold Member
Can he take his PSN price increase with him please.
Hawking Radiation
Member
King Dazzar
Member
ABK's Bobby Cocktit might be in the job market soon.... lol
0neAnd0nly
Member
Thank goodness.
Thirty7ven
Banned
They won’t put an outsider in charge of PlayStation. And he would be really bad news for PlayStation fans.
Lokaum D+
Member
A brief history of Playstation brand first, Playstation was released September '95 in Europe, Playstation 2 was released in '00 and Playstaion 3 in '06. Jim Ryam actually joined Sony in '94, but it wasn't until 2011 that he began serving as vice president and later became president of SIEE.
All that said are you telling me that from '94 until '11 Sony was unable to consolidate itself as a giant in Europe and it was only when Jim joined that he managed to transform the Playstation brand into the Europe market leader?
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64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
lolJesus Christ
feel like im on a roll with the jokes and memes today. Ryan retiring must have awoken something in me
Punished Miku
Member
"Fire Phil Spencer."
Everyone always knew a lot of you guys didnt expect a replacement to actually be better. Not even trying to argue. Anytime a new CEO comes in what you said is the most likely outcome.
tmlDan
Member
Ryan began working for Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe (SIEE) in 1994, the year before the first PlayStation console launched. In his first year at the job, Ryan helped establish Sony's presence in Europe by finding offices and hiring staff.
You can google this stuff.
I'd say even at the beginning he had a large part to play in that
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Unless he leaves before Jim, it's incredible Phil Spencer outlasted him.