A major management shakeup has taken place in Sony, and it directly involves their gaming business as well.
As Sony revealed in an official press release, Hiroki Totoki has been promoted to become the President and CEO of Sony Group, the parent company that oversees PlayStation, Columbia Pictures, Aniplex, and every other business under Sony.
For the last nine months, Totoki had been the Chairman of PlayStation. In this role, he was managing the gaming division in sync with Hideaki Nishino, who was CEO of the Platform Business Group, while Hermen Hulst was CEO of Studio Business Group.
Of course, now that Totoki heads the entire company, he has let go of that Chairmanship. Today Hideaki Nishino has risen up the ladder to be President and CEO of PlayStation. In this capacity, he remains CEO of the Platform Business Group. Hermen Hulst will still continue to be CEO of Studio Business Group. However, instead of going through Totoki, he now answers to Nishino.
Some fans seem to already be speculating that Hulst was demoted, due to speculation and negative perceptions that he had led several bad decisions regarding Sony’s games. While we don’t have enough information to confirm or debunk these notions, we should be on guard against making conclusions that only confirm our biases.
Among the things Hulst is blamed for is Concord, as rumors claimed that it was his decision for Sony to buy the game and its studio, Firewalk Studios. Subsequently, by association, some fans suspect Hulst has been using his position to increase the number of Horizon-related projects, and his direction also led to the production of other Sony projects some fans dislike, such as Fairgame$ and Intergalactic: The Heretic Project.
But lest we remind you, Naughty Dog has already shut down some of the speculation surrounding Intergalactic: The Heretic Project. This involved rumors from spurious sources. But as we pointed out, because it confirms what some gamers want to believe, many did jump to believing it instead of waiting or seeking out Sony’s response to the claims. Factually speaking, Hulst remains in the same driver’s seat position he has been in the last nine months.
It is true, as Zakkenkloot opined on Twitter, that PlayStation went through six CEOs in the span of a decade. Subsequently, while Phil Spencer has been head of Microsoft Gaming for that decade, the late Satoru Iwata was head of Nintendo for 13 years. Sony’s situation is unusual for game console companies, but it perhaps reflects the broader culture at Sony itself.
In any case, we congratulate Totoki and Nishino, and also Lin Tao, who is taking Totoki’s role as Sony CFO, and is the first woman Sony has given that position. In this incoming Lunar New Year, this can hopefully be an auspicious sign for PlayStation, Sony, and the video game industry.
