It's no secret that PlayStation's top dogs aren't particularly active on social media. If you follow the likes of Hermen Hulst, Mark Cerny, and other higher-ups, you won't spot a whole lot of posts from them, in general. Shuhei Yoshida is the exception to the rule, but Jim Ryan, soon-to-be ex-CEO of the company, doesn't seem to have an X account at all, save for this parody profile (that people still seem to think is legit). However, there's a very good reason to follow at least one of these fellows — Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, has great profile avatars.
He used to have a pretty by-the-numbers, professional-looking headshot, the sort of image you'd see if he was doing an interview with a corporate magazine or something. However, at some point in 2021 following the launch of PS5, Hulst's profile pic became a cartoon depiction of the executive. Fairly innocuous, but certainly a big change from his nicely lit, stoic-faced photo from before.
However, what's so good is that this image changes every so often to reflect a different PlayStation-related release, and it's genius. Here are all the ones we've seen so far:
It's the fact the face remains basically the same with no change of expression, but it's altered enough that you recognise what series or game is being referred to. We have Ghost of Tsushima Hermen, Ratchet Hermen, Horizon Hermen, Death Stranding Hermen, and God of War Hermen. We've also been treated to Returnal Hermen, Demon's Souls Hermen, Gran Turismo 7 Hermen, Hermen wearing the PSVR2 headset, and most recently, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Hermen. Glorious.
Anyway, you get the idea. The best bit is that we have more of these goofy things to look forward to. The possibilities are endless, and we can't wait.
Which Hermen Hulst profile pic is your favourite? Vote in our poll and tell us what you think in the comments section below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 46
There was also definitely a Demon's Souls Hermen (in a helmet) and I think there was a Returnal one too
@Voltan Yes! I could've sworn there was a Returnal one. These were all the images I could find though
Without a doubt BB Hermen 😂
That is fantastic!
The BB Hermen is both cursed and hillarious haha
Oh and Shu is pretty active on Twitter...especially when a new Genshin Impact Character dropps lol
Removed - unconstructive; user is banned
Every time I see his name, I just think Munster. Can't help it!
Okay, that death stranding one is pretty cool
Damn, I need to do something like this for my Twitter lol any help?
Jim Ryan parody account for the win
Oh my god, that baby Herman one with that stoic face is amazing.
Baby Herman will give me nightmares.....
God of War confirmed
Wait, God of War today? I guess we all already knew it anyway but we all know what that means
When I saw the Death Stranding one, I thought it was Professor X (on the loo?).
Lol Hermen, changed a bit too early
Updated!
Silence of the Lambs Herman FTW
Not this article again!
Updated. The man is a legend.
The BB one is just Agent 47 taking on his greatest disguise yet.
That DS one cracked me up
The gift that keeps on giving.
One day we will find the Returnal version
Genuine question: Why are people calling Hermen a legend?
@__jamiie Legend is a pretty strong word but I think he's doing a great job with PS Studios. He's overseen a PS Studios that had to adapt to the pandemic but have managed to still deliver quality games. Expansion of their preexisting studios so that they have more then one game in development. The recent acquisitions will surely strengthen their output. Plus he seems keen to improve in areas where Sony have been weak at, one of the reasons they bought Bungie.
@AdamNovice Meh. Sony seem to be making a lot of similar games/sequels/remakes. I don't see the creative, left field Sony anymore. Their output has been pretty bland and US/mass market focussed of late.
Yes, sales have been great. But for me, as a gamer, I'm kind of bored.
Although this article is a tad old,have to disagree that Shuhei Yoshida wasn't an active poster. With maybe the exception of when Shawn Layden was still there,Yosp was probably one of the most active...if anything his presence has increased since heading the 3rd party/Indie relations with Greg Rice.
Fun that this would float to the top again today since I was just searching for this the other day to show someone.
@__jamiie I think the problem is most of the left field stuff was the Japanese content, and they cut all of it. Ok, Knack was Cerny but made in japan. I, too, really got into PS due to the left field content, not a Ubisoft factory, but they decided to go for what sells rather than variety. Not a huge fan of Herman's for that reason, yet, OTOH, he was overseeing HZD before he did this job which is the one actually imaginative game of the modern western blockbuster stable, so I have a hard time hating him, either. Robodino colorful apocalypse MonHun-Lite is the one and only completely creative non-hollywood-derivative thing they have going on, and he was part of that.
Yeh, death stranding is funny. Good to see pushsquare has taste in jokes
@NEStalgia doesn't feel the same without that Japanese output and the quirky gems. Feels like they're going after big Marvel universes now, which isn't my thing. Astro Bot ps5 demo was a joy.. but also a tease. I want more of that kind of magic. Too much drama, misery, and murder.. I want some fun.
Herman has Bond villain swag.
@Sequel Definitely! I'm also not a Marvel fan. I really enjoyed Guardians, but I feel like Guardians is the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic of the Marvel world - an extended universe story that's much, much better than the actual source material of the mainline products. I liked Insomniac a lot, but they're basically a non-existent studio to me at this point, and ND has been stuck in the same zombie apocalypse since the PS3 with no sign of slowing down.
Sometime mid-PS4 when I was watching PS presentations around they time they had TLoU, Days Gone, marketing for ResEvil, I realized that PS had become nothing but a zombie apocalypse machine. Then they had Horizon. Robot apocalypse. Better? GoT is historical fiction which is very impressive. Yet it's historical fiction of a dark medieval time with burned body parts hanging from trees. So...ancient Japan apocalypse. GoW went from angry demigod to....Ragnarok....Viking apocalypse. We had Returnal...personal apocalypse. MLB The Show and GT are the only non-apocalyptic games in the entire Sony Studios at this point! If there's a player lockout or UAW strike any year we're toast. Ok, Marvel stuff which is not apocalyptic, kind of, but....not great if you're not into Marvel.
Xbox is a naughty word on this site sometimes, but the whole time I played HiFi Rush, I kept thinking to myself "this is the most PS2 thing I've played in 3 generations!" and meant it in a good way. That's the kind of quirky Japanese stuff we're missing (though, like Knack, it's an American game designer/director, leading a Japanese team.)
I think that's why I'm SO all in on PSVR2 and noted I've bought more PSVR2 games in a week then I've bought in 2 years of PS5 PS4/5 games. It may all be "indie" but it's fun, joyous gaming, probably about half of it Japanese-made, and reminds me of everything PS1 through Vita was all about. It's like the little part of PS that bypassed modern SIE management.
Yes, we Dutch people sometimes have a good sense of humour!
@NEStalgia couldn't agree more. It's like you're reading my mind
Death Stranding/BB Hermen is def the winner, with R&C being a close second for me.
Deja-vu... are we, like, in the Matrix?
Yes they are very creative! now spend that creativity on games or takeovers.
Pretty nice let's keep them coming 😉
@MightyDemon82 it is without a doubt the only acceptable answer.
Shouldn't the Dark Souls Hermen avatar in the helmet be called...
... Helmen???
(I'll see myself out now.)
The BB one is so cursed lmao
@Quintumply @BeerIsAwesome Here is his Returnal avatar:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210501234653/https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1387751069648830464/oEUlRmso_400x400.jpg
https://imgur.com/gallery/nwdthRb
@Powerplay94 What you call being quiet, I call an unreasonable amount of silence and secrecy resulting in almost no reason to get excited about much of what Sony may be working on internally. PS5 is 3 years old at this point. The ND leaks were welcomed.
@OptimusPrime1 Legend, I knew there was a Returnal one! Added to the article, thanks!
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