Surprise! Andrew House has stepped down from his position as PlayStation president, with his deputy John Kodera taking the reins. The sudden change brings an end to a 25-plus year career at Sony, though the bearded businessman will hang around as director and chairman for a few more months before finally setting off into the sunset.
There’s no word on where House will go, but he probably deserves a bit of a break after launching four PlayStation consoles and two portables. “PlayStation has been a huge part of my life for more than 20 years but with the business having achieved record-breaking success, now seemed to be the right time for me to pursue new challenges,” he said.
House has held a variety of positions over the years, leading PlayStation Europe before getting the call from new company CEO Kaz Hirai to head up Sony Interactive Entertainment as a whole. Some of his most famous moments include debuting the PlayStation 4 console, as well as announcing that partnership with Hideo Kojima.
“When I passed the baton of leadership for SIE to Andrew House in 2011, I was confident that I was leaving the PlayStation business in the best possible hands – and so it has proved,” said Hirai. “Andy and I go back more than 20 years and spent much of this time together, dedicating ourselves to ensuring the success of the PlayStation business.”
House concluded: “I shall always treasure the friendships and people that have made SIE such a wonderful place to work. I'm also grateful to PlayStation fans and gamers around the world for their loyalty and support. John [Kodera] and the team at SIE are world-class and I know the future of PlayStation is very bright.”
So who is Kodera? Well, he’s a Sony veteran as well – but not necessarily a PlayStation one. He spent many years working in the ICT side of the Japanese giant, before leading Sony Network Entertainment (which includes the PlayStation Network, of course) in 2013. Since last year he’s served as House’s deputy, so he should already be pretty familiar with the role.
“It's a great honour to take on the role of President and CEO at SIE, and I'm very grateful to Kaz and Andy for the trust and faith they have shown in me,” he said. “I intend to build on the amazing progress Andy has made enhancing the PlayStation brand and expanding the game and network services business, and will strive to further strengthen the unique value proposition we are able to offer via the PlayStation platform.”
Over to you, then, John.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 33
Always worrying when there are management changes within PlayStation like this, but John has been at the company a long time and I'm sure he'll do a great job!
Ah yes. John. PS Vue, PS NOW, PSN, who is ready for the service based future?
I thought it mentioned somewhere he was moving further up the ladder. Guess not may have been a translation issue.
It's normal to pass the baton, He has worked for the company for 25 years already.
Goodbye Mr House I hoped for nothing but success on your next adventures
The last big shakeup I remember like this was Tretton to Layden, and that worked out okay, so I'm very hopeful for this. That being said, I'll miss Andy. He's been a big part of PlayStation, and more publicly the conferences, for many, many, MANY years. I'll never forget when he got to be the one to finally, publicly say "PlayStation 4". I wish him all the best, and hope they give him one last hurrah at PSX or PGW.
@BLP_Software "Ah yes. John. PS Vue, PS NOW, PSN, who is ready for the service based future?"
They're heading in this direction anyway, so it certainly makes sense to promote someone familiar with that kind of stuff.
In fact, this should be good news for people who constantly complain about the quality of PSN.
@get2sammyb Well with any luck he can bolster their services, given he will be coming from an infrastructure background right? In theory, anyway. Whether or not they let him is the question.
And yes, it is heading that way, but I wasn't expecting "With immediate effect" and right now. Makes you wonder if it may be too much of a change too fast.
At the same time though, we need to get used to seeing a new smug face on stages, and changing of the guard is always beneficial. Shame Nintendo doesn't do it until someone drops.
Yup echo others in wishing Mr House nothing but success in his future endeavours. I have greatly enjoyed his many presentations and engaging style over the years. He has secured a well earnt place in the playstation Hall of fame for all of the great work he has done.
Good luck John. Dont do a Don Mattrick to our beloved brand.
Didn’t we already hear about this a while back? Maybe it’s deja vu but I felt I already knew this was happening minus who was replacing him.
But thank you for your many years of service to the PlayStation community!
So long, Andy-san!
@DLB3 There were rumours that they wanted him. I wouldn't be surprised to be honest.
So the new guy, who's been responsible for the mediocre PSN, shall lead the entire Playstation hardware apartment? Yup, sounds like trouble. I'll be missing Andrew House. He's done a magnificent job.
@JAMes-BroWWWn Good to know we're giving him a chance! I've no idea how the PSN is mediocre when it's (probably) the most used gaming network in the world, but there you go.
I really liked Andy House. Sad to see him go.
He looked so happy when he announced the Kojima partnership!
Thanks for the great service. The PS4 is already my favorite console of all time and he had a lot of say in it's success.
May the great games keep coming. Got a lot to live up to John. Gamers are a fickle bunch!
@get2sammyb Doesn't Steam have more users than PS4's shipped? It wont be the most used for long.
We'll never really know for sure the reasons behind the step down but unless there has been a falling out or a retirement, it is more than likely he is being shifted somewhere else and this is part 1 of the announcement. Sony Pictures is haemorraging money so I would guess the rumours for that might be true.
@get2sammyb I'm not in the position to give him a chance, otherwise he prolly wouldn't have this job, but still in the position to have a "pre-experienced" opinion about him and his, well let's call, achievements. Plus I'm pretty sure Steam got a big bit more users as an online service than PSN and Xbox together +Tea-Sipping
Wow a sad day for PlayStation. But what an achievement to see a brand grow from strength to strength. Sticking to the DNA of a gaming brand purely for the gamers and not diverting to or tempted by cashcows from other forms of entertainment. Wish him and his family a happy and successful new start on his journey to new pastures. God bless you and thanks for giving us the best console and most friendliest optimistic gaming community in the world with
the most diverse range of games to suit every taste 😊
Goodluck on whatever is next! Andy House you have done an amazing job. have a great start Kodera & good luck as well.
THANK YOU! It can only get better from here! I absolutely didn't like this guy. And some of his comments over the years were atrocious.
@JoeBlogs @JoeBlogs as Phil Spencer got the position of his predecessor, alot of changes came to Xbox which weren't all so positive to the Xbox divison. So acting everything's gonna be the same is silly. Not here for an arguement just to point out possible downhill periods of the Playstation.
@JAMes-BroWWWn @BLP_Software PSN has 70 million monthly active users apparently. Steam is at 67 million monthly active users.
I'm sure both companies massage the numbers.
I hope psn will be better now we have network guy as playstation president, I want him to bring all steam best feature (refund, great recommendation system, download speed, etc) to psn.
Also good luck to andrew house
ladies and gentlemen Andrew has left the house.good luck Andrew we sure miss you.I also miss Jack Trenton.
Shame, I like House. Feels like there's been many exec changes recently...
Thanks for a great job leading the PlayStation brand, Mr. House. Wish you well in all your future endevours.
@JoeBlogs Except of the Xbox fanboys nobodys fond of Phil Spencer as you claim. Alot of Xbox fans even think he's "the wrong man for the job". Now apparently you underestimate the importance of "only one guy". The "one guy" is carrying the entire responsibity and decision-making power of an multi-billion dollar appartment and is well-indeed in the position to turn a great course into a terrible one. And my concerns is simply based on circumstances as John Kodera has been responsible for one of the most and maybe even the most critizised factor of the Playstation - it's Network. No matter what time will tell if my concerns was true.
This feels sad..... first no more Satoru Iwata and now no Andrew House....I like how he was always serious and focused.......
with PlayStation since 1990...........
Farwell Mr. House and thank you.
Playstation will be in fine hands by his decision.
@get2sammyb he`s no longer president but he`s still with playstation right?
I was bit confused..... a shame to see him go.
He will be missed for sure. I really liked his strong personality. Key figure in PlayStation's success as a brand. Interesting times at SIE.
@James1993 For now, but only until the end of the year. As mentioned earlier in the thread, some believe he may end up at Sony Pictures.
Just like when Jack Tretton left it's nice for Andrew House, who's been at the company forever, to leave on a high note but it does make me as a PlayStation fan a little bit uneasy about the future. This isn't some small shakeup so hopefully they picked the right guy.
Kodera is responsible for PS Now, the worst thing that Sony released recently. The service is available on PC and not Vita, are you kidding?
Anyway, let's hope for the best.
@JAMes-BroWWWn I actually agree with your initial comment.
PSN is functional, but the initial success of ps4 is down to a number of superb decisions by the original management team vs Don Mattrick.
It seems they have all gone now....
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