Jim Ryan Retires as PlayStation Boss in March 2024

He should just leave now, like go out to his car and not come back.

This is wild

It feels like Jim just got here and he’s already retiring. I don’t know how much some of the more controversial decisions these past couple of years have been were directly a result of him, but I hope the company turns out better from this instead of worse, and I hope he has a good retirement.

Good riddance!

Man, I wasn't the biggest fan myself but I hope he doesn't read the twitter comments under this news right now - I actually feel bad for him rn

I don't assume much will change for the next year, but will be interesting to see what happens next.

Regardless of what people have to say about Uncle Jim, he's been a part of PlayStation for decades. Not the most charismatic CEO, sure, but he's done pretty damn well from a business perspective, given the obstacles the PS5 has had to overcome. Also a key figure in how wildly successful the PS4 was, but people seem to forget.

It'll be very, very interesting to see who becomes CEO next year after Totoki's interim stint.

@Deoxyr1bose It's hard to say if it'll change in the interim. Obviously what's already in the pipeline will still come, and with an interim leader being the CFO, the guy counting the money Jim made them by doing his controversial moves....don't get hopes up too high.

In the future? Who knows.

Would love to see shu take over

Honestly thought Jim Ryan did a decent job while CEO. Will be interesting to see who’s next in line.

He saw Newcastle beat Man City and knew that the apocalypse was coming.

Hopefully the next guy brings back the fun

@AdamNovice yeah definitely don't think it has anything to do with his performance. 30 years is a long time to work at a company. I think they will continue in the path he started them on.

Later Gator! Hopefully the next guy will do well.

Since I know this article is gonna get a lot of Jim Ryan hate, let me say this…Jim has never been as bad as Phil.

@Deoxyr1bose if you look at the history of CEOs of PlayStation they seem to only like like 5 or so year than they retire.

Its about time. I'm so sick of how Sony has been operating the past few years.
Now Uncle Jimbo has plenty of time to play live services and PC ports, and its hilarious that he bailed before him and Hulst's little GAAS ambition flops and sets them back years on development.
Maybe the next person in charge will actually deliver more than one PS5 game per year and show just a tiny bit of respect to us console peasants that have kept them in business for 30 years.

Yes, what an awful CEO for having maintained and grown Playstation's market dominance through a generation change all while navigating a pandemic, supply chain shortages, and global inflation. Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

“It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But a half-wit remains a half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor.” Until he retires, I guess.

I’d like to apply for the position. I have about 10 months experience playing video games. Thank you for your consideration

Never was a fan of the guy, but while he was in charge Sony was growing almost nonstop.

I still think he is too greedy and pushes too much for predatory practices, yet I would never say he wasn't successful as a CEO.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the Activision acquisition, and the various leaked documents. They certainly didn't paint him in a good light.

Well deserved retirement, Jim. Kind of exciting to see who the permanent replacement is after Totoki fulfills his temporary duties.

@Fizza You know what's funny? I'v recently finished Jak & Daxter, and guess who was there in credits...

Big shake up and interesting times ahead. Like him or not, i think a Jim Ryan type was actually pretty important for Sony in facing down microsoft over the past few years. I also think he had a tremendously difficult job launching a console during a global pandemic. Good luck to him in pastures new.

In truth Playstation hasn't felt the same since Shawn Layden stepped down. I really do hope the next boss is someone that truly understands the importance of connecting the brand to its audience and reinvigorates the relationship between playstation and Japan

Nothing against him as a person...but, as someone who fell in love with Playstation with the PS1 and has watched their generational arcs, they've been more successful than ever under Jim Ryan...and they've lost every single ounce of personality that drew me to PS in the first place.

As I've said before, under Jim Ryan's leadership, Playstation has become the Apple of gaming...boring, sterile, and soulless...and it sucks.

I dearly miss the weird, kinda stupid, very fun and experimental Playstation of the PS1/PS2/PS3 generations that was all but gone in the PS4 generation, and entirely dead for the current gen.

I will not miss him, and hope whoever officially takes over next is more than just a corporate suit that understands what Playstation is supposed to be about.

Well, in light of this news, I'd just like to thank Jim Ryan for making me lose every last ounce of faith I had in a brand I've loved for over 20 years.

Good riddance.

@InsaneWade that is quite sad, end of an era

I can't say I'll miss the guy, but he was amazing from a money-making standpoint. I won't take that away from him. Also, I know people in my social circle will celebrate this, but I refuse to pop bottles until I know who the next CEO will be. Hopefully, it's someone at the company who actually plays video games and sees the value in smaller, art-style-driven games.

Thank God. Good riddance Crying Lying Jim Ryan! Please Sony, put Shuhei Yoshida in charge or someone who at least plays games and understands the art of the industry. All Jim did was reap the benefits and successes of those before him and then make himself a bunch of money by raising the price of everything under the guise of the brand being "boutique". He hasn't given us many titles that he signed off on apart from all the live service titles coming and putting Bungie in charge of all creativity going forward. Again, good riddance.

As a fellow Newcastle United fan all I have to say is well played Jim. Agree or not with their current trajectory, you cant deny his sucess as a ceo.

Awesome, let's celebrate hahaha. Let's hope the next CEO does good. Doesn't matter to me either way, as I've left console gaming.

I'm sure this guy will be forgotten in a few months.

Can someone please upload that gif of spiderman saying "good riddance"?

Who wants to raise a glass with me? 🥂 🍻

Something a bit off about it all. Wonder if the big pivot to service games caused more trouble than we thought? This could be a positive, hopefully PS can get back on track, I'd like to see more Japanese influence personally.

All I remember about this guy’s tenure as boss was his woeful old games are obsolete take and bungling his Roe v. Wade response so badly that a bunch of PlayStation studios had to do it themselves.

One of the main reasons why Sony/PlayStation were so dominant in Europe. He’s clearly very good at what he does- having been at Sony for 30+ years.

He’s was there at the conception of PSOne. Imagine the things he would have seen. Pitched ideas, early builds of cancelled games, etc. Shame we’ll never hear about it due to NDAs.

Thanks for all your hard work Jim 🍻.

Also is the new guy the money/finance guy?

"I can't wait for Sony to go back to making those smaller, artistic games that were fun!"

People don't realize that those games didn't really sell that well. I enjoyed the heck out of the Studio Japan games, but they didn't do too well. We saw this with all of the Clover Studio stuff at Capcom, too. Okami was a great game, but it sold like crap. After Kamiya went to make Platinum Games, even their games didn't sell all too well. That's why we got all of these third person games from Playstation, because those did make a lot of money for them.

I wish him the best for the future, I may not agree with some of his decisions and I'm sure he regrets some of his bad decisions but 30 years at playstation is a long time and I'm sure he has made good decisions that we aren't even aware of

@Sequel Jim probably caused the hack. He clicked on some X-rated spam links on his computer.

The timing of this announcement might seem odd, but given the fact the guy has been working with Sony for 30 years I wouldn't be surprised if this was a just a simple retirement.

Anyways, 30 years is more age than most bots complaining about him probably have.

Break out the shampagne. This is the best god damn news all year.

He got booted because he couldn’t stop the MS Activision acquisition, which we all know was part of his performance review.

@AdamNovice Where's the fun in that? There's got to be some juicy undertone. I wonder is ps-plus subs dropping by 87% did it

For what reason are people so happy to see him go? Did I miss something lol

@Voltan Don't feel too bad for the guy, I'm sure whenever those comments make him feel bad, he can just open his banking and brokerage accounts and he'll feel much better.

Everyone liked that

MY DREAM FINALLY CAME TRUE!! DONT LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE A@# ON THE WAY OUT.

No one can deny he's brought massive success for the PlayStation brand. He's leaving Sony in a very strong position as market leader as they have been for many years running now, hopefully who takes over next continues to strengthen in the Japanese Market and makes some bigger acquisitions.

Guys don't panic.. I heard John Riccitiello is stepping in.

Waits for the inevitable book saying how Sony didn't like the cod deal they got and he was pushed out or that's why he worked so hard trying to stop the acti deal as he knew his job depended on it

@Casco that's a good point

I am glad.

I hated his tenure after the 2nd year, investing in the short-term and never breaking the mold of remastering unnecessary things.

It is a good day, and I don't thank him for his service.

Playstation is saved!

Can we have House and Tretton back? Even more glad I sold my Series X for a PS5 now Ryan is going.

Thank heavens! Now it’s time to make Playstation great again

Time for a rest. I wish him well.

Everyone excited Jim Ryan is gone until Sony sells the PlayStation division to Microsoft.😂

@Sakai I don’t think much of his service games idea at all, and he did show some arrogance in the ActiBliz trials IMO, but he did oversee the fully successful launch of a new console during a global pandemic and has come out selling double the main competitor, ignoring Nintendo of course.

Today we party!
I'll never forgive him for the closure of Japan Studio.

Well, Totoki is a pure finance guy so don't expect risk taking and creativity.

He’s basically retiring so he can live in England full time and go and watch the football I’d imagine, and he is getting too old to do all the travelling back and forth to America.

Finally, originality is finally returning to Playstation

@Snick27 🤣🤣 No call, No show

He said years and years ago: paraphrasing "If I can sell you the same game multiple times, then I'm doing my job" I hated that mindset then and hate it more now.
Look how much of the games now are remakes and remasters, even aside from the fact they charge stupid prices for straight up ports, when before him they had backwards compatibility.

Honestly, as an ardent PlayStation fan, this is good news. I haven't liked Jim's tenure.

March 2024?

Isn't that when Bobby Kotick becomes available?

As for everyone saying about the live service adjustment. From a personal perspective for many of us, it was a sad realisation and disappointment from the single player golden age. But speaking to my kids and younger gamers in work (18-30 year olds) they solely play gaas. It's already here, we are old skool. Soon to be relics of the past.

All I can say is, enjoy retirement.

30 years at one company is a long time. I am sure his position has afforded him a comfortable nest egg to live out his days in peace.

God I hope this means the future of Playstation is for the better

The company has felt aimless under Ryan's leadership, and his lack of respect for the hardcore fanbase will be his legacy.

I would like Japanese CEO. Kaz and Yoshida were brilliant.

This came out of nowhere.i do miss shawn layden and javk tretton.playstation is changing boss often.we will see whats up.word up son

Here's hoping the next one listens to the fanbase and not the investors. Hopefully Sony also veers course away from focusing on live service.

I think there might be a misunderstanding in the article regarding Hiroki Totoki's position. Because, according to Sony Press, Hiroki-san will be the Chairman of SIE starting this October 2023, and Interim CEO from 1st April 2024.

Bring back jack tretton!!

Maybe now we can get:
1: less censorship in games!
2: a REAL Spider-Man game! Not one with kid arachnid!

Pretty sure Sony will focus even more outside the PlayStation platform going forward as they want even more money. Expect PS games to release Day 1 on PC and PS Plus may arrive on PC in the next 3 or 4 years.

Lots of people celebrating that Jim Ryan is going to leave, but who's said someone "worse" than him won't take over?

We can only hope that Sony has no Andrew Wilson to take the role.

Thank you for your service but at the same time good riddance. I only wish you could take Hermen Hulst with you. Sadly given the stuff Hiroki Totoki has said, I expect your replacement to be similar in mentality.

shocking news! ryan was only head of SIE for 4 years... i thought we had another generation with him at the helm. glad sony can change course sooner rather than later.

that said, all the service-based games are already in the pipeline and deep into development so it would be naiive to think all that noise will just go away with a new CEO. unfortunately, we will have to endure the next 4 years, for better or for worse. this is easily the worst generation in playstation history without a doubt (a big part of the problem is the current state of the AAA industry at large, of course), but let's hope things get better in 2028 with the ps6.

The thing is how much was it him or the executives. Did Jim know what he was doing in some cases yes, I assume Hulst does too in their role. He has been there a long time and that's understandable for him to do what he plans on next. It was a brief era and things happened/plans continue. Face we see/plans we see, whoever gets directed at or not it was a fine period for what it was.

Do I think the future with the Portal/PS+ rebrand/downsizing Japan Studio and more were going to happen regardless of who was in charge and because plans were set in motion from past leaders/past things happen regardless of what we think yes. Some plans were already ongoing, employee had many things in place of projects.

The ransom timing is 'something' but his retirement was very much planned earlier of course and no correlation. It happens they do plan things ahead of time anyone that has retirement, leaves a company for another, starts up a new one, whatever the case.

(same happened with the Vita they moved staff from Liverpool and Zipper to other studios or let off I assume which happens, and with PSVR we see niche support there and it makes sense they want to make hardware and third parties support it but can't support it themselves as much first party wise).

Who was in charge around 2016+? Sure I know later had more changes and yes the direction they have gone now is what it is for the company to go for other mediums, more audience inviting and so on and it works great for them/what audiences care about those.

But honestly both times I just cared less for the PS4/5 and the downsizing of Japan Studios (while in some cases necessary) was the last straw for me. I only use my PS4 for third parties and that's it.

@ShogunRok I agree, face of the company we see or not for this period and what plans have happened prior or during his time there (things keep going regardless of when a leader is in place after all besides what changes are made with them in the position, what projects from employees, what prior plans were underway, what changes were made in his position after, what executives want).

He has been around a while, he deserves his retirement. His period in this role was brief but his work in the company in other roles were probably really good for what we do/don't know.

I don't care for this period but that doesn't mean much anyway.

PlayStation is in a great state thanks to Jim Ryan. It's clear he isn't a mouthpiece for the fanboys likes Phil Spencer but you can't fail his business decisions.

i think he did a great job , he managed to release a brand new console during a pandemic , i feel like people keep forgetting this. i feel people just need some one to take the blame in why games take so long to develop or be announced , when hes not the one working on the games.

PlayStation is at the point where no matter what they release it will sell. I like my PS5 but I genuinely don't think it has justified its sales success up to this point.

Hopefully this may see Sony take braver chances in the future and churn out fewer, overpriced peripherals and live service trash.

As long as Mark Cerny is on board we are good. I swear that man delivers the hardware we need.

Jim Ryan was not particularly likeable and probably made many decisions that were not popular, but honestly necessary (like the $70 price point).

My main concern was his obsession with GaaS. The fact that we have gotten so few first party titles three years in is really concerning and probably related to this.

@MidnightDragonDX Harrison or Spencer... problem with first names. He is a close second to Don matrick. We should count ourselves lucky he didn't make the psvr2 a mandatory pack in or a camera to be comparatively correct for reference lol. Tv tv tv.

Never been a fan of Jim Ryan's leadership. I'm sure he did his best but still.... Hope this takes Playstation back to its Japanese roots.

@MasterVGuides okami didn't sell well, gets 3 remakes lol. I mean seriously, did we need it on every playstation after the original ps2 release lol.

@MidnightDragonDX
"Since I know this article is gonna get a lot of Jim Ryan hate, let me say this…Jim has never been as bad as Phil."

Suggesting he's not as bad as Spencer isn't exactly high praise, considering how he is regarded here.
You might as well say he's not as bad as Satan 🤣

Praise the (fictional)lord! Let's hope the new guy is better.
Less live services and more japanese game revivals please. Add variety to that line-up in a way only you can. You have a strong library of IP. Use it. That is how Nintendo does it to such acclaim.

Very unlikely but whoever becomes the next CEO, please fix your Japanese market and try to bring back Japan Studios if you can. I'm still mad for it being shut down. I still want a new Gravity Rush game, possible sequel to Blooodborne and a new Ape Escape game

If the new guy does actually try to bring playstation back to its japanese roots like everyone is hoping, let's hope that these games actually attract enough people and sell well enough so that Sony will keep pushing in that direction. People claim to be tired of their current exclusives and whatnot but those same games are the ones selling millions while those cool creative games they claim they want don't even make half of that

@Tielo Sorry, but I just don't see it. There are almost no first party exclusives on PS5, PS Plus is just a rehashing of PS Now, and games as a service is now the dominant focus. On top of this, Ryan has alienated his competition while making Sony look weak and whiny. I feel like literally anyone could have run the company better. Ryan stood on the shoulders of Layden while pulling the rug out from under true PS fans.

@Nem I'll praise the non-fictional Lord instead but not for something like Jim Ryan leaving.

I knew this would happen the moment he failed in sabotaging the Microsoft acquisition....Jim Ryan knows he can never be on Phil Spencers good side as the rest of the gaming industry would need him to be especially now with Activision no longer on PlayStation's pockets.

Thank you Jimbo

do people not realize hes been with sony since 1994 , and was a part of the ps1 launch? its not like he just started working for them recently.

What I love about this comment section is that you have the absolute extreme of "Jim Ryan was the devil. Good riddance", but also plenty of more balanced views.

@__jamiie do you mean software or hardware? Because plenty of first party games fail to sell well. But in terms of hardware, I agree. Even if they release few or some mediocre first party years, the main console is so established it will likely still sell well.

@naruball Hardware. I'm sure I read somewhere that it's the fastest selling PlayStation ever and it doesn't make sense to me based on the output so far and the number of cross gen releases.

As someone who was never a fan of Playstation i see most of the comments written here as childish and out of touch with reality. Here in Europe Playstation is THE gaming brand and it's in no small part because of him. Like him or not and regardless of the reasons of his retirement he is a succesful bussinessman with a 30 year long carreer on his back. Personal feelings don't matter in cases like this it's all about the results.

P.S. Also, for those of you who believe that Sony will suddenly drop the GAAS plans because of him stepping down: you're in for a rude awakening.

This is fantastic news I'm now very excited and hopeful for the future of PlayStation! I wish him well in his retirement but I hope the next guy shakes things up a bit more and doesn't just look at us as walking talking wallets

I hope whoever's next will lead the studio in a manner that sells a product to the customers PlayStation has, rather than the customers Sony thinks they want to have. I know this isn't very CEO thinking, capitalism and the fantasy of infinite growth and all, but if you play your strengths and make a fair platform with quality titles, the general population does increasingly catch on.

@AdamNovice The live service push is a pretty obvious disaster. It won't be fully eliminated I suspect they'll adjust

Maybe now we can have true ps5 exclusives with no pc (slow hdd) port and no 1st party live-service games again? I enjoyed that on ps4.

The best PlayStation news I’ve heard in a while.

Really curious to see how things go in the future with the new CEO.

he didnt even see out the generation which is very odd It all seems very sudden because they haven't even got a successor lined up theres an interim till a new boss can be identified which isnt the way PlayStation usually do things

4 years into his vision of live service games for sonys future and he wont even be around to see the results.

Shawn Layden about to do a comeback

I must admit I don’t know his full range of responsibilities and authority, but I have to assume that as boss he was in a position to stop some of the biggest mistakes made by PlayStation. He wasn’t in charge in 2018 when the disgusting censorship policies where introduced, but he also made no attempt to change it; he has clearly been their during their increased focus on live service, but I’ll begrudgingly admit that might be a good business decision even if it doesn’t make us core gamers happy; but I really disliked some of his comments recently around the lack of need to promote PS5, and this probably extended to PSVR2 too, so the horrible community engagement I put on him (although maybe he has no control over marketing budgets, I don’t actually know). Ultimately though, the buck stops at him. I hope things improve in his absence, particularly around community engagement and an increased respect for Japanese devs. I doubt we can now roll back censorship policies but that’s also the big wish.

Nintendo didn't sack Iwata after Wii U massive failure. Jim's only failure so far is PSVR2, new subscription models are hit and miss. Wonder what's the real story behind this.

@ShogunRok whilst I haven't been a fan of him in a public speaking role, its very clear that he has been a huge part of Playstation's success, certainly in Europe and I have nothing but respect for that and you don't work for a company for 30 years and become it's CEO for nothing.

I wish him well in his well earned retirement

Yes best new recently from Sony

He's steered ps4 and ps5 to new heights of desirability and record levels of market share.
Hes earned a good retirement and I wish him well.

@ShogunRok facts

@NoToSheep agreed

Who wants to play that is going sweet.hopfully we will get someone who wants us to play our old discs on ps6 PlayStation go back to their roots and honor the gamers that made their console great!

I wish Jim the best with his retirement plans of teaching penguins how to ballroom dance and I don’t look forward to the endless complaining that whoever the new CEO of PlayStation will undoubtedly bring.

I mean sure, he was a key player in the most successful period in PlayStation, especially in Europe, was at the helm when a new gen was launched to dominate sales but yeah, this guy is clueless. Good riddance.

"After 30 years, I have made the decision to retire from SIE in March 2024.
Took you long enough to make the best decision of your career...

I’ve relished the opportunity to have a job I love in a very special company, working with great people and incredible partners.
And you fully took advantage of the awesome opportunity of having your mug forever tied to the worse Playstation Showcase in PS history... may it serve you well in the future.

I would normally say "here's hoping the new CEO will do better"... but there's not much worse this new person can actually do...

this is the happiest news ive read ALL YEAR!!

Would love to see Playstation move to a more warmer and inviting atmosphere like Nintendo have. This cold, mysterious facade they've presented the brand as for the PS5's run hasn't been fun. State of Play's are crap and Showcases full of drone and the same dark games over and over. Not embracing a more light side has made Playstation feel more corporate than ever. A focus on less important and very expensive add-ons like VR2 and that pointless remote play thing. It all seems misguided to me.

Closing Japan studios hurt, letting a fantastic brand and oppurtunity like Astrobot just sit there the same. Just want a little bit more of the wacky and fun. And a whole lot less of the dark, cold third person action with crazy particle physics.

I don't know what I really mean tbh but it is how I feel.

I see a lot of negative comments here and I don't follow behind the scenes so why is he disliked? I mean he was there while PlayStation was created and grew to dominance so can we really think this guy was all bad? Any time I've seen him talk he has been fine. Not a big charmer but straight forward and to the point. Good luck to the guy. And if he was part of bringing us the PlayStation then thanks Jim.

@BlaizeV ? What are they supposed to do? Come out dressed is costumes or something?

@BlaizeV Astrobot is great. As much as I like PS5, I (along with returning PlayStation boss Kevin Butler) agree that focusing on fun is important (especially after 3 years of global dreariness).

@BlaizeV you mean you want them to start producing games again and not overly serious interactive movies with the same copy/pasted third-person formula under a new title? i agree. i want games like ape escape, modnation racers, sly cooper, twisted metal, tokyo jungle, killzone, motorstorm, jak, infamous, fighting force, etc too.

PS4 was a triumph and PS5 is a great system that unfortunately suffered from lengthy availability issues while Switch was hitting its stride.

But we're in an amazing RPG season now with Diablo 4, Final Fantasy 16, and Baldur's Gate 3.

@nomither6 Awesome games. Modnation Racers is underrated and deserves a sequel. I miss Sony's Play/Create/Share thing. I still think Dreams is amazing and look forward to whatever Media Molecule is working on next.

(I also miss the handheld JRPG gold mine on PSP/Vita, but that ship seems to have sailed to Switch.)

Watching chronically online ppl comment on the leadership of a billion dollar company as if they know better is funny. He did an amazing job in the midst of an ever changing landscape, a COVID pandemic, chip shortages, industry consolidation, subscription wars, increased production times and costs and many many other factors that many didn't and won't have to deal with.

He may not be the best CEO to have lived with his tunnel visioning on GAAS, lack of big moments that y'all use to characterise people, horrendous communication and a lesser focus on those smaller games with charm, but he did well.

My only wish from the next CEO is that we see more focus on smaller, less costly games. Not everything needs to be 40-80 hours please.

And remember, Mr Ryan is human. The hate this man gets from just showing face is almost as bad as Maguire gets. We need to treat each other better, constructive criticism should be practiced more

Someone get on the phone to Shawn Layden, Andrew House or Jack Tretton - there's a job for you!

Honestly, not going to miss Jimbob. The guy was an accountant, sucking all the joy out of PlayStation.

@ShogunRok Thing is, no-one remembers him being involved in the PS4 because we had Messrs Layden, House and Tretton generating excitement on stage whereas Jimbob stood in the wings with Excel open.

Can we get a Japanese CEO move the HQ back to Tokyo now and make Playstation Japanese again?

Cushy retirement at the age of 54 I wish freaking government and most companies don't want u retiring till your 60s which sucks 😢

Can it Not be sooner? Get this schill outta here

@Drago201 He's 63, not 54.

I've seen a lot of speculation about the "real" reason he's stepping down, but nobody seems to be thinking what my first question was - is this related to the alleged hack? As CEO he'd bear some responsibility if SIE was the source of the hack, and after knowing how much they're a target given previous hits perhaps one more was too much? Or perhaps what may leak is too much?

Or perhaps the two have nothing to do with each other. On the outside looking in it's easy to speculate, hard to know.

I'd like to take a moment to appreciate Jim for finally putting Playstation exclusives on PC. Hopefully your successor keeps doing the same!

@LiamCroft really damn public info on him is terrible Google got him at 54 either way I wish I had his kinda money 💰

@MidnightDragonDX
The live service games Jim Ryan had PlayStation invest a lot of money in have yet to appear. We haven't seen the worst of him yet.

Well said, a legend in the SIE business arm for sure and that should be respected. Jack Tretton and Shawn Layden's style of comms was missed though, so perhaps a healthy balance of the two for his successor.

PS brand is bigger than ever. Things like TLOU and Twisted Metal are now household names. The guy did his job and I don’t get how he gets so much ridicule and Filthy Phil gets so much praise.

This feels wierd..it's like he was just here and he's already ready to bounce lol..but having a Japanese CEO I wonder how it'll change things up now for future of playstation

These comments are killing me man. You guys act like know it alls but proceed to say the dumbest sh*t ever. Say whatever you want about Jim Ryan but the man really deserves credit for launching the ps5 during a global pandemic, to the best of his abilities.

@homelesscretin I can appreciate the passion and Fandom, but these comments are a little embarrassing as a Sony, PS lifelong fan. The guy was a pivotal for PS success over the last several decades, especially the last 5 years

Best PlayStation news all year! GTFO, Jim! You're awful! 👏🤣

@MasterVGuides
They may not have sold well individually but, taken as a genre / type in themselves, they certainly influenced my decision to mostly main PlayStation consoles right up until PS4 (getting a PS5 was mainly influenced by VR2). As such they directly influenced who would get my money for those AAA multiplats at full price.

@AhmadSumadi After Don Matrick took a steaming, big massive dump on Xbox gamers and the platform's legacy, Phil's oversight has been a complete 180. You can't deny the brand is in better (not perfect) shape overall compared to 8-9 years ago.
Ryan, and Sony in general, has shown little regard in recent years for PS's legacy, with Ryan doing nothing to remedy that. That's one big reason why he needed to go. The closure of Japan Studio and shift away from unique, quirkier titles are others.

Are they remastering Andrew House?
Always been more partial to Kaz

I was always more of a Kaz Hirai guy, but I didn't really pay much attention to Jim Ryan during his tenure as the top Sony executive.

All the best to Jim in his retirement.

The timing of this announcement is too convenient for it to be coincidental. ABK merger handling, Service Games strategy reception, absolutely lackluster first party roadmap for the year ahead (as much as I want Spider-Man 2, that’s just one game) completely mishandling the Japanese market… yea I doubt he simply “retired” as much as he was retired.

Bring Kaz Hirai back!

Sadly we are on a time where it takes up to 5 years for us to see the real impact of new management, outside news of acquisitions.

Really hope this has some impact on game lineup eventually. Needs some new ideas some fresh IPs. Maybe start some smaller, cheaper games that are a bit riskier but new and exciting

It's like stockholm syndrome to see those defending Ryan's legacy as if the fact that a few banger games that came out during the PS4 generation were his doing. Which they weren't. Or that mere sales and shareholder dividends are a measure of success for the gamer side of the medium and thus worthy of praise.

Yet even if you believe that aspect, one can't ignore the trajectory PS has gone and hyper-consolidation of their now safe iterative portfolio that has quickened in pace and stifled diversity couple that with the complete lack of fan service and communication which has led to the lowest fan perception of the platform and leadership ever.

That is Jim Ryan's legacy at the helm. One where greed dictated and likely will continue to dictate the decisions the brand makes for the foreseeable future. I sure hope not because Sony has grown complacent, and the hubris dictated by hardware sales has led to a ghosting of the fans that has really hurt their rep.

A breath of fresh air is needed, alongside a new direction of software diversity that isn't based on live service predation. It would be nice to have a leader at the helm that actually enjoys gaming...

@nessisonett

As a Newcastle United fan, your comment gave me a good chuckle.

Oh wow 180 comments thisll be good....

@AdamNovice SIE is not a fan driven business. With size like that they need to reach out far beyond their core fanbase. Loyal as they may be they can't sustain the company.

“Cryin’” Jim Ryan

Age mid 50's, 30 years with the same company, good pension. Why not retire and leave the grind behind? Enjoy doing what, where, and when you want to do with the short time one has left.

However overall JR never really inspired me much and was the ceo when how the PS5 was decided to look. To be fair I don't know what say JR had in the final decision, maybe he was totally against the final ugly deformed looking plastic monster look. Then there was the dropping of a web browser with the PS5 and other shortcomings of the PS5. All that a switch to a series X could provide. All while JR was the ceo.

Last, but not least, are all of the photos that have JR looking like a doctor about to give his patient some very bad news. Put it all together and for me that is JR's legacy as the ceo.