Sony announced that Jack Tretton, best known to gamers as the executive who presented Sony’s E3’s press conferences since 2007, will be stepping down as President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America effective March 31st. Both Sony’s press release on the subject and Tretton’s post on the Playstation Blog describe the decision as a “mutual agreement” not to renew Tretton’s contract.
Tretton’s position as CEO of SCEA will be filled by Shawn Layden, currently the Executive Vice President and COO of Sony Network Entertainment International, and previously President of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan.
Jack Tretton has been involved in the Playstation brand since prior to its 1995 launch, and “played a pivotal role in launching all PlayStation® platforms in North America, including the original PlayStation®, PlayStation®2, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), PlayStation®3, PlayStation® Network, and PlayStation®Vita,” as well as the PS4, according to Sony’s press release.
“Serving PlayStation fans for the past 19 years has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my career. Your passion for gaming inspired me every day,” said Tretton, in his parting blogpost. “We’ve shared many memories over the past two decades and I’ll always be grateful for your support. Thank you.”
The announcement comes hot on the heels of layoffs at Sony Santa Monica which involved the cancellation of a new next-gen property and the high-profile release of a creative director at Naughty Dog, another Sony subsidiary. Sony’s FY 2013 Q3 ended on February 6th, 2014, its first fiscal report since the release of the Playstation 4. It’s difficult to say what’s causing the major restructuring at Sony without any insider information—while this many major changes in rapid succession are normally a sign of some greater force at hand, this could simply be an example of a company holding off on making desired structural changes until reaching a major milestone in order to preserve investor confidence.
