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Last year, the President and CEO of PlayStation Jim Ryan announced that he would be retiring from the company come this March. With his 30-year tenure at Sony set to end soon, the executive has revealed the most challenging moments of his career.
In an interview with Variety, the soon-to-be ex CEO of PlayStation spoke on his career at PlayStation, saying “I'm just so grateful that I didn't work in a boring industry.”
That said, Ryan also shared the greatest challenge he faced over the decades – that being the navigation of the 2020 global pandemic, stating: “It was my job to exude a sense of calm and serenity. Actually, I was there at my dining-room table, head in my hands, wondering how we were going to do this.”
Ryan continued, “We assemble the great majority of the PlayStations in China, and nobody could get in. Finishing games when developers couldn't get together and eat pizza and brainstorm about their craft was another thing. And then, the not-unimportant task of selling our product to our consumers when retail was entirely closed.”
When asked to give some parting advice for the next generation of PlayStation bosses, Ryan offered a compelling message: “Never forget that we're an entertainment business. If we continue to entertain, delight and surprise our community of gamers, I think Totoki-san and whoever follows him will be just fine.”
Despite his retirement, Jim Ryan appears to still have some plans in the works for his future, revealing that “I still have huge resources of energy and passion that I'm looking forward to deploying in some slightly different ways. I've got a few things bubbling. I can't say what they are — but I am going to take my life in a little different direction.”
While perhaps not the most player-facing boss in the company’s history, there’s no denying that Jim Ryan helped to elevate the PlayStation brand to new heights, seeing more success than ever. Hopefully Sony does not forget Ryan’s parting words.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Ryan’s time as CEO? What do you reckon he’ll do next? Is he leaving PlayStation in a good place? Let us know your thoughts down below.
