President Of PlayStation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Andrew House Resigns

Sony Interactive Entertainment president and PlayStation boss Andrew House has resigned and his post will be taken over by John Kodera, the current deputy president. House will remain as a director and chairman until the end of the year to ensure smooth transition.

House first joined Sony in 1990 in the corporate communications department and then he became part of Sony Computer Entertainment in 1995 as the head of marketing and communications. He helped introduce the very first PlayStation console in North America in 1995 and became president of the SIE 2011 replacing Kazuo Hirai, according to VentureBeat.

“When I passed the baton of leadership for Sony Computer Entertainment 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. I’m extremely grateful to Andy for the great contribution he has made to evolving the PlayStation business, and firmly positioning it as one of the drivers of our future growth,” Sony Corporation president and CEO Kazuo Hirai said.

“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. I would like to thank Andy for his contribution over many years, and wish him every success in the future”

During his time as PlayStation president, House led the home console business for six years and is responsible for the strategy and the launch of the PlayStation 4. Sony noted on its press release that it was during House’s leadership that the company was able to reach cumulative sales of 78 million units of the PS4 making the console the fastest-growing platform in PlayStation history.

House is also credited for ensuring the growth of the PlayStation Network, which now has more than 70 million monthly active users and a suite of recurring revenue services like PlayStation Plus. House is also credited for overseeing the launch of the PlayStation Vue, PlayStation Now and the PlayStation VR.

“I’m tremendously proud of what we’ve built with PlayStation and Sony Interactive Entertainment: entertaining millions globally with the best in games and creating a fully fledged digital entertainment company. 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,” House said.

“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 and the team at SIE are world-class and I know the future of PlayStation is very bright.”

A Sony spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal that House “plans to spend more time with his family before embarking on a new career in the entertainment industry."

Taking over as the new president of PlayStation and of SIE is John Kodera. Kodera has been with Sony since 1992 and has worked on the company’s numerous services since 2010, including the PlayStation Network. As House’s deputy president, he also oversaw the launch of the PS4, the PS VR and PlayStation Now.

“It’s a great honor to take on the role of President and CEO, SIE, and I’m very grateful to Kaz and Andy for the trust and faith they have shown in me. 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,” Kodera said.

“I look forward to working together with the SIE team, and everyone across the Sony Group, to continue to strengthen relations with our business partners, and provide the best possible interactive entertainment experiences, that only PlayStation can deliver.”