Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida said that at the ALT: GAMES event in Australia: When he stepped down from the position of president, it was not that he wanted to change careers, but that former CEO Jim Ryan gave him a “two choices” – either leave, or take over PlayStation Indies… It can be said to be a transfer, but in essence he was forced to give up his position.
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Shuhei Yoshida stayed at Sony for 31 years, from his early participation in the establishment of PlayStation, all the way to SCE President (2008–2019), and later moved to lead PlayStation Indies, finally leaving in 2025. He has hinted at this transfer in the past, but this time he directly clashed with Jim Ryan by name, and the reason was even more cruel: “I didn’t listen to him.” In other words, this is not a question of ability, but a question of route – if the high-level route is not compatible, no matter how senior you are, you will only be the next chair to be replaced.
Ryan era strongly promotes “service-based games”
Although Yoshida did not explain clearly what “ridiculous demands” Ryan asked him to make at that time, it is difficult not to guess the industry context in the same direction: in the Ryan era, live-service games were strongly promoted, and Sony once transferred a lot of resources to it. As a result, this road was not smooth. For example, “Concord” overturned, and projects such as “The Last of Us Online”, “God of War” service-based spin-off projects, and “Twisted Metal” were canceled one after another. It was like the company rushed first and then turned around and put the brakes on its own. Looking back at the conflict between Yoshida and Ryan at this time, the taste is very clear: while maintaining the single-player narrative DNA, while trying to expand long-term monetization, it is only a matter of time before a collision occurs.
Sony’s next-generation console can no longer compete with each other
The report card left by Shuhei Yoshida is actually very strong: “God of War”, “Uncharted”, “The Last of Us”, “Ghost of Tsushima” and other signature works can grow to today’s scale. He is one of the core promoters.
Therefore, the most jarring part of this speech is not gossip, but a reminder to the entire industry: when the high-level strategy swings too far, not only the management, but also brand trust will be injured first.