Atsushi Morita Departs Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia

Published: October 2, 2019 6:37 AM /

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Atsushi Morita Sony Interactive Entertainment and PlayStation logo

Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia President and SIE Corporate Director Atushi Morita has retired at the age of 60, joining Sony Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden who decided to leave after 30 years working at the home of the PlayStation.

"SIE: Atsushi Morita, President of SIEJA and director of SIE Japan unit, left the positions today as he retired from Sony group due to age," read a tweet from the Wall Street Journal's Takashi Mochizuki based on a translation of the Japanese announcement. "Replacing him as director is SIE CFO Kazuhiko Takeda, as president of SIEJA undecided yet. I liked you smiling on stage. Thanks, Morita-san."

Morita's successor hasn't yet been announced, but GamesIndustry.biz reports that his job as Corporate Director has already been filled by Sony Interactive Entertainment Deputy President and Chief Financial Officer Kazuhiko Takeda.

Depature of Sony Executives May Be Due To Restructuring

While Sony is an absolutely massive corporation, it's hard to ignore the departure of two of its executives from two entirely different markets. This may be due to internal power struggles as a result of a company-wide restructuring process which began last year.

"This is the least amount of clarity we've ever had on a new console this close to transition," a source said to GameDaily.biz. "I believe that the [global restructuring] is exponentially exacerbating the already difficult process of transitioning to a new generation. And now we’re getting nervous. Read: very nervous."

Laydon and Ryan were particularly noted to disagree on some points, including Laydon being more of a proponent of cross-play (a point that, with it's release from beta on PlayStation he appears to have won before leaving). Ryan, however is noted to be a big backer of cloud gaming, and the push for PlayStation Now with its recent price drop and new titles. Where this all goes from here, especially with Morita's additional departure is yet to be seen. 

What do you think of Sony executives Atsushi Morita and Shawn Layden departing the company within a few days of one another? Do you think Sony can solidify their strategy going forward? Let us know in the comments below!

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