Having worked for three decades at PlayStation, Jim Ryan, who is stepping down as president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment next month, has seen the industry he loves undergo dramatic changes. And from the height of his experience, he gave advice to his successor and named the top games of each PlayStation generation.
I’m very grateful that I don’t work in a boring industry. Launching the PlayStation 5 during the pandemic was the biggest challenge — and at the same time the most rewarding achievement in his 30 years at Sony. My job was to exude a sense of calm and serenity. In fact, I sat at the dinner table with my head in my hands and thought about how we were going to do that.
There were a lot of obstacles in Sony’s way. We assemble the vast majority of PlayStations in China. Another problem was to finish games when developers couldn’t get together, eat pizza, and reflect on their craft. And then, the equally important task of — selling our product to our consumers when retail was completely closed.
Ryan announced his decision to step down last September, transmits Variety. Starting April 1, Hiroki Totoki, Sony’s president and chief operating officer, will serve as interim CEO of SIE. Ryan says he has full confidence in Totoki’s leadership and has no doubt about the upcoming choice of his final deputy, which will be made by Totoki and Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida. He shared one piece of advice for the new PlayStation boss, which he believes should remain a “cornerstone” for SIE:
Never forget that we are an entertainment industry… If we continue to entertain, delight, and surprise our community of gamers, I think Mr. Totoki and those who will succeed him will be fine.
On the eve of his departure, Ryan says he won’t miss the chronic jet lag and years of regular flights between Sony’s Tokyo headquarters, his home in London, and PlayStation’s San Mateo, California, office.
Ryan also named his top games for each generation of PlayStation:
PS1: Ridge Racer, 1994
I and most people thought: «Wow, this is really a different game that’s really fun and enjoyable to play». It set the standard for many games of that generation.
PS2: Grand Theft Auto 3, 2001
It was a transformative game of the generation and a cultural moment. It had a huge and lasting impact on the gaming industry and, of course, on the PlayStation.
PS3: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, 2007
PS5: God of War Ragnarök, 2022
Obviously, it’s a great game, and it’s been well-received. It coincided with the time when we were finally able to start producing enough PlayStation 5s. Everything went like clockwork.