President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) Jack Tretton has stepped down from his role, Sony has just announced. The change is the result of a "mutual agreement between Mr. Tretton and SCEA not to renew their contractual relationship," the company's statement says.
Mr. Tretton will be succeeded by Shawn Layden, current Executive Vice President and COO of Sony Network Entertainmnt International, which will come into effect on April 1, 2014.
This is surprising news as Tretton has been with Sony for 19 years as one of the founding members of the executive team in its 1995 inception. He has been in front of gamers for a long time, having presided over the development and launch of every one of Sony's consoles and platforms.
From the original PlayStation to the current fast-selling PlayStation 4 this year, Tretton has been hugely influential within the company. He has released a statement alongside this announcement:
"Working at SCEA for the past 19 years has been the most rewarding experience of my career. Although I will deeply miss the talented team at SCEA and the passion demonstrated every day by our fans, I'm very excited about starting the next chapter of my career.
I want to thank the employees, partners and customers for their tireless commitment to the PlayStation brand and, of course, to our fans who have pushed us to new heights of innovation and entertainment over the past two decades. I leave PlayStation in a position of considerable strength and the future will only get brighter for PlayStation Nation."
It's good to see he's leaving the company in good shape after all of his commitment and work. The 53 year old won over gamers on stage at last year's E3 with several welcome announcements about the PlayStation 4. It's unclear what his plans are for the future, but I wish him luck and thank him for his long-time contribution to the gaming industry. You can read the full statement here.
