Shuhei Yoshida is a key figure in PlayStation history (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
PlayStation Studios’ former president Shuhei Yoshida is set to leave the company next year, after being at Sony since its first ever console.
While many executives have come and gone over Sony Interactive Entertainment’s 30 year history, one behind the scenes constant has been Shuhei Yoshida.
The games industry veteran joined Sony in 1993, under Ken Kutaragi’s leadership, when the company was developing the original PlayStation. Yoshida went on to become the president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios from 2008 to 2019, before his current role as head of the company’s indie developer initiative.
In his previous role, up until 2019, he was one of the most prominent figureheads for the PlayStation brand but on Tuesday, November 26, Yoshida announced he is leaving the company after 31 years, with his last day being January 15, 2025.
Asked about his exit in a dedicated PlayStation blog post, Yoshida said: ‘I’ve been with PlayStation from the beginning, and this is my 31st year with PlayStation. And when I hit 30 years, I was thinking, hmm, it may be about time for me to move on.
‘You know, the company’s been doing great. I love PS5, I love the games that are coming out on this platform. And we have new generations of management who I respect and admire. And I’m so excited for the future of PlayStation.’
Yoshida’s departure comes after fellow PlayStation veteran Jim Ryan stepped down as Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO last year, with the company now led by joint CEOs Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino.
When asked what memory stands out the most during his time overseeing PlayStation Studios, Yoshida highlighted the breakout success of 2012’s Journey.
‘One time [that] stood out for me in my memory as something really, really special was when Journey got the Game Of The Year award,’ Yoshida said. ‘Journey was distributed through PlayStation Network. It was a digital-only, small game. You can finish playing the game within like three hours.
‘But that game… [won] Game Of The Year against all these AAA titles, I think for the first time in the industry…. the creator Jenova Chen did a talk at the summit, and he talked about a letter he received from a girl who lost her father and she thought about her father and she was able to move on in her life.
‘The whole audience stood up and the whole room was filled with happiness and an amazing feeling that this small game could have such a big impact on people’s lives.’
While Yoshida is best known for his role during the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 generations, new figures from Sony have also highlighted the dominance of the company’s biggest success, the PlayStation 2.
The PS2 is Sony’s best-selling console (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The PlayStation 2 has remained the best-selling console of all time for decades, but there’s been some confusion around the actual sales figures, which were previously put at 155 million by Sony themselves.
However, just before he left, former PlayStation boss Jim Ryan claimed that over 160 million PlayStation 2 consoles have been sold, although at the time it was unclear if he was merely rounding up or slightly misremembering.
A new 30th anniversary update on the PlayStation website, however, has listed the PlayStation 2 as selling ‘over 160 million’ units worldwide since 2000 – the first time the figure has been used outside of Ryan’s comment.
The lack of an exact figure seems peculiar, in what seems very much like corporate shenanigans to push the goalposts away from Nintendo, now that the Switch is within shouting distance of the previous PlayStation 2 total.
The second biggest-selling console is the Nintendo DS at 154.02 million units, while the Switch is third at 146.04 million, as of September 2024, with a good chance of eclipsing 155 million – but not necessarily 160 million – before it is discontinued.
Although the successor to the Switch is thought to be imminent there’s still no official indication of when it will be released, but even if that gives the original Switch a longer run than expected Sony’s claim of ‘over 160 million’ can technically never be beaten. Unless Nintendo claim the Switch sells ‘over 161 million’.
A celebration of PlayStation history (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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