Goodbye to a PlayStation legend: Shuhei Yoshida retires

If you are a fan of video games and, especially, PlayStation, it is more than likely that the name Shuhei Yoshida rings a bell. The former president of PlayStation Studios during the PS3 and PS4 era has announced his departure from the company.

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In the official PlayStation blog, Yoshida has given an interview where he explains that he will leave Sony on January 15, 2025. The executive explains that “I have been with PlayStation from the beginning, and this is my thirty-first year with PlayStation. And when I reached 30 years, I thought, hmm, maybe it’s time for me to leave. The company is doing very well. I love PS5, I love the games that are coming out on this platform. And we have new generations of executives whom I respect and admire. I am very excited about the future of PlayStation.”

In the interview, Yoshida recalls one of his favorite moments: the success of Journey at the GOTY, a game developed by Thatgamecompany. “But that game… [won] the Game of the Year award against all these Triple A titles, I think for the first time in the industry […] The entire audience stood up, and the room was filled with happiness and the incredible feeling that such a small game could have such a big impact on people’s lives.”

As for what the future holds for him, Yoshida is clear and states that he will not retire. The executive wants to remain connected to the world of video games and specifically, to the indie world.

For Yoshida, smaller games present opportunities to try new ideas: “being small, they don’t require a large capital. This way, ideas that have never been done before can be tested, and that starts a completely new channel in the entire industry.”

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