Biography ken kutaragi thoughts

I grew up within the PlayStation organization, and towards the end of my tenure was running advertising, product marketing and then ultimately PlayStation Network before I left. But during that journey, at one point I was an assistant product manager, and I was coming up in the ranks and my job then was to market all the games that came out of Japan. [...]

And there was this one game that I was assigned called PaRappa the Rapper. [...]

If you think back to that time, [PaRappa] was very perky, a bit wonky. Everyone kind of cocked their head at it and were wondering, you know, how is this going to resonate here in the U.S.?

It was actually one of Ken’s favorite games. He really took to the character, took to the charm, loved the fact that we were making a really simple music game, and saw, I think, the opportunity for the cultural impact that it would have, particularly in Japan.

And so I was assigned this game and I was working with TBWA\Chiat\Day, who was our agency of record at the time, on what was going to be the U.S. marketing campaign at launch for this game, which is essentially [about] a rapping puppy, right?

Then our head of marketing, Andrew House, sent me to Japan to go present the campaign to Ken. And at the time, being really kind of young and whatever, the prospect of going to Japan and going to headquarters and presenting to the founder and CEO was pretty intimidating.

And I get there and I walk into — you know, it’s August; it’s hot as heck and super humid — walk into this office that’s like one of those really long boardrooms and they set me up. And Ken walks in with a small entourage and he sits at the end of the table, and there was a translator and probably three or four people that I have no idea who they are. And I go and do my pitch for the campaign that we all loved in the U.S., and then he just kind of, you know, slammed his fist on

The former Chairman and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI), the video game division of Sony Corporation, and current President and CEO of Cyber AI Entertainment. He is known as "The Father of the PlayStation", and its successors and spinoffs, including the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and the PlayStation 3. He had also designed the sound processor for the Super Nintendo. With Sony, he designed the VLSI chip which works in conjunction with the PS1's RISC CPU to handle the graphics rendering. He was closely watched by financial analysts who trace profiles of the losses and profits of the Sony Corporation. This has been attributed to the PlayStation franchise's high profit returns for Sony; it has been the key source of profit for the company. Born in Tokyo, Japan, his parents, although not wealthy by Japanese standards, still managed to own their own business - a small printing plant in the city. As he grew into childhood, they actively encouraged the young boy to explore his mechanical abilities in the plant, and he worked after school there. Aside from his duties in his parents' factory, he was a studious, high-level student; he was often described as a "straight A student." He always had the desire to "tinker", often taking apart toys as a child to see how they worked. This curiosity carried from childhood, leading him as a teenager to learn the intricacies of electronics. Eventually, in fact, his love of electronics led to him enrolling in University of Electro-Communications in the city of Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan, where he acquired an Electronics degree. Immediately after graduation, he began working for Sony in their digital research labs. Although at the time it was considered a radical decision, he felt that Sony was on the "fast track". He quickly gained a reputation as an excellent problem solver and a forward thinking engineer, earning that reputation by working on many successful pr

Japanese engineering technologist and businessman (born 1950)

Ken Kutaragi (久夛良木 健, Kutaragi Ken, born 2 August 1950) is a Japanese engineering technologist and businessman, currently president and CEO of Cyber AI Entertainment. Formerly the chairman and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), the video game division of Sony, Kutaragi is known as "The Father of the PlayStation" having overseen the development of the original console and its successors and spinoffs until departing the company in 2007, shortly after the PlayStation 3 was released.

Kutaragi had also designed the sound processor for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. With Sony, he designed the VLSI chip, which works in conjunction with the PS1's RISC CPU to handle the graphics rendering.

Early years

Kutaragi was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1950. His parents, although not wealthy by Japanese standards, still managed to own their own business, a small printing plant in the city. As Kutaragi grew into childhood, they actively encouraged the young boy to explore his mechanical abilities in the plant, and he worked after school there. Aside from his duties in his parents' factory, Kutaragi was a studious, high-level student.

Kutaragi always had the desire to "tinker", often taking apart toys as a child rather than playing with them. This curiosity carried from childhood, leading him as a teenager to learn the intricacies of electronics. Eventually, in fact, his love of electronics led to him enrolling in University of Electro-Communications, where he acquired an Electronics degree in the 1970s.

Immediately after graduation, Kutaragi began working for Sony in their digital research labs in the mid-1970s. Although at the time it was considered a radical decision, Kutaragi felt that Sony was on the "fast track". He quickly gained a reputation as an excellent problem solver and a forward-thinking engineer, earn

Ken Kutaragi is the former Chairman and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI), the video game division of Sony Corporation, and current president and CEO of Cyber AI Entertainment. He is known as "The Father of the PlayStation", and its successors and spinoffs, including the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and the PlayStation 3.

As an engineer at Sony, Kutaragi created the SPC700 sound chip for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Following the chip's success, Kutaragi began working with Sony to create its own video game console and helped to launch the first PlayStation in 1994 as its lead engineer. His contribution to the growth of SEC landed Kutaragi the deputy executive president position and eventually he became CEO, during which time he oversaw the launch of the PlayStation 3. After being replaced by Kaz Hirai in November 2006, Kutaragi took the title of Honorary Chairman in 2007. Currently, he serves as president and CEO of internet services company Cyber AI Entertainment Inc.

"The PlayStation has become a household name, representing some of the biggest and best gaming experiences of all time," said general manager of GDC events Meggan Scavio. "Its success and longevity is a reflection of the insight, craft, technical prowess and hard work of the team led by Kutaragi-san, the father of the PlayStation. We're honored to have Kutaragi-san present at the event, and heartened to recognize a true visionary that helped bring about an unparalleled era of growth in the industry."

The 14th Annual GDC Awards will be open to all GDC pass holders and streamed online through GameSpot for those not in attendance. The ceremony will be hosted by Respawn Entertainment community manager Abbie Heppe, while the preceding Independent Games Festival Awards will be hosted by Capybara Games' Nathan Vella.