Apparently Kadokawa is hoping to tap into Kutaragi's international business savvy. M'kay.

M'kay indeed, considering his track record as a businessman isn't as rosy as his engineering one.

ya thats true. Let the conspiracy theories begin! let them eat cake!

Whatever the outcome, that man didn't deserve the shit he got. He basically made videogames "cool" by appealing to the more mature audience with the PS1. Also, he gave us the PS2. And the PS3. I wouldn't want to miss any of that and the man should get some more respect, even though the PS3 launch wasn't spectacular. But damn, that thing cost $599. What did people expect?

Looking back, I don't really care if he made mistakes with the PS3, because I couldn't be happier with it at the moment. In between GTA IV and Final Fantasy, you get MGS4, HAZE, Resistance and Killzone? Man, I won't have the time to complete all those games. I don't want to sound biased, but these games are essentially my top spots at the moment.

I'd like to add that even though the 360 has a great interface, great games, great online and all that (in these areas it surpasses the PS3 until now) - the PS3 still is the more solid piece of hardware. This is just my opinion on it judging by how it is manufactured. Anyone see the cooling fan and the passive cooled motherboard/chips? That is some sweet stuff right there. What a beautifully laid out design. I'd love my PC to look and run as cool as that on the inside. If only I could run more of my own apps on it.

He did right with the PS3. It cost alot, but with what it contains, it's worth it. To keep as much of their shareholders on board tho, i suppose they felt they needed to have him step down, but I'm glad he's still part of SCE in some form. Give him credit for what he's done, because now, people are all over his creation for what it offers.

So...conspiracy theory happening in about 5 minutes. Bashing of the man and the system, 2 minutes.

@Candlejack: Firstly Kutaragi was an amazing designer and the PS3 is a marvel in my opinion (still a marvel but less impressive with BC removed). The launch was shifty and crap (especially since they got rid of Europe from the 'world wide release') but that wasn't Kutaragi's fault. As a designer he made a great console and unfortunately Sony was a stupid enough company to get rid of him. They showed they were deceiptful when they claimed the PS3 was the best console out, was selling well and had no problems yet stripped away at the console and fired it's creator.

Well if you enlightened us on other console offerings you'd enjoy it might sound less biased but essentially your just a sony fan.

You don't base a consoles worth on the hardware though, it's all software. Sure the PS3 can make better looking games a year or two down the line but does it really matter much if it's not getting the games? Value for money it is the the best console though and the hardware is impressive.

@Jechticknight:

He's a great engineer, no doubt about that (starting with his first gaming contribution with the SNES sound chip).

@Jechticknight: Sure the PS3 launch was rubbish and the hardware was too overpriced and getting BC removed sucked BUT that Blu-ray player in the PS3 is really helping them in the long run

@Llost: Actually, I meant to say that those games, that software, fully warrants a $599 pricetag to me. I didn't realize this a year ago. Now I do. I want these games so bad. Back when I had a 360, I would die for Mass Effect. Now, well, the game is surely awesome, but to me, no way could it hold up against MGS4.

A few other titles I loved on the 360 were DOA4 (played the shit out of it online), BioShock and PGR3 (didn't get to PGR4). Those are really enjoyable games/franchises.

But since I was talking about what Ken has done for "us", I didn't deem it necessary to mention too much software. He just created that wonderful device.

If I could have changed one thing about it? Replace the GPU with a 7950GT 512MB and up the system memory to 512MB as well. That would have given the PS3 a *lot* of more headroom. No doubt what we will see on both 360 and PS3 is going to get more and more impressive though.

@Llost: The problem is, in Sony they went through a serious sweat-out while Kutaragi was there. After they lowered the cost of the console and started making a profit, they saw that as the "saving point" which had nothing to do with Kutaragi.

That's the unfortunate part - because the man is still very responsible for a lot of Playstation's success.

Whoops, hit submit by accident.

But remember - you're only as good as your LAST success, in this business or any in the entertainment industry.

Instead of offering business advice or whatever, shouldn't Kutaragi be designing the next generation George Foreman grill or something?

@Spoony Bard: Yea, true, but you gotta keep in mind that the gaming division is actually Sony's most profitable branch (quoting Wikipedia, don't punch me). If they want to make money, they gotta invest and lose some first. They should know that by now. They're not selling PS2.5's, if you catch my drift.

ken likes sneaking devs into bed with his PSP? o_o

@Candlejack: Well that depends on opinion because to me the FF titles have never been as good as there prime (6,7 and 8), GTA IV and Haze are both no longer exclusive, MGS4 and online will be great, not too bothered for Resistance and I have low expectations of Killzone. Not saying the PS3 has no good games (as I'd love FFXII, MGS4, Ninja gaiden sigma, Valkyrie chronicles, Disgea 3, Tekken 6, Wipeout etc.) so to me it's justified but not for the games you mentioned.

They'll both increase dramatically as time goes but I expect to see the PS3 to be one step ahead only.

@Spoony Bard: Kutaragi designed the console, if they were able to make it reduced in costs and remove parts so easily it's because he made it flexible. They fired there best designer yet claimed it was a masterpiece and that's contradictory in my opinion. Just showed the PR bull they were spewing but either way the console is great.

@Candlejack: Just wondering why you chose 4 games not out (I'm assuming you meant FFXIII/Versus XIII, and Killzone 2) to say what great great software it has. By saying MGS4 *is* better than Mass Effect seems a bit odd... (Unless the Online Beta is *that* good?)

By the way, this may seem like PS3 bashing, but I have no next gen consoles, or preferences to them. Just thought it was odd you mentioned all those unreleased games.

Before reading the comments, I feared the worst (and some people certainly delivered, of course), but it's nice to see that the comments section isn't overflowing with smartass digs at Kutaragi, he-so-stoopid, hu-hu.

Around the PS3's launch, it suddenly became Internet-cool to run around forums slamming Kuratagi, all but ignoring his entire track record in favour of the latest (admittedly dumb) statement. I'm not a fan of his or anybody's in the videogames industry, but he certainly was instrumental in helping our hobby outgrow its decade-long puberty. Gotta give him that.

Something about that picture is creepy (whether its the kiddie sheets, the arm over the should, or both!), kind of like every Burger King commercial featuring the King.

@DugDawg: The funny thing is the sheet pattern reminds me of the Nintendo DS symbol.

@greeble:

You're right, maybe Sony is secretly "in bed" with Nintendo . . . *raises eyebrow*

Whoa, these responses are quite unexpected considering the shitstorm around launch. Great to see people appreciate his work. Maybe Sony should have kept Kutaragi out of the PR spotlight and he might still be contributing. Great engineer, not a smooth talker.

@Krondonian: To answer your question, because those are the games most important to me. Heavenly Sword, Uncharted, Prologue and Ratchet were all fun experiences, but (except for Prologue in Europe) not "system sellers"/blockbusters.

Also...hate to sound like a moron but, the MGO beta is THAT good. I played Old Snake and have got a glimpse of how he controls, looks (suspecting even better visuals in the final singleplayer game), aims, sneaks, and used OctoCamo. This game will be incredible, and I think anybody who beat MGS4 already (namely some UK print mags) will confirm that.

Mind you, I didn't say Mass Effect was crap or anything, it just wasn't as great as I thought it would be. Looking back, I don't think I would have purchased the console just for it.

@Llost: Well everybody is entitled to his opinion eh? I think Killzone2 will at least have amazing visuals (as seen in the latest gameplay footage), so it'll be a technical showcase. HAZE is still exclusive by the way. No 360 or PC ports announced or planned.

However, it was interesting when in a preview on a TV channel here in the UK of the game they had a couple of 360s lying around. No devkits though as far as I could see lol.

Kenny looks a little too comfortable...

I thought the consensus was that Kaz and Phil were the business savvy guys while Ken was the mastermind behind the Playstation engineering.

Ken has always promoted strong hardware which hindered initial sales of the PSP and PS3. He understands the tech industry and creates machines that are usually too expensive to make good business for that time.

That's why Kaz has moved up and initiated numerous changes to the PSP/PS3 including price cuts and new SKUs.

Ever since Kaz has been the boss, the business side of the Playstation division has been recovering fairly fast.

@Antiterra: Considering just how arrogant the man was just prior to his downfall, I'd argue he deserves every bit of smartassery the internets can muster. He needed to be brought back down to Earth for a bit.

Personality traits notwithstanding, you'd have to be a complete twit to deny the man credit for his vision and engineering prowess. Mega skills.

I agree with many of the comments. Its kind of sad they pushed the engineer out, he oversaw the making of three really revolutionary systems. Unfortunately shareholders rule the day, and if they don't see your vision you get the boot.

Still I like the guy, and hope he has a great second act someday

wait,wait,wait Cowboy Bebop series still continues in the manga?!

I can find out what ever happened to Fey! or Jet!

@Shoot2thrill: There's a manga, but it's more like side stories than actually continuing the storyline. I have them. Unless, of course, they just came out with a new one.

I personally think Ken got a little railroaded on the PS3 don't get me wrong the systems is good but I think there was so much interest in getting all the other Sony technology out there Cell and Blu-Ray that they had to rush it out at a early unbearable cost. With the few price costs and different models and games catching up with the system its started to do much better.

But he did shoot himself in the foot and earn his Krazy Ken nickname with some awesome quotes like "You can communicate to a new cybercity. This will be the ideal home server. Did you see the movie 'The Matrix'? Same interface. Same concept. Starting from next year, you can jack into 'The Matrix'!" -- Newsweek, 02/00

@Candlejack: I, for one, would love if my 360 ran as quiet and reliable as the PS3.
The PS3 hardware design definitely seems great.

One minor screwup in my opinion would be to not include rumble from the start..

Ohwell, Riiiiiiidge racer!

Does anyone else think the guy on the right looks just a smidge like Al Bundy?

I'm in yur Ikea, wrinklin' yur sheets.

I'd like to see Nintendo or Microsoft Japan hire him up... The ultimate insult to Sony...