Established at the end of October in Tokyo, the name of the company is "Cyber Ai Entertainment" with "ai" being Japanese for "love" and a pun on the word "eye". The Japanese source article does not have the official English spelling; however, the official spelling is on the LinkedIn page of Sony exec and Cyber Ai board member Takashi Usuki.

The new venture aims to commercialize the development of next-generation internet services.

Kutaragi has a 90 percent stake in the enterprise, while Usuki has the remaining 10 percent. The start-up has 20 million yen (US$223,000) in capital.

企業ニュース−企業の事業戦略、合併や提携から決算や人事まで速報 [NIKKEI NET（日経ネット）]

The announcement reads, "The shape of a new report. Misato Katsuragi info plan. News will change with the PS3..."

There's a Namco Bandai Games logo on the same page — Namco Bandai is releasing an action adventure Evangelion game for the PSP this summer. One would assume that if there was an Evaneglion game, Namco Bandai would be handling that as well.

"Cellius, Inc." also appears as a copyright. Well, of course it does!

Back in 2007, Sony and Namco Bandai announced a joint venture to develop new content for the Cell chip including games for the PS3 and content for mobile phones and personal computers. The two companies invested about US$821,000 to form Cellius, an outfit headed up by Ken Kutaragi, the father of the PlayStation. Here's how the company was divvied up: 51 percent owned by Namco Bandai and 49 percent by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Previously, the fruits of Cellius and Namco Bandai produced a Gundam video on-demand channel of all things.

That disagreement, which reportedly infuriated Sony president Norio Ohga, let to a transition in power. Edge explores the birth of the console that would ultimately change the landscape of the industry, with Sony chinking away at the armor of then-dominant consoles from Sega and Nintendo with its PlayStation. As a companion piece to the magazine's historical piece on the "Fall of Nintendo," it's a fascinating follow-up.

Not only do readers get a peek at preliminary PlayStation logos—which some have probably seen before—and the evolution of the console's controllers, we get a chance to see the old Sony guard in their prime, when Phil Harrison had hair and Ken Kutaragi had a real job.

There's real drama here, when consoles had surprise launches, executives undercut the prices set by their Japanese bosses and games like the original Tekken were complete unknowns. Fascinating stuff.

The Making Of: PlayStation [Edge-Online] [Image Credit]

Kutaragi will be giving a business seminar at the International Design Liaison Center in Tokyo Midtown on March 19th.

The seminar focuses on "The Future of TV", and Kutaragi will be participating in a talk about "TV And Internet And Technology From Now On". See, teh future! An entrance fee of ¥5,000 (US$51) is required for those attending the talk, which beings at 5:40pm and wraps up at 7:40pm.

Kutaragi seems to be on a speaking tour of sorts. Earlier this year, it was announced that the PlayStation creator would be guest lecturing at Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University.

3月19日（木）に「テレビの未来」セミナーを開催いたします [ASCII via オレ的ゲーム速報

Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University has invited Kutaragi to guest lecture to MBA students starting this April. His position will last one year and end on March 2010. Kutaragi was CEO and President of Sony's PlayStation division, creating the successful PlayStation consoles.

Largely due to the PS3's false start, Kutaragi was replaced by Kaz Hirai and subsequently retired from SCE. He is currently Honorary Chairman at Sony Computer Entertainment.

ソニーの久多良木氏、立命館大の客員教授に [J-Cast]

The thing that I did when I took over last year was to boast the appeal of games themselves... The main premise of the PS3 is video games. That's the absolutely most important thing that we cannot lose sight of.

Hirai goes on to say by putting priority numero uno on games that that's how Sony will expand its position in the marketplace. And about Nintendo, Hirai said, "We cannot allow Nintendo run off alone."

「『任天堂の独走許さない』ソニーのゲーム戦略」〜ゲームが破る閉塞 [NBonline]

Well, I was not in place to decide on some of the issues for the worldwide launch, but while we were very confident – and still are – of the PS3’s capabilities, we may have been a little too zealous in trying to get that message out too quickly. In other words, we can talk about all the non-game functions, features and services now because we actually have them. To say that it isn’t just a games machine without being able to point to tangible things that you can show to consumers — that’s a bit of a challenge.

So in the US operation, which I was running at that point, our positioning was firstly as a great video game console, but I think there was a bit of a disconnect between us and Japan, when they were concentrating on the PS3’s other capabilities at a time when we didn’t have anything to back up that claim.

The exec quotes at that time were quite nutty — zany, even. Though, for Hirai to claim he was completely divorced from that muck is silly, really.

Kaz Hirai: The Station Master [EDGE]

Specifically, he talked about the promise that Sony's regions would be a bit more antonymous under Hirai.

"There is no question that Kutaragi-san ruled with an iron fist, but it was his vision," Tretton said. "In terms of how we went to market in region, that was anonymous."

But Tretton said that Hirai has a better understanding of the company's day-to-day operations and the challenges they face both in Japan and abroad.

"He's been in the regions. He's been in the trenches. He's been outside the towers in Tokyo," Tretton said. "I think there is a better understanding."

Tretton also touched on how SCEA and other regions had to struggle a bit with the perception of PS3 as a super computer created by Kutaragi and the reality that the console had to be a gaming platform first to sell.

"Kutaragi-san built the PS3 as a super computer for the home," he said. "We thought there was a risk of losing the game identity of the Playstaiton 3, so we tried to distance ourselves from that and we understand that credibility would be built with games."

See our other Tretton stories from E3:
Tretton Says No 360 Final Fantasy XIII Coming to Japan
Tretton Explains the Long Road to Home
Tretton: Sony Considering PSP with Harddrive

According to a recent Kadokawa Group Holdings financial statement, Kutaragi will be taking on the role of an outside director, making him on the board of directors. This will be approved at the June 22nd shareholder meeting. Kadokawa Shoten publishes many manga (Lucky Star, Cowboy Bebop) as well as magazines (Newtype). Apparently Kadokawa is hoping to tap into Kutaragi's international business savvy. M'kay.

As IGN points out, here's where it gets interesting: Enterbrain is under the Kodokawa Group Holdings umbrella. Enterbrain publishes Famitsu, Japan's most influential game magazine. Let the conspiracy theories begin!
Ken Kutaragi's New Digs [Famitsu]

After receiving similar accolades from the Entertainment Software Association and Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, we're worried Ken might let this all go to his head. Who knows what engineering insanity he could devise if he ventures into mad scientist mental territory?

Kutaragi finds fame with CEA [GameSpot]

• Former Microsoft exec Peter Moore on Red Rings of Death:
"You know, things break."

• Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in May 2004:
"Customers do not want online games."

• SCEA boss Jack Tretton on post-launch PS3 availability:
"If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on store shelves for more than five minutes, I'll give you 1,200 bucks for it."

• Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan on Wii owners running out of memory space:
"But if your refrigerator's full, you've got to pull something out and put something else back in. I mean, really, are you using everything thing there?"

• PlayStation Father Ken Kutaragi on the PS3's intial price tag:
"It's probably too cheap... We want consumers to think to themselves, 'I will work more hours to buy one.'"

Hey, at least most game execs are not boring!
Crazy Executive Quote Award [Game|Life] [Image]

Yeah, we get it. There's an opportunity to save a couple bucks. But why remove the PlayStation 2 chipset altogether, after investing in software emulation and eliminating hundreds of titles from the PS3 library? According to an interview with SCEE reps at GamesIndustry BIZ a "reduced emphasis placed on this feature amongst later purchasers of PS3, as well as the availability of a more extensive line-up of PS3 specific titles" is the reason the company is nixing the once promised support.

Plus, they've got 65 PS3 titles ready for the holidays.

Solution? Buy the 60GB (while they're still available), natch. This is the one time as an early hardware adopter that I don't feel screwed over. Off to hug my Emotion Engine!

40GB PS3 Confirmed for Europe; Sony Gives Up on Backwards Compatibility [GameDaily BIZ]

"Ken's contributions to our community and the entertainment lives of ordinary consumers are extraordinary," said Michael D. Gallagher, president of the ESA. "His insight and vision revolutionized in-home entertainment, enabling advancements in creativity, technology, and innovation."

'Father of PlayStation' to be Honored by ESA at Nite to Unite [GameDaily BIZ]

Sony Prez To Headline TGS [IGN]

The father of the Playstation officially stepped down today, ending an era that saw the launch of three consoles and Sony's entry into the gaming market.

Kutaragi announced his plans to leave the company as all but an "honorary chairman" back in April. Kazuo Hirai will be stepping into his large shows to take over day-to-day responsibilities as the head of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

It's doubtful we will see any substantial change in the company's operations in the weeks leading up to E3, but I'm sure this move will trigger some shifts in the way Sony does business down the line.

Father of Sony PlayStation steps down [CNN]

That doesn't mean The Gooch is a Microsoft fanboy, though, as he's quite critical of the company in his forthcoming EGM interview, taking shots at the MS Japan marketing department.

Fortunately for the finicky, mustachioed Mistwalker developer, one of his issues with PlayStation development will soon be moot but something tells me we'll see a Mistwalker effort on Wii before we see one on PS3. Michael McWhertor

Hironobu Sakaguchi Doesn't Like Ken Kutaragi [1UP]

While Kutaragi reportedly ran the PlayStation biz like a dictator, Hirai is described as more "affable and articulate." Sure, he may have contributed heavily to the botched E3 2006 keynote, but Kaz does have off-stage finesse.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter likes Hirai's chances, saying the exec is "far more in touch with the U.S. publishers, and probably in a good position to enlist their support for PSP, PS2, and PS3." According to CIO Today, Hirai is already hard at work, building relationships with developers, focusing on in-game advertising and working more closely with Sony Online Entertainment. See how I stuffed that bitter in-game ads bit between the good news? Makes it go down easier.

Kaz is also sporting more grays. I expect to see far more over the next two years. Michael McWhertor

Can New PlayStation Chief Beat the Wii? [CIO Today]

Ken looks to have washed his hands of the PLAYSTATION 3, having already outlined cost reduction scenarios and new PS3 design models for the next two years, and will independently aide Sony in their PS4, PS5 and PS6 plans.

While Ken is cryptic about the future of the PlayStation family—hinting at a strictly network-based device—he seemed clear about one thing. In the EE Times report, Ken says that he was the one who "proposed his resignation to Sony's board of directors." In other words, you can't fire him, 'cause he quits!

Surely, Ken's time is focused on getting the PS4 to work in the fifth dimension, in which we'll play online against alternate timeline versions of ourselves on an inter-dimensional network. Or something like that. Michael McWhertor

Exclusive: Outgoing Sony exec Kutaragi already planning PS4 [EETimes]

While some are of the opinion that the PLAYSTATION 3's slower adoption and high price embarrassed the company, others are less sure. Analyst Michael Pachter says that Kutaragi's early retirement may indicate a renewed focus on PS3 and PSP first party software efforts and paints a positive picture for his successor, Kaz Hirai.

He tells GameDaily:

I think Kaz Hirai is great, and the company probably doesn't need a visionary for another 10 years. They need an operations guy, need to drive costs down, and need to develop more software support (internal and external). Hirai will be great at that.

There are some interesting insights from a number of industry watchers, so do read on. My guess is that Ken's move is probably less exciting and dramatic than it appears, with the Father of the PlayStation continuing to be an outspoken figure for the next decade. Michael McWhertor

Analysts Weigh In on Kutaragi's Departure [GameDaily BIZ]