As Sony CEO Kaz Hirai steps down, the future of some products is in question

Enlarge / Sony CEO Kaz Hirai (credit: Sony)

Sony CEO Kaz Hirai will step down from his post on April 1, 2018-six years to the day after he first assumed the role. He will remain with the company as chairman, and the CEO seat will be filled by current CFO Kenichiro Yoshida.

Hirai is perhaps best known to the general public for his role in the PlayStation business, which is where the majority of his background with the company lies. He was involved in developing the PlayStation's software lineup in the late '90s, and Hirai famously unveiled the PlayStation 3 before he became CEO. That unveiling might better be described as infamous: he announced the console's launch models at the extremely steep prices of $499 and $599, leading to shock and ire in the gaming community. The cheaper of those two was almost a non-starter, lacking Wi-Fi and adequate hard drive storage.

That memorable blunder aside, investors in Sony have enjoyed significant gains in the six years since Hirai became CEO-though the company has only been regaining partial ground since it fell a long way from its peak back in 2000. He has kept Sony's efforts diversified across several markets and products, from computers to Hollywood movies.

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