For many PlayStation faithful the name Ken Kutaragi should be instantly recognizable. Having been attributed the title of “The Father of PlayStation,” he has been credited with starting the success of Sony in the home video game market back in 1994 with the release of the PSOne, and then following up in 2000 with the unparalleled success of the PS2, as well as championing the success of the PSP in 2004 and 2005.
The ex-SCE executive stepped down in 2007 due to nagging problems with the newly released PS3. Everything from production problems which caused launch delays in all three major territories, an extraordinarily high retail price point which contributed to relatively slow sales compared to the competition, to Kutaragi’s apparent lethargy when it came to negotiating with publishers to secure exclusivity rights which may have allowed once former exclusive titles like Assassin’s Creed and Grand Theft Auto IV to make their way to Xbox 360.
However Kutaragi seems to be back in a fashion at the head of a new startup Internet company called Cyber AI Entertainment. According to Nikkei Net (subscription required) this new company’s focus is on networking technologies with Kutaragi serving as president with a hefty 90% share in the company. Kutaragi went on to comment about the operations:
“We’ll initially focus on research and development relating to information processing, targeting cutting-edge networking operations.”
But is there more than meets the eye going on with this new company? According to Nikkei Net it may be possible since Kutaragi inferred that this new company may develop “an advanced platform for entertainment” that takes advantage of Internet-based development and processing referred to as cloud computing.
Is it possible that this move by Kutaragi may be to eventually partner with Sony in the future to collaborate on the PS4 using this new research and development? Or will he try and develop a whole new console? Whatever the case may be these new events will be interesting to see what ultimately develops. Be sure to check back to PlayStationLifeStyle for any updates and also for the latest news going on in the industry.
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