Ken Kutaragi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ken Kutaragi
Kutaragi with his Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2014
Born	(1950-08-02) 2 August 1950 (age 74) Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan
Alma mater	University of Electro-Communications
Occupation	Engineering technologist, businessman
Known for	PlayStation, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Cellius
Children	1

Ken Kutaragi (久夛良木 健, Kutaragi Ken, born 2 August 1950) is a Japanese engineering technologist and businessman. He is currently the president and CEO of Cyber AI Entertainment. Before this, he was the chairman and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). This was Sony's video game part.

Kutaragi is known as "The Father of the PlayStation". He led the creation of the first console and its newer versions. He left Sony in 2007, soon after the PlayStation 3 came out. Kutaragi also designed the sound processor for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. At Sony, he helped design a special chip called the VLSI chip. This chip worked with the PS1's RISC CPU to create the graphics.

Ken Kutaragi's Early Life

Kutaragi was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1950. His parents owned a small printing business. They encouraged him to explore how machines worked at their plant. He often helped out there after school. Kutaragi was also a very good student.

He loved to "tinker" with things. As a child, he often took toys apart instead of playing with them. This curiosity continued as he grew up. As a teenager, he learned a lot about electronics. His love for electronics led him to study at the University of Electro-Communications. He earned an Electronics degree in the 1970s.

After graduating, Kutaragi started working for Sony in the mid-1970s. He joined their digital research labs. He quickly became known as a great problem solver. He was also seen as an engineer who thought ahead. He worked on many successful projects. These included early liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and digital cameras.

Kutaragi's Career in Gaming

In 1983, Kutaragi watched his two-year-old son play a Famicom. He realized how much potential video games had. At that time, Sony's leaders were not interested in video games. So, when Nintendo needed a sound chip for its new system, Kutaragi took the job. He designed the chip, called the SPC700, in secret.

When Sony's leaders found out, they were very angry. Only with the approval of Sony CEO Norio Ohga could Kutaragi finish the chip. He also got to keep his job. Even after working with Nintendo, gaming was still seen as just a passing trend at Sony.

Creating the PlayStation Console

Despite this, Kutaragi convinced Ohga to work with Nintendo. They planned to develop a CD-ROM add-on for the Super NES. A Sony console that could play both Super NES cartridges and CD games would also be released. This project was called the "Play Station".

However, the partnership between Sony and Nintendo ended. They disagreed about licensing. But Kutaragi and Sony kept working on their own console. Kutaragi wanted to use Sony's newest technology. He aimed to create the most powerful home console available. He felt Nintendo used older technology for their consoles. He also noticed that Nintendo focused mainly on children. Kutaragi wanted Sony's console to appeal to older adult gamers. He felt this market was not yet explored by other consoles.

Kutaragi later remembered staying up all night working on the console design. He said it was "because our work was so interesting." Other Sony executives thought it was a risky idea. But Kutaragi had Ohga's support again. Several years later, Sony released the original PlayStation.

Success of the PlayStation Series

The PlayStation was a huge success. This led Kutaragi to lead the creation of its next versions. These were the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. The PlayStation series became very profitable for Sony. Even though Sony was new to the console market, the first PlayStation became very popular. It even surpassed Nintendo and Sega.

The PlayStation 2 further increased Sony's lead in the next generation. At one point, it held a 65% market share. Over 100 million units were sold. Kutaragi was praised for this success by many technology magazines. He was even named one of the 100 most influential people of 2004 by TIME magazine. He was also called the "Gutenberg of Video Games."

Later Career and Retirement

In 1997, Kutaragi became the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. He moved to California. Many thought he would become the next Sony president. He had a close relationship with Ohga. Ohga's successor, Nobuyuki Idei, promoted Kutaragi in 2003. He became Deputy Executive President and Sony-Global chief operating officer.

On November 30, 2006, Kazuo Hirai replaced Kutaragi as president of Sony Computer Entertainment. Kutaragi was promoted to chairman of SCEI. He also kept his role as chief executive officer of the group. On April 26, 2007, it was announced that Kutaragi would retire. He would take on the role of Honorary Chairman. Hirai took over his position.

On June 29, 2011, Sony announced that Kutaragi had stepped down as honorary chairman of SCEI. He had stopped actively managing the business he created in 2007. He remained at Sony as a senior technology advisor.

Ken Kutaragi later became the president and CEO of Cyber AI Entertainment, Inc. He also serves on the boards of other companies. These include Kadokawa Group Holdings, Inc., Nojima Corporation, and Rakuten, Inc. In 2009, he became a visiting professor at Ritsumeikan University. In 2020, Kutaragi became CEO of Ascent Robotics. This is a Tokyo-based company that works with AI and robotics. He had been on its Board of Directors since 2018.

Challenges and Views on Consoles

Some experts believe that Kutaragi faced challenges in other parts of Sony. They suggest that the outgoing Sony CEO, Nobuyuki Idei, might have set him up for failure. This was because they did not have a good working relationship. Kutaragi was given the difficult task of improving Sony's consumer electronics division. This division was already falling behind competitors like Samsung in the LCD market.

In 2004, Sony Interactive Entertainment had a weaker year. This was after several years of strong growth. This could be partly due to many video games being released. Also, price wars caused the PS2 to lose its top sales spot for a while.

Kutaragi once called the Xbox 360 "just an Xbox 1.5." He said it was "only going after PlayStation 2." However, another Sony executive, Tetsuhiko Yasuda, did not see Microsoft as a competitor. He even said they might work together on games. In September 2006, Kutaragi admitted that there were not enough PlayStation 3 consoles for North America and Japan. The console's launch in Europe was also delayed. He said this caused Sony's strength in hardware to decline.

Images for kids

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  A robot for kids.