Sony has surprisingly announced that Phil Harrison, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, will be resigning from his position this week on February 29, 2008.

Kaz Hirai, former head of Sony Computer Entertainment America who is now filling the shoes of the previously departed Ken Kutaragi, will assume Harrison’s duties along with his current responsibilities.

Not the first big name to leave one of the industry’s major hardware developers, Harrison has been at Sony for pretty much the entire life of the PlayStation brand and has been a very visible face for the company in the last couple years.

While there is no word on the catalyst for this move, maybe it should not come as such a surprise given some of Harrison’s recent comments at GDC concerning his frustrations with certain voices inside Sony.

Speculation aside, while there is no word on Harrison’s reasoning, Gamesindustry.biz is reporting that he may be joining Atari in the near future. Press release in full below.

SCE WORLDWIDE STUDIOS PRESIDENT
PHIL HARRISON RESIGNS
SCEI Group CEO Kazuo Hirai Assumes Responsibilities

Tokyo, February 25, 2008 – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced that Phil Harrison, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS), will resign from Sony Computer Entertainment Group as of February 29, 2008. Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO of SCEI, will immediately assume responsibilities as president of SCE WWS, in addition to his current duties.

Prior to the launch of the original PlayStation®, Phil Harrison joined Sony Electronics Publishing, Ltd. in 1992, which later evolved into Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, and since then, he has made a tremendous contribution to the company playing a strategic role in the launch of four PlayStation platforms, as well as building strong relationships with game developers and publishers throughout the world. Since his appointment to the position of president, SCE WWS, Harrison applied his considerable skill, knowledge and expertise to lead SCE Group’s first party game development as well as aggressively pursuing the development of new online entertainment experiences.

“As one of the founding members of SCE, Phil played a key role in the development and growth of the PlayStation business and our industry,” said Kazuo Hirai. “It is sad to see him departing from SCE, but I wish to express my gratitude for his many invaluable contributions and also wish Phil the very best of luck in his future endeavors.”

“The past 15 years at Sony Computer Entertainment has been the defining journey of my life so far,” said Phil Harrison. “I am grateful to all the PlayStation family for their incredible support, guidance and friendship. It has been a privilege to serve as part of the team and be inspired by them on a daily basis. I am so proud of everything PlayStation has achieved and will continue to support its future in every way I can.”

Source: SCEI, NeoGAF, Gameindustry.biz

Tags: Atari, gameindustry_biz, gdc, hardware_developers, kazuo_hirai, ken_kutaragi, key_role, phil_harrison, playstation_brand, sony_computer_entertainment, Sony_Computer_Entertainment_America, story_sources

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