About

Former CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, known as the father of the Playstation. In 2011 he stepped down as honorary chairman of SCEI (Sony Computer Entertainment).

Before Fame

He began developing his engineering skills at a young age in his parents' printing plant and went on to attend the University of Electro-Communications. He worked in the digital labs at Sony on projects like LCDs and digital cameras.

In contrast, the Wii, which allows players to trade in their joystick for a handheld motion-sensitive stick nicknamed a "Wiimote", has been a big hit, leaving both Microsoft's XBox and the PS3 in its wake.

Sony had been looking to the third generation of its PlayStation console to put it back on top of the gaming world, a position Mr Kutaragi secured for the firm with the launch of the first PlayStation back in 1994. But the PlayStation3 has been beset with technical difficulties. Last year Mr Kutaragi blamed the delay on the failure of one of Sony's own business units to produce enough components for the console. 

The Nintendo PlayStation was developed by Nintendo and Sony in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s as a joint project, before the companies parted ways and Sony went on to create the first PlayStation.

It only existed as a prototype, but was designed to play both SNES cartridges and CD-ROM discs – a technology that was then still in its infancy. It was intended to be both an add-on for existing systems and a standalone console. 

The departure of Ken Kutaragi, who has been with Sony since 1975, came as the firm's bitter rival, Nintendo, revealed a dramatic jump in profits thanks to the success of its handheld DS device and revolutionary Wii games console.