Either way, his impressive 36-year tenure at the 60-year-old Sony is coming to an end. In 1986, he was involved in the development of car audio equipment, and joined PlayStation in 2000. Ito oversaw the engineering of both the PS4 and PS5, so it’s no exaggeration to say that he had a huge impact on PlayStation as a business.
Sony has announced that Masayasu Ito will be leaving the company on October 1st. Mr. Ito’s name may have been mentioned in various company-related articles over the years. That’s because he’s the vice president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, a key figure in his entire PlayStation business. Ito’s words have often been referenced in financial calls and other public statements about the brand.
Highlights
Ito’s successor will be Lin He Tao, who is already a director and vice president of SIE. Tao’s first taste of his PlayStation was during his PS2 days before moving to Sony’s mobile division. He will return to the gaming side of things in 2021 and seems to share a similar vision as CEO Jim Ryan, with PlayStation slowly becoming a multi-platform brand. Of course, I sincerely pray for Mr. Ito’s retirement.