The end of this month marks a time of big change for PlayStation. After 27 years with the company and 5 years as CEO of Sony’s US gaming division, current CEO Jim Ryan is leaving. During his tenure, PlayStation not only experienced some good moments, but also a number of controversial moments that made Ryan a somewhat unpopular leader. In this shorter feature video, we take a quick look back at Ryan’s work with the now-console giant and what his departure could mean for the future.
On April 1, 2019, Jim Ryan took over as CEO. Sony Interactive Entertainment in honor of his predecessor John Coder. He took up his position a year before the release of the next-generation PlayStation 5 console, when the Covid-19 pandemic began. Ryan already had a tough job. He not only had to deal with the global release of a brand new console, but also ensure that the launch went as smoothly as possible. Even though the PS5 console was in short supply due to demanding production, the console’s launch was more or less successful despite the slower start.
However, even then Jim Ryan did not carry the most positive sentiments. This, for example, is due to his statement from 2017, in which he spoke negatively about backward compatibility and did not believe, that this would be any popular feature of the then PlayStation 4.. The PlayStation 5 eventually included backwards compatibility (a decision Jim Ryan probably didn’t sign off on), but support was only built-in to PS4 games. And not quite yet; for example, due to the inability to play on the DualSense controller, even though it doesn’t have any of the key features that PS4 games might require. Backwards compatibility of a limited library of games from previous PlayStations was then locked to the highest tier PS Plus subscription.
Even this has undergone significant changes under Ryan. One subscription became three levels, which offers more and more benefits, including, for example, Ubisoft+ Classic, trials of new games or cloud streaming. Changing the way PS+ works, including raising the price by a third, was another very unpopular move. Of course, it’s difficult to blame Ryan personally, and the post-Covid situation, inflation and the general market situation also played a big role. After all, the rise in subscription prices has affected more services.
However, Ryan is responsible for another series of decisions that the players did not like at all. In certain regions the price of the console has increased PlayStation 5, and was also one of those who generally they started raising the price tag to $70 for the game as a new standard. It was under his leadership that more or less about the failed PlayStation VR2which also failed due to the fact that it is a closed ecosystem of an already small market, coupled with a small number of games, which was further reduced due to the PS VR2 not being able to play first-gen games.
Source :Indian TV
