Masayasu Ito, vice president of Sony Interactive Entertainment who has been with Sony for over 35 years, is officially retiring from the company. He will leave Sony in 2022, ending a decades-long career that was incredibly influential on the PlayStation console line.
Ito is most famous for leading development of several PlayStation consoles, including the PS3, PS4, PS4 Pro, and most recently, the PS5. Beginning his tenure at Sony in 1986, he quickly rose through the department and eventually joined the console team. Now, at 60 years old, he is moving on from the company after a long, productive, and influential career.
His retirement from the vice president seat at SIE will occur in September. Ito will remain as an advisor for the Sony Group until March 2023 as his vacant seat is filled.
Masayasu Ito: a career in PlayStation development
Ito joined Sony as an audio equipment engineer for vehicles in 1986. Eventually, he moved to the company’s console division in 2000 as a hardware architect, right as the PlayStation 2 was launching. Initially, he worked on a number of PlayStation peripherals, including LCD Monitors for the original PlayStation.
He later became the chief designer of multiple PlayStation consoles. Beginning with the PlayStation Portable, he then led the design of the PlayStation 3. His tenure as chief PlayStation architect ended with Sony’s most recent system, the PlayStation 5.
Ito is not the most famous PlayStation architect, with others like Mark Cerny and Ken Kutaragi sometimes overshadowing him. But his legacy at Sony and impact on the PlayStation line cannot be understated. Without his eye for detail and technological advancement, the later PlayStation consoles wouldn’t be as sleek and innovative as they are.
What do you think of Ito’s retirement from Sony? Which of the consoles he helped design is your favorite? Let us know!
Via Bloomberg.
