Nobuyuki Idei dies, the promoter of the PlayStation 2 and PSP

Nobuyuki Idei, who was CEO of Sony Group Corporation when the company launched two of its most popular consoles, PlayStation 2 (PS2) and PlayStation Portable (PSP), passed away on June 2.

The former CEO died in Tokyo at the age of 84 and has been seen off by family and close friends at a private funeral, Sony said in a statement.

In it, it is recalled that Idei joined the company in 1960. Since then, he has held leadership positions in Sony’s Audio Group, Home Video Group and Creative Communication Division, until being named the company’s sixth president and representative director in 1995.

Three years later, in 1998, he became CEO and served as chairman and CEO from 2000 to 2005. Since this appointment, he has actively promoted the Japanese manufacturer’s digital networking business under the banner ‘Digital Dream Kids’.

It also accelerated the global expansion of Sony’s various businesses, including entertainment. In addition, he was part of establishing a corporate restructuring of the company, separating the supervisory and execution role within management, as well as its transition to a committee system.

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Concurrent with his role as CEO, he was appointed Chairman of the Japan IT Strategy Council in 2000 at the request of the Japanese Government. Likewise, he was in charge of the planning and implementation of broadband networks at the national level.

It was also that same year when the launch of PS2 took place, one of the most popular and best-selling consoles of the brand, which took over from PlayStation 1 (PS1) with a backward compatible format by ‘hardware’.

Years later, in 2002, the PSP began to be marketed, a portable game console intended not only for video games, but also for playing multimedia files, and allowing Internet connection.

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After leaving his role as CEO, Idei founded a consulting company called Quantum Leaps Corporations, focused on supporting business transformation and training the next generation of leaders.

Upon hearing the news, the current CEO of Sony, Kenichiro Yoshida, has recalled the work of the deceased, with whom he worked as general manager of the Office of Strategy from 1998 to 2000.

“The experiences and learning I gained there were a turning point in my career and life, and in many ways connect directly to my management of Sony today. I will always be deeply grateful to Mr. Idei for his immeasurable contributions and achievements”, he has commented.

Source: Elcomercio

James

I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years and have written for various news outlets. I currently work as an author at 24 News Recorder, mostly covering entertainment news. I have a keen interest in the industry and enjoy writing about the latest news and gossip. I am also a member of the National Association of Journalists.