|
Demoted Sony Electronics Guru Is Outspoken |
|
|
|
|
Monday, 04 April 2005 |
Demoted Sony Electronics Guru Is Outspoken
Forbes
TOKYO (AP) - Ken Kutaragi, whose name is often paired with "geek" and "genius,"
seemed to many a logical choice to take Sony Corp. s helm as it struggles to
turn around its stumbling electronics business. He is, after all, known as
"Father of the PlayStation" for siring the industry's most popular video game
console. And Kutaragi's latest creation, the handheld PlayStation Portable, is
hot. An estimated 3 million been sold since it was released in Japan in December
and the United States last month.
But instead of ascending in the dramatic management reshuffle last month that
put Howard Stringer in the chief executive's chair, Kutaragi was demoted.
Not only was Kutaragi passed over for the Welshman who had overseen Sony's music
and movie businesses. He also lost his seat on Sony's board, though he still
runs Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., the company's game subsidiary.
It appears the 54-year-old Kutaragi's outspoken nature, in a corporate culture
that's oiled by consensus, may be to blame. Independent and shockingly frank by
Japanese standards, Kutaragi hasn't held back from criticizing company
decisions.
In January, he told the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo that fellow
executives had been overly restrictive in controlling Sony content in a world
where consumers of digital movies and music want hassle-free access.
Asked what he would do if he were running Sony, Kutaragi said the company must
revive its original innovative spirit, when it boasted engineering finesse with
the transistor radio, Walkman and Trinitron TV.
Sony also has been hurt by its insistence on making its content proprietary,
Kutaragi said.
Some employees, he said, have been frustrated for years with management's
reluctance to introduce products similar to Apple Computer Inc. s iPod portable
music player, mainly because Sony's music and movie units were worried about
content rights.
Indeed, Kutaragi's comments came about the same time that Sony decided to
finally agree to support the open and widely used MP3 digital audio standard on
its portable music players.
It's unclear whether Kutaragi, who declined to be interviewed for this story,
was punished for speaking out. But it is clear that consensus-builders - though
he doesn't speak Japanese, Stringer is known for diplomacy - were chosen over
potentially divisive critics.
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
