From five-hundred ninety-nine dollars and Riiiiiiidge Racer seven years ago to more flattering presentations today, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai has been one of the gaming industry’s most .gif-able and meme-able public figures. Hirai wants you to know he’s cool with that.
In an interview with SGNL, Sony’s YouTube video magazine on gaming and entertainment, Hirai was asked what he thought of being the subject of so many internet memes. Hirai offered this:
Well, you know, I think that especially with the PlayStation business, I used to get that a lot, as well, even when I was running the PlayStation business in the US, whether it’s YouTube or just other websites. And, you know, obviously the gaming world has a tendency of really enjoying that. And I’ve come to also, you know, look at it from a perspective of ‘That’s really creative.’ So I enjoy some of the stuff that folks have done. I like to think that the visibility that I get is not a visibility of me personally but in fact a representation of the visibility that Sony gets worldwide so I’m more positive about it.
Hirai may have stepped on a couple of rakes at E3 2006, and it certainly felt like a disaster at the time. But if you can laugh at yourself and, more importantly, not repeat those mistakes, yesterday’s keystone cop can still become today’s action movie hero.
Comments
6 responses to “Seven Years Later, Sony’s CEO Doesn’t Mind All The Memes”
And this is why out of all the CEO’s, Kaz Hirai is still the best 😀
(Though Pete Moore aint too bad).
I agree, he’s quite down to Earth, and seems to just not spin useless bullshit. With the announcement that MS has axed it’s press round table (lets face it, it’s because they would have been smashed) a clear, well presented honest message can work wonders, and right now Sony is telling us what is happening. There are obviously further announcements, some may not be great, but they will straight out say, “it’s to protect our business” not some double speak BS like MS is regurgitating right now..
Communicate clearly and regularly… business 101.
Indeed. Tbh its like MS and Sony have completely switched roles from the ps3/360 launch. Back then MS could do no wrong and Sony did nearly everything wrong. Now? Opposite world!!!
Either that or Sony are going to do the same thing wrong, but are trying to do it quietly. We’ll find out this week, I suppose.
Indeed. We’re definitely going to find out if the console gaming as we knew it is more or less kaput this week…
Kaz rocks. I hope he returns Sony to the great electronics company they once were and continues to save the PS brand.
There is still a chance Sony are not stalling announcing the same hate educing things MS just did. I base this on the strides Sony has gone to the last few years ie PS+ and being customer first.
If that attitude carries over then PS4 should be good. But I will cautiously wait and see.