Sony Names New PlayStation Chief for Second Time in Two Years

Yuji Nakamura, Bloomberg News

A Sony Corp. PlayStation 4 video game console and controller are arranged for a photograph in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019. Sony reported weaker profits in the PlayStation business and cut its annual revenue forecast, triggering the steepest share decline in almost three and a half years. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Sony Corp. promoted a marketing executive to become the new chief of its PlayStation business, the second management shuffle in less than two years at one of the company’s most important divisions.

Jim Ryan will take over as president of Sony Interactive Entertainment effective April 1 after previously leading the division’s sales and marketing teams, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement Tuesday. He replaces John Kodera, who will now be deputy president and focus on PlayStation’s online service. Kodera had led the division since October 2017, after his longtime predecessor resigned.

The management changes come at a critical time for Sony, which is preparing to unveil a successor to the PlayStation 4 console as soon as this year. Sony’s shares fell 11 percent last week after the company reported a worse-than-projected profit at its video-games division, underscoring the PS4’s fading appeal as it heads into its sixth year.

“I have decided to change the management structure of SIE to ensure sustainable evolution of the PlayStation platform and further growth of the network area,” Ken Yoshida, Sony’s chief executive officer, said in the statement.

Sony shares slipped 1.1 percent in Tokyo and are down 8.9 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuji Nakamura in Tokyo at ynakamura56@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Robert Fenner at rfenner@bloomberg.net, Reed Stevenson, Peter Elstrom