FantasyGhost
06-27-2007, 08:04 PM
Ken Kutaragi, the father of Sony's (NYSE:SNE - News) PlayStation video game business, isn't one to take no for an answer.
When Sony executives were cool to his idea of getting into video games, he was undeterred. He pressed on and ultimately convinced them that great rewards come with great risks.
His perseverance led Sony to build the wildly successful PlayStation and PlayStation 2 video game consoles, which put the firm on top of the industry for more than a decade.
"I had a strong dream that the next level of entertainment would be 3-D and home-based," Kutaragi told Time in 2000. "But 99% of the people couldn't understand my dream, including those at Sony."
Kutaragi, who retired as head of Sony Computer Entertainment on June 19, was a maverick who often ruffled feathers at the stodgy electronics giant. Kutaragi, 56, is now serving as honorary chairman of the division and as a senior technical adviser to Sony CEO Howard Stringer.
In the early 1990s, Kutaragi threatened to leave Sony when he had trouble persuading the company to get into the video game business. Some Sony executives viewed the first PlayStation as a mere toy.
When Sony entered the business, Nintendo and Sega appeared to have the market locked up. The original PlayStation was an immediate hit after its launch in 1994, based on its superior graphics and audio.
Sony decided to produce its own video game machine after Nintendo backed out of a partnership with Sony in 1991. The two companies were jointly developing a game console based on Sony's CD-ROM drive. Nintendo dropped out of the project to team with Philips Electronics on an ill-fated venture.
In The Game
Sony Chairman Norio Ohga was furious at Nintendo's change of heart and considered it an affront to his company. But Ohga's decision to get into the video game business was more than revenge.
He needed a way to keep Kutaragi, one of his brightest engineers, who had sworn to leave Sony if it didn't greenlight his video game machine.
Kutaragi had already proved his worth to Sony on a number of projects.
He joined Sony in 1975 after graduating from a prestigious technical college, the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo. He picked Sony "because it was the best in terms of encouraging creativity and offering researchers freedom," he told BusinessWeek in 1999.
His early work at Sony included helping to develop the first Mavica still camera, which used a floppy disk as a storage medium, and chips for the Betamax video recorder.
In the mid-1980s, he bought a Nintendo NES 8-bit game machine for his son and soon found himself playing with it.
"I realized then that in the future, computers and computer science would change our lifestyle, the way we played and lived," he told the New York Times in 1999.
But he was disappointed in the Nintendo game machine's poor sound quality and pushed to have Sony make sound components for the next-generation machine.
Kutaragi developed a sound processor that Nintendo incorporated into its 16-bit Super NES game machine in 1987.
Before long, Kutaragi persuaded Nintendo to jump onboard another project. This time, the two Japanese firms would work together on a 32-bit console with better graphics that used Sony's CD-ROM drive. The failure of that partnership led Sony to start its hugely profitable PlayStation business.
Sony sold 102 million original PlayStation consoles and 118 million PlayStation 2 machines.
Its PlayStation 3 machine, which debuted in November, has won raves for its technological superiority over machines from Nintendo and Microsoft. But it trails those consoles in sales, with just 5.5 million PS3 consoles sold to date.
A disappointing start for PS3 sales probably led to Kutaragi's retirement from Sony. Product shortages and the device's high price (as much as $600) have hurt adoption of the machine.
Kutaragi has always pushed the limits of technology for his game machines. The PlayStation 2, which debuted in 2000, was a 128-bit computer with stunning 3-D images.
The PS3 offers supercomputer performance, photo-realistic graphics and a Blu-ray Disc player for watching films in high-definition.
Kutaragi has used Moore's Law as a guide. That rule of microelectronics says the density of transistors packed on a chip will double every 18 months. At the start of a product's development cycle, he has aimed high for processing power -- knowing that technology will catch up.
Kutaragi's ability to create a 10-year plan and implement it brought him acclaim in technology circles. In April, Kutaragi told the EE Times that he had a vision for PlayStations 4, 5 and 6. He envisions next-generation gaming consoles as merging with the Internet and linking up to cell phones, home networks and other devices. He sees the consoles as a hub for gaming, entertainment and community.
In May 1992, Kutaragi set a goal of creating the first CD-ROM game console with real-time computer graphics powered by a 1 million-transistor system on a chip.
Kutaragi talked to every semiconductor company that would agree to a meeting in hopes of finding a partner for his plans.
Some weren't interested; others said it couldn't be done. Ultimately, LSI Logic accepted the challenge and helped deliver the chip, according to the EE Times. That chip powered the original PlayStation.
Kutaragi has been called brash, confident and puckish. His enthusiasm helped him drive fellow engineers to reach difficult technology goals. "When he has an idea, nobody can stop it," former Sony executive Kozo Hiramatsu told Time in 2000.
But Kutaragi's personality also rubbed some executives the wrong way. Kutaragi would openly criticize decisions made by Sony chieftains. But they let him operate fairly independently because of his successful track record.
He has "tremendous fearlessness," video game industry veteran Trip Hawkins told the Industry Standard in 2000. Kutaragi has the ability to "ignore the signals that tell you not to do something."
Smart From The Start
Kutaragi learned the value of determination while growing up in post-World War II Japan. The son of a tradesman, he would work in the family printing business until 11 every night after school.
Despite the grueling schedule, he continued to be a straight-A student in elementary school in all but two subjects: PE and social studies, according to the Industry Standard.
The future engineer was a fun-loving child who created his own toys. He would take apart toys just to see how they worked.
At age 10 or so, he built an electric-guitar amplifier for a classmate yearning to be a rock musician.
In junior high, he took apart scooters to construct go-carts, according to BusinessWeek.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20070626/bs_ibd_ibd/2007626lands;_ylt=AgOXK0qER4ytU2YBeIwl8sAE1vAI
Here are those movies if some of you never seen them:
Here's how Sony got through the history of gaming:
Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwQPCmNljy0&mode=related&search=
Part2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVH_JInE9io&mode=related&search=
Part3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH1jOfAtbxU&mode=related&search=
When Sony executives were cool to his idea of getting into video games, he was undeterred. He pressed on and ultimately convinced them that great rewards come with great risks.
His perseverance led Sony to build the wildly successful PlayStation and PlayStation 2 video game consoles, which put the firm on top of the industry for more than a decade.
"I had a strong dream that the next level of entertainment would be 3-D and home-based," Kutaragi told Time in 2000. "But 99% of the people couldn't understand my dream, including those at Sony."
Kutaragi, who retired as head of Sony Computer Entertainment on June 19, was a maverick who often ruffled feathers at the stodgy electronics giant. Kutaragi, 56, is now serving as honorary chairman of the division and as a senior technical adviser to Sony CEO Howard Stringer.
In the early 1990s, Kutaragi threatened to leave Sony when he had trouble persuading the company to get into the video game business. Some Sony executives viewed the first PlayStation as a mere toy.
When Sony entered the business, Nintendo and Sega appeared to have the market locked up. The original PlayStation was an immediate hit after its launch in 1994, based on its superior graphics and audio.
Sony decided to produce its own video game machine after Nintendo backed out of a partnership with Sony in 1991. The two companies were jointly developing a game console based on Sony's CD-ROM drive. Nintendo dropped out of the project to team with Philips Electronics on an ill-fated venture.
In The Game
Sony Chairman Norio Ohga was furious at Nintendo's change of heart and considered it an affront to his company. But Ohga's decision to get into the video game business was more than revenge.
He needed a way to keep Kutaragi, one of his brightest engineers, who had sworn to leave Sony if it didn't greenlight his video game machine.
Kutaragi had already proved his worth to Sony on a number of projects.
He joined Sony in 1975 after graduating from a prestigious technical college, the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo. He picked Sony "because it was the best in terms of encouraging creativity and offering researchers freedom," he told BusinessWeek in 1999.
His early work at Sony included helping to develop the first Mavica still camera, which used a floppy disk as a storage medium, and chips for the Betamax video recorder.
In the mid-1980s, he bought a Nintendo NES 8-bit game machine for his son and soon found himself playing with it.
"I realized then that in the future, computers and computer science would change our lifestyle, the way we played and lived," he told the New York Times in 1999.
But he was disappointed in the Nintendo game machine's poor sound quality and pushed to have Sony make sound components for the next-generation machine.
Kutaragi developed a sound processor that Nintendo incorporated into its 16-bit Super NES game machine in 1987.
Before long, Kutaragi persuaded Nintendo to jump onboard another project. This time, the two Japanese firms would work together on a 32-bit console with better graphics that used Sony's CD-ROM drive. The failure of that partnership led Sony to start its hugely profitable PlayStation business.
Sony sold 102 million original PlayStation consoles and 118 million PlayStation 2 machines.
Its PlayStation 3 machine, which debuted in November, has won raves for its technological superiority over machines from Nintendo and Microsoft. But it trails those consoles in sales, with just 5.5 million PS3 consoles sold to date.
A disappointing start for PS3 sales probably led to Kutaragi's retirement from Sony. Product shortages and the device's high price (as much as $600) have hurt adoption of the machine.
Kutaragi has always pushed the limits of technology for his game machines. The PlayStation 2, which debuted in 2000, was a 128-bit computer with stunning 3-D images.
The PS3 offers supercomputer performance, photo-realistic graphics and a Blu-ray Disc player for watching films in high-definition.
Kutaragi has used Moore's Law as a guide. That rule of microelectronics says the density of transistors packed on a chip will double every 18 months. At the start of a product's development cycle, he has aimed high for processing power -- knowing that technology will catch up.
Kutaragi's ability to create a 10-year plan and implement it brought him acclaim in technology circles. In April, Kutaragi told the EE Times that he had a vision for PlayStations 4, 5 and 6. He envisions next-generation gaming consoles as merging with the Internet and linking up to cell phones, home networks and other devices. He sees the consoles as a hub for gaming, entertainment and community.
In May 1992, Kutaragi set a goal of creating the first CD-ROM game console with real-time computer graphics powered by a 1 million-transistor system on a chip.
Kutaragi talked to every semiconductor company that would agree to a meeting in hopes of finding a partner for his plans.
Some weren't interested; others said it couldn't be done. Ultimately, LSI Logic accepted the challenge and helped deliver the chip, according to the EE Times. That chip powered the original PlayStation.
Kutaragi has been called brash, confident and puckish. His enthusiasm helped him drive fellow engineers to reach difficult technology goals. "When he has an idea, nobody can stop it," former Sony executive Kozo Hiramatsu told Time in 2000.
But Kutaragi's personality also rubbed some executives the wrong way. Kutaragi would openly criticize decisions made by Sony chieftains. But they let him operate fairly independently because of his successful track record.
He has "tremendous fearlessness," video game industry veteran Trip Hawkins told the Industry Standard in 2000. Kutaragi has the ability to "ignore the signals that tell you not to do something."
Smart From The Start
Kutaragi learned the value of determination while growing up in post-World War II Japan. The son of a tradesman, he would work in the family printing business until 11 every night after school.
Despite the grueling schedule, he continued to be a straight-A student in elementary school in all but two subjects: PE and social studies, according to the Industry Standard.
The future engineer was a fun-loving child who created his own toys. He would take apart toys just to see how they worked.
At age 10 or so, he built an electric-guitar amplifier for a classmate yearning to be a rock musician.
In junior high, he took apart scooters to construct go-carts, according to BusinessWeek.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20070626/bs_ibd_ibd/2007626lands;_ylt=AgOXK0qER4ytU2YBeIwl8sAE1vAI
Here are those movies if some of you never seen them:
Here's how Sony got through the history of gaming:
Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwQPCmNljy0&mode=related&search=
Part2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVH_JInE9io&mode=related&search=
Part3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH1jOfAtbxU&mode=related&search=