Jack Tretton departing from Sony

Sony has confirmed in a press release that Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) will be leaving the company at the end of the month.

Shawn Layden, Sony Network Entertainment International Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will be taking the reigns as of April 1st of this year. No, this isn’t an April Fools’ Joke.

Tretton had the following to say in a statement:

“Working at SCEA for the past 19 years has been the most rewarding experience of my career. Although I will deeply miss the talented team at SCEA and the passion demonstrated every day by our fans, I’m very excited about starting the next chapter of my career. I want to thank the employees, partners and customers for their tireless commitment to the PlayStation brand and, of course, to our fans who have pushed us to new heights of innovation and entertainment over the past two decades. I leave PlayStation in a position of considerable strength and the future will only get brighter for PlayStation Nation.”

Shawn Layden followed up with a statement of his own:

“It’s an honor and privilege to join Sony Computer Entertainment America and be a part of the team that is leading the next generation of gaming and entertainment. SCEA is committed to delivering breakthrough gaming experiences that inspire fans and exceed their wildest expectations. As PS4™ shows us every day, there has never been a better time to be part of the PlayStation community and I look forward to working with our retail, development, publishing and network partners to further demonstrate why PlayStation is the best place to play.”

What are your thoughts? Did you see this coming? It seems that Jack Tretton has become an unshakeable staple of E3 and the face of Sony, especially in the past few years as the fight between Xbox and PlayStation has escalated. Do you think Layden is a viable replacement or will we forever mourn Tretton’s stepping down?

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