Education
During schoolyears he turned a penny by carrying food and drinks.
During schoolyears he turned a penny by carrying food and drinks.
In August 1995, Hirai joined Sony's computer and video game division, Sony Computer Entertainment America.[4] Two years later, in 1997, Hirai was credited on his first completed video game.
Since heading up Sony Computer Entertainment America, Kazuo Hirai has been instrumental in Sony's success.[8] He played a fundamental role in the rise of the PlayStation in the United States, and his methods of cross-promoting of the PlayStation brand took its advertising beyond merely "game" or computer oriented fields. PlayStation advertisements were placed in mainstream sports events such as the NBA, the NFL, the NHL and even NASCAR. This method of marketing has been credited with introducing large numbers of individuals to video games who would ordinarily have not considered purchasing a console.
With the release of the PlayStation 2 in 2000, Kazuo continued his success, utilizing second-party franchises such as Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, and SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs series of games. Under his leadership, SCEA continually managed to retain high profits throughout the sixth generation era.
On July 3, 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment announced that Hirai had been made a vice president of its corporate executive group on July 1, 2006.
On November 30, 2006, just under two weeks after the launch of PlayStation 3, Hirai replaced Ken Kutaragi as President of Sony Computer Entertainment. While maintaining his positions at SCEA, Hirai also became chief operating officer of SCEI. Kutaragi himself was promoted to chairman of SCEI, and remained chief executive officer of the group.
On April 26, 2007, it was announced that Hirai will be promoted to President and Group CEO of SCEI, replacing Ken Kutaragi who would retire and instead take up the role of Honorary Chairman.
Hirai became Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment on September 1, 2011 and was replaced by Andrew House as President and Group CEO. He retired as Chairman of SCEI on June 25, 2012 but remains on the board of directors.[