PlayStation’s new chairman says its studios need to improve ‘when it comes to business’

PlayStation’s new chairman and Sony’s current president was asked for his early assessment working directly with the games business during an earnings call on Wednesday, and told listeners he believes its studios can improve “when it comes to business”.

Sony president, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki assumed the role of chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment in October, ahead of CEO Jim Ryan’s retirement. From April 1, Totoki will act as interim CEO of SIE.

Sharing his initial impressions from his first four months working directly with SIE, the exec said he had made a point to attend management meetings and visit PlayStation’s game development studios to get a better understanding of the business.

The Sony president said that while he was impressed with the motivation and creativity of studio workers, he believed there was “room for improvement” when it came to how they invest money and plan development schedules, in order for the overall business to achieve its growth goals.

Sony announced strong PS5 sales of 16.4 for the first three quarters of the fiscal year. However, while games business revenue was up 15% year-on-year, operating profit was down significantly at 25.9%, which Sony said was partly due to a decrease in sales and an increase in losses from hardware due to promotions.

“It’s been about four months [since I became Chairman] and I’m trying to demonstrate leadership and have as many meetings as possible with the management team,” Totoki told media and investors listening to the web call, via a translator. “I’ve also visited studios, and everyone is working really hard to fulfil their responsibility to try to optimise the business, and I understand that.

“But overall growth and sustainable profitability for increasing margins… how will that translate to these goals? I don’t think people understand that deeply. I think that is the problem of the organisation.

“So, as far as I’m concerned, I try to understand what is happening in the company, in the industry, and