PlayStation Nation,
It is with mixed feelings that I inform you that I will be stepping down as President and CEO of SCEA effective March 31, 2014. This is a result of a mutual agreement with SCEA, and I leave knowing that the PlayStation brand has never been stronger, PlayStation 4 momentum continues to accelerate, and the future will only get brighter for our gamers.
Serving PlayStation fans for the past 19 years has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my career. Your passion for gaming inspired me every day.
I want to thank you for constantly pushing PlayStation to deliver breakthrough gaming and entertainment experiences, and to never settle for “good enough.” The embodiment of this commitment can be found in the PS4, which has quickly become the #1 next-gen console worldwide…thanks to you.
We’ve shared many memories over the past two decades and I’ll always be grateful for your support.
Thank you,
Jack Tretton
Thanks Jack!
Just please don’t go to Microsoft… that would be bad for Sony! ;)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
So it’s true… Sad news for the Playstation family… Regards from Brasil! And may the awesome be with you wherever you go!
It wont be same without you Jack, I wish you the best in your new endeavors!
:'(
Man, super bummed. You’re a great man, Jack, and you brought SCEA as well as myself and the rest of the Playstation Nation some of the best times in our gaming careers. May you have a fulfilling remainder of a long life, and know you’ll never be forgotten.
Jack, you have been a great face for the company for quite some time now. I always enjoyed watching your E3 presentations. Everything you have done for us gamers will not be forgotten. Good luck in your future endeavors, be it in this industry or another. While I do not understand your reason for leaving, I do understand that people will always have the need to grow. If you heppen to be doing something else in the video game industry, please keep us in the loop. Thanks for everything and once again, good luck on your journey.
thank you for all the good years. we’ll miss you at this years E3 :~(
and never stop playing, creating, and sharing. good luck with everything you do! we will always remember you.
No Jack! Please don’t go, we love you so.
SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE F SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE F SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE F SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE F SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE F SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI SONY BRING BRAVE F
Thank you for everything Jack.
I always enjoyed watching your press conferences, you were the best host!
E3 will not be the same with out you. Best of luck!
Thanks for all your hard work in helping the PlayStation brand a become success as well as helping to deliver gaming experiences I’ll never forget. People like you are what sets PlayStation above the rest and I’m sorry to see you go. I wish you luck in whatever the future holds… unless you’re about to become the new boss at Microsoft! =)
Jack it was a sad day when I read that you were leaving SCEA. I hope where ever you end up you bring the same level of excitement to them as you did to all of us playstation gamers especially your announcement of no used game restriction/online check you should have dropped the mic when you walked off the stage. I’m sure I speak for every gamer that we wish you the best of luck with your new chapter and that you will be sorely missed by all of us.
Thanks for everything and again good luck.
PS Sony bring Jack back for this years E3 :p
Thanks for all that you have accomplished. I wish you the best of luck in your future.
PS You still owe me a beer.
PPS I still want SOCOM II HD but now you’re off the hook so I’ll bug the next guy.
Peace
Ah man I was really looking forward to seeing you at E3 this year especially after that epic conference from last year!
You will be missed!
@ neuropunk
1. How much longer are you going to be repeating the same crap over and over? You talk about repetitive, shallow games, but YOUR COMMENTS are extremely repetitive, shallow, and predictable.
2. PS1 and PS2 were great? Yes, I agree, and guess who played a big role in those consoles? The guy you now refer to as a “piece of crap”. Good job, genius. You always have been one for contradictions.
3. If Sony is so terrible, has been for some time (according to you), and with seemingly no change in direction coming anytime soon, why do you keep coming back for more? Why not cut your losses and move on to something that makes you happy? Or is it being a troll that makes you happy?
Thanks Jack. Good luck with whatever you do. I’ll miss your E3 keynotes but you had a great one in 2013. Leaving at a high point. Farewell.
We will miss you Jack. Thank You so much for everything you have done.
@neuropunk You have lots of rage issues and your post doesn’t surprise me since you are negative all the time.You hate western games and it’s no wonder you take your insecurity out on others.
Godspeed
We wish you the best.
We wished you would have stayed…
Jack,
You will be missed. You did a great job IMO at carrying such a heavy burden for your company and doing a great job in both presentation and leadership. May you be blessed in your future endeavors.
PlayStation stirs emotions in gamers that non-interactive media cannot. You helped shape a genre of entertainment that brings joy to millions. Hats off to you Jack!
“2. PS1 and PS2 were great? Yes, I agree, and guess who played a big role in those consoles? The guy you now refer to as a “piece of crap”. Good job, genius. You always have been one for contradictions.”
Taken from Wiki: “In November 2006, Tretton was promoted to president and chief executive officer for Sony Computer Entertainment America.”
2006, so the PS and PS2 were done by then, genius.
“3. If Sony is so terrible, has been for some time (according to you), and with seemingly no change in direction coming anytime soon, why do you keep coming back for more? Why not cut your losses and move on to something that makes you happy? Or is it being a troll that makes you happy?”
Troll, lol, no. Just because I love high quality games hardly makes me one at all. Perhaps you are a troll since you’re happy that the modern video game industry is ****.
Why, because of things such as Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Sigma 2, South Park, Dragon’s Crown, Tales series, etc. Just because most games are casual these days doesn’t mean that all are bad.
Gotta ask, why you have such a rager towards me?
@ neurojunk
Taken from that very same wiki page: “After joining the Sony Corporation in March 1995, Tretton was a member of the team that founded PlayStation in September of that year. He was involved in the development and publishing of the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 game consoles, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Move, and PlayStation Vita.”
Read more before posting, genius. Do more research before posting, genius
And what about answers to my questions, genius? Are you ever going cut your losses and move on? Are you ever going to stop with the hypocritical repetitive comments while complaining about repetition, genius? Why do you have such a “rager” (as you so eloquently put it) towards Sony, genius? You said you love Nintendo, so why not just stick with them and ignore Sony? You do have options, you know, genius. And the games you consider “high-quality” are not considered the same by all of us. When will you realize that your opinion =/= universal truth, genius?
I remember you being with Sony right from the start with PS1, and i just wanted to say thanks alot for many great gaming memories. You was by far the greatest CEO for any gaming company, and i loved the warmth and humility you had with gamers. I wish you the very best with whatever projects you have in the future, and i know myself and the Playstation Nation will miss you very much. Your last E3 appearence will go down in history as one of the greatest ever, and i thank you for supporting your loyal Playstation fans.
Best wishes, Nick
Funny thing is, Tretton most likely had more influence on the PS1 and PS2 than he did with the more recent consoles, since it’s the guys behind the scenes who usually do the most work. When he became CEO of SCEA in 2006, one of his main jobs was obviously to be the face/spokesperson for SCEA and oversee operations IN GENERAL. This is where it really gets hilarious, and embarrassing for you, genius. Due to the facts I just stated, it could very well be that Jack Tretton’s DEPARTURE from the internal workings of console/game development strategy process that led to the DECREASE in what you considered “quality”.
You’re calling him a “piece of crap” and saying “good riddance” to him, when in all likelihood, if you knew any better, you’d probably rather have him return to his previous position in the company, since that was when the PS1 & PS2 were all the rage, and super successful.
You’re so blind with rage over things that don’t even matter that you’re recklessly throwing blame around on people who probably aren’t even responsible for what enrages you.
OOPS!
Genius… :|
Just because “he was a member of the team” doesn’t mean he had much impact on the product. It is pretty vague, and unlike where he is CEO and makes a ton of decisions. Want to tell me what he did with the PS and PS2?
Also, why did gaming decline to mostly terrible quality from the PS2 to PS3 gen? As CEO I would say that Tretton has some responsibility for that. Why did video games suddenly become terrible? Turn based RPGs nearly died in favor of crappy hack and slashy action RPGs, shooters everywhere and destroying the industry, and crappy interactive movies like The Last of Us. Not to mention the decline in quality with stuff like Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, DMC, RE, Splinter Cell, etc.
Jack Tretton praised crap like MAG, PS3 Socoms, Little Big Planet, Journey, Twisted Metal PS3, etc., when all are crap and proof that video game quality has declined and how people can claim that POS games are good.
Nothing I said is hypocritical. Anyhow, you should back off before your widdle feewings get huwt.
As CEO Tretton is responsible for the PS3 being a piece of crap compared to the Playstation and Playstation 2. That is my main point and all there is to it.
The Playstation 2 pwns the Playstation 3 so hard, it’s not even funny.
So dumb.
Tell me, genius, how is Jack Tretton responsible for the “decline” in GAMING IN GENERAL (this includes PC, XBox, and yes, even Nintendo consoles) when he only works for Sony? Culture evolves over time, genius. Tastes change. The masses ultimately decide what they like and the corporations simply respond to that stimuli and do their best to feed it for profit. Your problem is more with humanity than it is with Jack Tretton or Sony, and you don’t even realize it.
Then, once again (no surprise), you contradicted yourself by saying he didn’t have much impact on the early products because the job description is so vague, yet you put full blame of the PS3’s supposed decline squarely on Jack, even though he was CEO by that time, and CEO is an even more vague job title with even more vague job descriptions.
Why don’t YOU tell me EXACTLY what decisions he made that ruined the PlayStation brand? I bet you can’t. You’d have to make up a bunch of crap, as usual.
The only feewings getting huwt awound here are yours, genius. Obviously.
WAAAA! WAAAA! Jack ruined PwayStation! WAAAAA!!! I want my Reading and Pwessing (X) Games!!! I don’t wike games wif chowenges!!! I wike EZ games where I only pwess X to watch the animations do all the work! EZ! YAY!
That’s all it is. You probably don’t have the skill that it takes to complete most games. You like RPGs because they’re easy. But instead of admitting to your incompetence and inferiority, you created a ridiculous smear campaign to attack the genres that simply reside outside of your range of comprehension.
Look in the mirror, genius.
Obviously I am getting under your skin and you are crying about it.
Look back at Tretton’s speeches during various game shows and you can see Jack Tretton praising mediocre Playstation exclusives.
The only super great PS3 exclusives seem to all come from third party studios, such as Demon’s/Dark Souls, Tales, Dragon’s Crown, just to name a few. Sony first/second party exclusives these days tend to be mediocre and most of them shooters and/or interactive movies.
I DON’T HAVE THE SKILL TO PLAY GAMES?
I have Demon’s and Dark Souls platinum trophies, play stuff like Ninja Gaiden Sigma series, Monster Hunter (which PS3 clearly lacks), etc. So, you should get your head out of your ass, troll.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
neuropunk on March 7th, 2014 at 7:14 pm said: “Turn based RPGs nearly died in favor of crappy hack and slashy action RPGs, shooters everywhere and destroying the industry, and crappy interactive movies like The Last of Us. Not to mention the decline in quality with stuff like Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, DMC, RE, Splinter Cell, etc.”
Hmm… maybe turn-based RPGs died because most people believe they’re boring. Again, just because you love them doesn’t mean everyone will. You’ve got to step outside of your little box and get to know the world around you a little more. And again, corporations monitor numbers more than anything else, and respond to those numbers by feeding the most dominant tastes of consumers. Obviously, a decline in turn-based RPGs occurred due to the numbers showing that the masses favor other genres over RPGs. Sorry, that’s just the way it is. Keep raging all you want, it won’t change a damn thing. Your resistance to change will ultimately send you straight into a mental hospital one day.
Shooters are boring. Have you ever played them? Why are modern ones all the same with cover fire and regenerative health?
Why have shooters declined in quality from classic FPS style? Why are they so linear, short, QTEs, no side quests and nothing optional to do in them, no puzzles, no depth, no good characters, etc.
Shooters are boring as ****.
The PS3 doesn’t have any quality turn based RPGs other than South Park, so where are they seeing these sales numbers? Best turn based RPG on consoles lately was Lost Odyssey, which didn’t sell because it’s on the western dudebro shooter sports box.
So, those sales numbers for non-existent turn based JRPGs on PS3 come from where? Where does this imaginary sales data come from?
Obviously, Sony/Jack Tretton/society got under your skin and you are crying about .
The decline in sequel quality has more to do with the same thing getting old than anything else. With each new installment in any franchise, it becomes more and more difficult to keep the audience attached. In your case, the addition of unrealistic expectations further contributes to your misery… and you have no clue who’s to blame… but I do. It’s you. You’re to blame. But you can’t admit it so you point fingers at everyone else for ruining your life.
So you have two platinums for games whose level of challenge is most likely over-rated (since the claims of brutality mostly come from nu-kids). I’ve heard many a veteran gamer admit that Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are not as challenging as they’ve been made out to be. Plus, like any other game of that type, grinding will get you as far as you want to go. The fact that you invested enough time in a game to eventually complete it doesn’t really impress me, sorry.
I’ll believe you have skill when you beat Ninja Gaiden… on the NES… as well as Battletoads, T.M.N.T., and many others… without a Game Genie. :)
I told you numerous times already that I agree with your feelings about shooters. I agree they are repetitive and shallow. I don’t know why you want to keep attaching me to that genre. But, it’s what the masses like, so there you go. Complaining about it won’t change it. People will eventually notice what we both have… they’ll begin to crave something different and at that point we may see the return of some truly genius and revolutionary games to the industry, but it’s not going to happen overnight.
I loved the original Wolfenstein and Doom games, but not many others. Then, TimeSplitters on PS2 was a riot and it effectively pulled me back into shooters for a bit, but all the rest failed to hold my interest. I rarely play them nowadays and the only shooter I own on the PS3 is Call Of Juarez: Gunslinger… which I never finished because it got so redundant, I simply lost interest and moved on to other games. I have Metro: Last Light waiting on-deck as well (from the IGC), but so far I haven’t felt compelled to boot it up.
“The decline in sequel quality has more to do with the same thing getting old than anything else.”
Then how come sequels that aren’t like their predecessors have more to do with the decline? Modern Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Splinter Cell, DmC, Ninja Gaiden 3/Razor’s Edge, are nothing like the other games, yet the new ones are trash. So, shot down that argument pretty damn fast.
“You’re to blame.”
I am to blame for modern crappy games?
Well, I’ve beat stuff like Megaman 2, Zelda 2, Contra, and many others on NES. D Souls isn’t as challenging as everyone says, but they’re certainly not casual either. Already told you I am a Ninja Gaiden Black/2 veteran, and those are more challenging than almost any other game out there. It proves I am not a casual who has been ruining the industry, and those games are not casual, whether you say they are or not.
Those games are like they’re predecessors. Even if the gameplay is different, the environment/experience is the same. For example, you can only kill zombies for so long before you get sick of it. I was tired of Resident Evil after the third game and it’s why I never played RE4, as much as people raved about it. I just didn’t care to go back to Raccoon City and kill zombies anymore.
The NES games you mentioned are all incredibly easy, which is funny since most NES games are hard. You beat the easy ones. Good for you. Mega Man 2 is probably the easiest of all the MM games. I remember breezing through it the very first time I played it when I was in elementary school… without a Game Genie. I thought it would be harder than the first game since there were more bosses/levels, but it turned out to be one of the least challenging NES games I ever played. And I’d only applaud your Contra completion if you did it without the 30 lives code, which most people didn’t. Otherwise, it’s ridiculously easy.
Anyway, I can’t stay here all night. Go ahead and rage on if you must. I’m out.
*their predecessors
Wow. You were such an awesome leader in the brand. Good luck with whatever your next endeavor is. I’m sure you’ll make it awesome. You converted me to Playstation from a longtime xbox gamer and I’m grateful for that. Good Luck. We’ll miss ya.
I, like many others, are wondering why this came to be. I hope someday we find out and I hope wherever Mr. Tretton ends up that he’s well taken care of, us PlayStation gamers bid you a fond farewell.
… Someone needs to give this man an award of some kind. ;)
Thanks Jack! I always loved your E3 presentations. Strange that I’ll miss a corporate executive but I will!
Take care of yourself and you did an excellent job. :)
Ahhhh, that sucks! you were the best playstation ”representative”, loved the conference with you animating them. A guy with passion. Thank you and good luck!
“Oh crap!”
-Nathan Drake
why are they laying you off you have been my inspiration for 19 years now im about to turn 20 i just hope you succed where ever you go next and before you go jack i have a goal for you to make sure to tell them to keep the playstation 3 alive as well as the ps vita these are to great consoles i own and hope to see more games on even when the ps4 comes out with these games i also have one last goal for you ps3 supports psvita remote play verry lightly i hope you can make it achieving that most games could be played on ps3 through remote play on psvita as well
Thanks for everything