I guess that after the expected titanesque market failure of the PS3 game console, some heads at Sony had to roll. Unfortunately, Kutaragi's public apologies earlier this year did not suffice to save his. The real surprise is the quick fall of this Sony lifer, starting as an engineer and famous for being able to fire his boss and sometimes his boss' boss (unheard of in a Japanese company).

For the last few years, while covering the video game industry and especially the E3 game show, I've always enjoyed Ken Kutaragi's (i'm on the right for those who never saw me!) presence and humour, notably at Sony's parties! Wish you all the best Ken and hope to see you soon, back in the circuit ;-)