The Shaming Of Ken Kutaragi

It's the law of the jungle that publications must create lists, and today's list comes to us from Business 2.0. The magazine has crafted a list of fifty people who "matter" in the world of technology business as well as ten people who do not. Landing square on the "does not matter" list is Sony's own Ken Kutaragi. Sony's made some missteps lately, but to count him (and by extension the PlayStation 3, which this piece seems to do) out is a mistake.

[OutLaw]

I find it hilarious how Ken Kutaragi is on the top ten that don't matter list. Sony fans are going to be mad about this one.

When you press the link you could also press the other links that gives the list.

[USMChardcharger]

if you read the "fifty people who DO matter" list...bill gates made #21 spot.

[Lucidmantra]

He is an arrogant self-advertiser. And the main reason I don't like the way Sony is doing business with the PS3. I have no problems with the console but i don't like this guy.

[RelloC]

KK is a tard.

[OutLaw]

He is funny looking.

[Cyclonus]

he looks like Kim Jong Il

[kingboy]

look at those two sexy machines aahhh i own both

[OutLaw]

I also have both.

[Optimus Prime]

getting rid of my psp this weekend. doesnt do much for me ne more. i am going to buy a 60 gig ipod video

[BOSS]

Ahhhh you mean three sexy machines right????

[TheMART]

I have another one for this list

SSJ04/gaytime

[Tut]

I find it hard to believe that, "Sony fans are going to be mad about this one," OutLaw.

Do you know exactly what Ken does for Sony? Do you know if he actually programs games and machines or determines technical aspects and needs of Sony's products? I know you don't.

I also don't believe that you read the article or know what they based that judgement on.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/0...

There is the article. You might want to read it. They offer no basis as to why Ken fits into the "does not matter" category except for the fact that the Playstation3 launch was delayed because of Blu-Ray, which I might add is a factor that has nothing and everything to do with the Playstation3 as a machine. See if you can figure out the "nothing" and "everything" on your own. If you can't... I will explain it to you.

So I hardly believe that this "hurts" Playstation and Sony fans or makes them mad on the basis that the evidence of the purpose of Ken being on the list is weak, the article linked on this news post on news4gamers.com explains an entirely different view, this site's moderators and the people who run it don't know what real news is, and 99% of the people who read this article are too quick to judge and/or too lazy to actually do ten minutes of research to better understand the argument.

This site still hasn't rid us of unintelligent people like yourself... the only thing it did was make them register. Great comment about how he looks funny, too. I hardly think physical appearance determines skill in any field on any level. I guess you are just extremely shallow and jealous that a man who is "funny looking" by your standards has been more successful in twenty years than you will be in your entire life.

~

[PS360PCROCKS]

Haha and you are? Please explain what you have brought to this site in terms of good quality comments and stories since you apparently know news so much better than the rest of us...Obviously you don't bring much if your not in the comment or news posted categories, while Outlaw is #2 in both he does bring intelligent news and comments while you apparently try to rationalize your argument with excessive words that just make it jumbled. Do us all a favor and shutup, if you hate the news on this site than you can kindly remove yourself from it promptly. Also I believe he was referring to sony fans being mad because the article says

"Unfortunately, the PlayStation 3, which was supposed to put Blu-Ray into millions of living rooms, is months late and hundreds of dollars more expensive than competing consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo - largely because it includes one-of-a-kind technologies like Blu-Ray. The delays and cost overruns are likely to make both the PS3 and Blu-Ray nonstarters."

I believe "Tut" you need to do more research before you make another unintelligent post.

[OutLaw]

Why do you care so much , are you related to Ken. If you don't like this site so much then get the fnck off it moron. You don't even know me to start flaming you little b1tch. why don't you go and jerk ken off, maybe that will calm you down.

Also if you don't like what I post than get some news your self d!ck.

That way you could have an intelligent conversation with SSJ and all the other lame ass fncks like him.

[Cyclonus]

Sony sucks. Kenny sucks. You suck.

[USMChardcharger]

hey man, a lot of the news you read on this site is posted by outlaw...and he post sony articles as much as 360.
chill out, if you disagree, just say so. not many people are going to take the time to read the book you just wrote.

[AuburnTiger]

please explain how calling somebody funny looking is an intelligent comment? Just wondering for the sake of future intelligent comments that you might leave so people can better understand your thoughts more clearly.

[OutLaw]

Just to answer your lame question. If you looked before my post you will see somebody said "kk is a tard" and then I said he does look funny. It had nothing to do with the topic, I was just adding to somebody. It's call having fun. But to guys like you this site is serious business and we all should stick to the topic. Well I tell you what, When you and tut post some news I promise I will not write one thing on your post, Okay? So that way you and him could engage in some serious talks. Any other boring questions you want to ask?

[OutLaw]

No more posting for me. It is hard to run my business and try to relax on this site. For now on I'm just going to sit back and watch. Maybe once in awhile participate in the conversation.. I have to say that the 360 fans were very polite to me. As for the PS3 fans, believe it or not with the exception of achira. Has been nothing but rude. I want to apologize for the last comment I posted. But enough is enough.

They are only systems. It isn't the end of the world if both of them turn out to be great.

Thanks for the fun.

[PS360PCROCKS]

haha yea atleast I stood up for you lol, peace

[PS360PCROCKS]

Oh and keep posting news! They like you here, everytime I send something for approval you always get the credit, so I think they hate me

[HyperBear]

for posting news man. I mean its probably gonna be slow newes incoming to us now, and it wont be as fun talking sh!t to PS3 fanboys with no life, but hey, me, xbox360rocks, FamoAmo, and I apologize if I missed anyone else, but were gonna keep dissing Sony Fanboys, and hopefully you could join in. THANKS

[USMChardcharger]

how are the rest of us going to sit back and read the news if that is what you are doing too? lol
man don't let that jerk stop ya.
if you do stop, thanks for the time you spent hunting it down for us.

[pRo loGic II]

FU*K! man you do an good job getting the news you make this site tight. N4G's is Starting to be the best raw news site on the web!.

[pRo loGic II]

One more thing really quik before i get fired. ssj04 said that GTA4 will not be noticed for the 360, yah! he really said that no one will know GTA4' will be on 360. lol

[Killswitch]

I'm a man i don't play with girly toys like PS. Any way PS been some shyyt since they been stealing everyone ideas. That BIT** SH** thats why i don't mess with them!! really every since, i heard they was taken others ideas and winning the battle. Didn't wan't to believe it at first untill this year when the Father of Consoles NINTENDO had there idea stolin'by PS. Time to get your hand chopped off 1 cop 2 cop 3cop NONE. Copy again and it's off with your son PSP

[FamoAmo]

I hate Ken. The guy lies and thinks Sony is God! Anything he says anymore is either 1 a lie or 2 not important or 3 trying to flame the competitors b/c" Sony is a computer and the next gen don't start until Sony says so".... lol I hate that guy!

[HyperBear]

should take up English 101. Everytime he speaks, he sounds like a retarded german, but hes cool. lol

[kingboy]

gotta respect outlaw for the news bringing

[HyperBear]

OUTLAW KICKS ASS, there is like no one else, except maybe 2 other people, that keep bringing us playstation news like this every weekday. I wonder if Dusty may think about putting news up on the Week-ends. But yea, Keep up the good work OUTLAW.

[Brooklynite]

outlaw keep grindin and dont worry bout idiots.

[USMChardcharger]

see man, no one wants you to stop...your like our Ron Burgundy man!

[HyperBear]

The Videogame Anchorman. is retiring. Say it aint so, but thanks for the news man.

[Asuka]

this site is way too pro-microsoft. 9/10 of every article here is praising microsoft or bashing sony.
People here find anything "negative" about anything "sony" and post it here. Why do people do this, i don't know. You don't see me posting 10 negative articles of MS everyday because lets face it, MS isn't perfect also.

[slugg]

You can't find 10 negative articles about MS everyday. Maybe not any, at least that deal with the Xbox360. The fact is, with E3 backlash, blu-ray delays, etc. now making the popular press, Sony is in a bit of trouble image-wise. They have, up to this point, over-promised and under-delivered on the PS3, and more and more people are noticing. Thats where these articles are coming from. People that post or respond on this site aren't writing this anti-Sony stuff. The counter-point is that Microsoft released the 360 world-wide when they said they would (if not without a few problems), they have the games, Live, Live Arcade and Marketplace content they promised (How about those trailers, vids and demos during E3?), and in general they listen more to what consumers want and ask for. Sony COULD be putting out some positive press, showing some actual game footage from launch titles, showing a real, honest-to-goodness production PS3 playing a game or even a real Blu-Ray movie, but instead they let their arrogant, self-important execs talk crap they can't back up. Come on, Sony, talk is getting really, really cheap.

[Asuka]

yes, you can find at least 10 negative articles about MS a day...not just including 360 stuff. Don't start talking about sony products being delayed or stuff...because MS doesn't have perfect products either. Alot of people on the web would say windows sucks, and i have to say windowsXP really was disappointing to alot of people. But the point is, no company is perfect.

you do have a point about all of the negative articles going around.

[MISSY E]

There's millions that own 360's so there's millions that get their news from sites, real news on games and on a console thats out right now. The negativity is on Sony's game console and they make their rep all by them selvs. MS had heating problems and frezzing issues that got addressed in a hurry. The bad news about sony seems to be more than the normal bugs of new hardware. What good news is there about Sony and why don't you post it yourself then. Trust me it will all be about Sony's pics and hype that Sony provides, that's why it seems this way to you.

[THAMMER1]

Do not get all sensitive lance you know why there is not much good to say about Sony at all right now. The only thing good is the fact that Sony has fans like you loyal to the last breath. But news about how emotional fans boys are would be lame. That is the good thing about this website we can post news here ourselves so if you find news that make Sony or your boy Ken look better post it and stop crying.

[CHEETO]

man you post some of the best $h!t here. And you always try to be equal in news for all consoles. so some fanboys have to stop saying he's only xbox 360. what i noticed is you never try to bash on ps3 its just fanboys drive us to do it.

[THAMMER1]

I like the news outlaw posts here too. I have never seen him be bias at all. Some times he can be funny but is that illegal?.......No. I think people are trying to justify being a Sony fan like all of the G. W. Bush supporters who still say he doing a great job, but the truth is he sucks and the rest of the world looks at the US like we are stupid for following him. Sony is not as big as the US gov. but you get my point.

[Marriot VP]

I have a better idea. Since really nobody here knows exactly what Kenny does, don't argue on this article.

[VicViper]

I think people get upset because it seems like Sony is that kid in the playground that just gets picked on no matter what he does. I understand what Lance is saying. Most of the news regarding PS3 is negative. And I understand what Slugg is saying too. It's true, there isn't any information regarding PS3 from Sony. But we can't judge them because they haven't released anything. The system isn't out yet and trufully a lot can be done in the time from E3 to the launch. I remember when MS showed Halo 1 at E3 the year the 1st Xbox came out and journalists said it was trash. Fast foward a few months later and it ignited the FPS genre on consoles. Last years E3 had 360 games running on Macs, but look at it now, it's a great system. A lot of this news makes it seem like PS3 will never get off the ground. If you look from the beginning of the posts, about the first 10 of them are people commenting negatively about Kutaragi, Sony, and the PS3. So you can't really argue the fact that Sony fanboys are what make you angry because none of them said anything until about the 11th post. I have 360 and I love it, but I will love my PS3 and Wii just as much. We're all gamers, we shouldn't be prejudice towards other systems and companies. All systems are created equal people. Enjoy them all. It would be awesome if everyone could play online together cross-platform!

[REDMOND BOYZZ]

Kutaragi has labeled the Xbox 360 as "just an Xbox 1.5" and stated that it was "only going after PlayStation 2" [11]. He also has commented that the PlayStation 3 is capable of running games at 120 fps [12] and that the PS3 is 4D and "live"[13]. This refers to the PS3's free online service and advanced graphics. However, SCE Executive Tetsuhiko Yasuda does not consider Microsoft to be a competitor, and that they might consider working on games together[14].

Kutaragi is closely watched by financial analysts who trace profiles of the losses and profits of the Sony Corporation. This has been attributed to the PlayStation franchise's high profit returns for Sony; it has been the key source of profit for the aforementioned parent corporation

[THAMMER1]

Sony started this at E3 06. None of you had a problem then when it was fun to call the 360 the Xbox 1.5. Sony created the hype that is turning against them because they have pumped every one up. Now we want a real reason to be exited about the PS3. Sony is doing this to themselves not us, we are gamers. They still have hope if the system turns out to be awesome we will all be happy.

[REDMOND BOYZZ]

Ken Kutaragi was born in Tokyo, Japan. His parents, although not wealthy by Japan standards, still managed to own their own business - they ran a small printing plant in the city. As Kutaragi grew into childhood, they actively encouraged the young boy to explore his mechanical abilities in the plant, and he worked after school there. Aside from his duties in his parents' factory, Kutaragi was a studious, high-level student; he was often described as a "straight A" pupil.

Kutaragi always had the desire to "tinker", often taking apart toys as a child to see how they worked. This curiosity carried from childhood, leading him as a teenager to learn the intricacies of electronics. Eventually, in fact, his love of electronics led to him enrolling in University of Electro-Communications, where he acquired an Electronics degree.

Immediately after graduation, Kutaragi began working for Sony in their digital research labs. Although at the time it was considered a radical decision, Kutaragi felt that Sony was on the "fast track". He wanted to be part of that "fast track". At Sony, he quickly gained a reputation as an excellent problem solver and a forward thinking engineer, earning that reputation by working on many successful projects - including early liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and digital cameras.

Role in the gaming industry
In the late 1980s, he was watching his daughter with a Famicom and realized the potential that existed within video games. At that particular time, Sony's executives had very little interest in video games. Thus, when Nintendo expressed the need for a wavetable sound chip for its upcoming new 16 bit system, Kutaragi immediately accepted. Working in secret, he designed and built the chip, the SPC700. When they found out, Sony's executives were furious. Only with Sony CEO Norio Ohga's help was Ken able to push the project to completion and keep his job.

Even while working with Nintendo, within Sony gaming was still regarded as a fad and something looked down upon. Despite this hostile atmosphere to video games, Ken managed to persuade Sony to fund his research into the Super NES CD (the device that would eventually become the PlayStation). Despite being considered a risky gamble by other Sony executives, Kutaragi once again had the support of Sony CEO Norio Ohga. The success of the Playstation led to him heading up the development of its successor, the PlayStation 2; he is currently working on the third in the series, the PlayStation 3.

The commercial success of the PlayStation franchise makes Sony Computer Entertainment the most profitable business division of Sony. Despite being an upstart in the console market against veterans Nintendo and Sega, the first PlayStation displaced them both to become the most popular console of that era. The PlayStation 2 extended Sony's lead in the following generation, at one point holding a 65% market share with 100 million units shipped [1]. Ken was recognized by many financial and technological publications for this success, most notably when he was named one of the 100 most influential people of 2004 in TIME magazine [2] and the "Gutenberg of Video Games".

Since 1997, Kutaragi had been favored to become the next Sony president. He enjoyed a close relationship with Sony CEO Norio Ohga, who had backed Kutaragi on the Sound Chip and PlayStation projects. Ohga's successor Nobuyuki Idei promoted Kutaragi to Deputy Executive President, Sony-Global Chief operating officer, and Vice-Chairman in 2003. During a controversial management shakeup in 2005, Kutaragi was demoted from the Board of Directors and replaced as head of consumer electronics. However, Kutaragi will remain as the head of the Sony Computer Entertainment gaming division and will also be given a new title: Group Executive Officer

[REDMOND BOYZZ]

I'v seen so many Kung-fu movies where there's some big badass tough guy that can't be beat and always underestimates the smaller weaker guy. Ken i thought you were Japanese there's meaning in those movies. ( HA HA HA HA you think you can beat me! try my tigger style! waa- -pst-whop.

[PS360PCROCKS]

and wtf are you talking about lol "waa- -pst-whop"

[ironwolf]

I just noticed that Steve Ballmer was included in the "doesn't matter" list also.

[REDMOND BOYZZ]

Who's Steve Ballmer(j/k) and has he been talking crazzy in the professional businness world?. Hav'nt heard much please tell me if there's a point in you're being fair.

[PS360PCROCKS]

who cares about him, he doesn't run his mouth like this guy

[ironwolf]

Have you never seen him on stage at shareholder meetings or the WINHEC conferances? The point is, the article is about more people than just Kutaragi. Besides, Gates and Allen were the brains at MS, I'm afraid Ballmer was never much more than a "hanger on". I fear for the company when Gates finishs phasing himself out.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

Dont worry about tut and keep posting news.

[GTProwler]

I think playstation fanboys are gonna start saying that the business magazine is microsoft based or that it is also a hating "xbug" hahaha

[ironwolf]

I haven't played a Playstation game since I got my 360 on release day. I've used MS products for over 20 years and made my living with them for over 15 years. A large chunk of my retirement funds is in MS Stock. Ballmer is still a clown.

[Trickedbullet]

Microsoft will never die! Gates will rule the world!

Think about it. Windows is in every home just about. And what do most of those sony fanboys use their psp's with huh? Windows perhaps?

[kingboy]

sorry but you playing it stupid now

[THAMMER1]

It is true most of use Microsoft products every day. I think you are trying to pick on him out of spite right now. I read allot of your post and most of them are stupid or pro Sony. So stop finger pointing.

[TheMART]

Well about the PS3 and it's going to bomb or not depends on a couple of things. If you say fanloyalty it wouldn't go down. I mean there is a large fanbase. But then there are some other facts:

1. All the things that had been written, which will have impact on Sony sales:

a.) price to high compared to 360 (the BR isn't an advantage and isn't worth 200 dollars extra whatever anyone says. BR isn't nescessary for games, for movies with the limitation of HDMI it's not nescessary. And don't forget BR is stand alone a very expensive format where HD-DVD is so much cheaper. New formats evolve @ PC users. PC users want cheap burners. They'll buy HD-DVD internal burners.

b. The delays, due to problems with BR, bad yields CPU/GPU and so on

c. Lies and lies over and over again on different stages. Including CGI footage @ E3 2005 which cannot be lived up to (see Motorstorm now compared to then and where has Killzone 2 gone?)

d. Lost biggest franchise exclusive ever, GTA4, the competitor get exclusive downloadable content with it on Live Marketplace. Other games 3rd party will be launched on both consoles like Assassin's Creed maybe only timed exclusive for PS

e. NO RUMBLE I'll keep saying that, it's just like a car without airconditioning. When you never had it, you won't mind. When you have it and it's broken you will complain. Like having a TV without electricity to watch it and so on. It's a big miss.

2. About the format for media, PS2 was a great option as a DVD because that medium was already accepted as a standard. BR isn't. Maybe we don't need bigger media formats anyhow. Look at marketplace. We got 1+ GB demo's already to download. Why not downloadable complete games? No distribution costs, less marketing costs, no retailer that has to be paid. Lower game prices, more profit for producers and no scratches on discs anymore.

3. Sony is in deep financial trouble. Last year they reorganised business and had to fire many people. Now still they're making large losses. First 3 months of this year almost 600 million dollars. See what a loss that makes in one year time...

4. MS does it the other way around. Has good revenues on total company so can loose some on the consolepart of the company. They now have GTA also. More important: MS has the money to buy great softwareproducers and gets 1st party game producer that way. New exclusives like Gears of War, Fable, Forza, Viva Piniata, Table Tennis and others. The 360 will have the best and newest exclusives because of that. MS also showed their console games @ E3 2005. Yes it ran on 2 apple mac's. MS showed footage that was actually graphically less capable then what the end result would be. The expectation was not so high as with Sony's footage. BUT when the end result is there and looks so much better then the initial footage, people say WHOW MS that looks great. BUT when Sony's end result looks less then the CGI footage that has been shown, people say OMG FONY YOU FOOLED ME... AGAIN!

That's just it. The way Sony tries to get people waiting for the new PS is a wrong way. And this time around they have the wrong competitor choosen to outplay. Dreamcast was easy with the company behind it had less money. This time around it's MS. ANd they never loose!