Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida recently revealed in an interview that his move to oversee PlayStation's indie game business wasn't a personal choice. Instead, he was told that if he didn't accept the role, he'd have to leave the company. While the position allowed him to continue supporting independent developers, he admitted he "had no other choice."
Yoshida spent 31 years at Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE), where he helped launch the original PlayStation and served as President of SIE Worldwide Studios from 2008 to 2019.
However, in 2019, Sony announced his departure from the President role to lead a new independent game initiative, with Hermen Hulst taking over as President. Details about this job change were scarce at the time, but Yoshida recently opened up about the behind-the-scenes in an interview with VentureBeat, confessing he didn't have much say in the matter. 
"Moving from first-party games to indie games? I had no choice," Yoshida stated. "When Jim Ryan (former SIE CEO) asked me to take charge of indie games, I had two options: accept the position or leave the company. But I have a deep affection for both PlayStation and indie games, so I ultimately chose to stay."
While Yoshida eventually took on the role, he admitted that this career shift was more impactful than his official departure from Sony this year. "That was a bigger change for me than leaving Sony; the initial move from first-party to indie games was a much more significant shift."
Yoshida revealed that he now works as a consultant for several game companies, continuing to collaborate with independent developers and publishers to help them grow their businesses. "For me, leaving Sony to become an independent consultant isn't as drastic as the initial transition from first-party games to the indie sector."
Was Opposition to Live Service Games the Real Reason for His Removal?
In a separate interview last month with Kinda Funny, Yoshida jokingly speculated on why he was removed from his position as President of Worldwide Studios, saying, "Perhaps it was because I would have opposed Sony's shift towards live service games."
He cited Helldivers 2 as an example, noting that the game's success was unexpected, and no one can fully predict a game's market performance. "You can't plan a successful game; that's the most interesting part of this industry," he said. "If I were in Hermen Hulst's position back then, I probably would have tried to stop the company from going in that direction. Maybe that's why they removed me from the first-party games division!"
via： VentureBeat