Shuhei Yoshida
{{Short description|Japanese businessman (born 1964)}}
{{redirect|Shu Yoshida|the Japanese baseball player|Shu Yoshida (baseball)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Shuhei Yoshida
| image = Shuhei Yoshida, GDC 2022 (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Yoshida in 2022
| other names = gameape2001, yosp
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|02|11}}
| birth_place = Kyoto, Japan
| alma_mater = Kyoto University
University of California, Los Angeles
| spouse =
}}
{{nihongo|Shuhei Yoshida|吉田 修平|Yoshida Shuhei|born February 11, 1964}} is a Japanese businessman and gaming industry veteran. He was the President of SIE Worldwide Studios for Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) from 2008 to 2019, and was the head of PlayStation Indies from 2019 until his retirement from the company in 2025. Yoshida has been a key member of the PlayStation brand since its original concept, having been part of the company since 1993.
In 2023, he received the BAFTA Fellowship at the 19th British Academy Games Awards for his work in the gaming industry.{{cite web |url=https://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/games-fellowship|title=Sony games pioneer Shuhei Yoshida to be honoured with BAFTA Games Fellowship|date=March 16, 2023 |publisher=BAFTA |access-date=March 16, 2023}}
Sony Interactive Entertainment
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Faculty of Economics at Kyoto University, where he was involved in the corporate strategy group, as well as coordinating the PC business. Yoshida joined Sony Corporation in April 1986.{{Cite web|url=http://bitsummit.org/2015/?page_id=3388|title=Bitsummit|website=bitsummit.org|language=en-US|access-date=May 13, 2017|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140537/http://bitsummit.org/2015/?page_id=3388|url-status=dead}}
He later earned his MBA degree at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1993.{{Cite web|url=http://rickyreports.com/archives/morpheus/|title=Playstation President Shuhei Yoshida on VR and 20th anniversary|website=rickyreports.com|date=December 8, 2014|language=en-US|access-date=August 12, 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2014-04-11-shuhei-yoshida-career.html|title=An oral history of the last 20 years of gaming, as told by PlayStation's Shuhei Yoshida|website=engadget.com|date=April 11, 2014 |language=en-US|access-date=August 12, 2021}}
Yoshida joined Sony in 1986 as part of the corporate strategy group, with a role coordinating their PC business.{{Cite web |title=Shuhei Yoshida |url=https://www.interactive.org/about/shuhei_yoshida.asp |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences}} He was one of the initial members of the PlayStation project in February 1993, and the first non-engineer team member.{{Cite web |last=Shuman |first=Sid |date=November 26, 2024 |title=A conversation with Sony Interactive Entertainment's Head of Indies Initiative. |url=https://blog.playstation.com/2024/11/26/all-good-things-a-look-back-at-shuhei-yoshidas-31-years-with-playstation/ |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=PlayStation.Blog}} He acted as the lead account executive at Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s third party licensing program.{{Cite web |last=Takahashi |first=Dean |date=February 17, 2025 |title=Shuhei Yoshida looks back at 31 years at Sony PlayStation {{!}} exit interview |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/shuhei-yoshida-looks-back-at-31-years-at-sony-playstation-exit-interview/ |access-date=30 March 2025 |website=GamesBeat}}
From the mid 1990s until 2000, Yoshida worked primarily as a producer on PlayStation titles, including Gran Turismo, Ape Escape, and The Legend of Dragoon among others. In April 2000, he became the Vice President at Sony Computer Entertainment America. In February 2007, he became Senior Vice President at SCE Worldwide Studios USA, and one year later in May 2008, he would be elevated to President of SCE Worldwide Studios.File:Shuhei Yoshida from acrofan.jpg 2013]]
In November 2013 Yoshida appeared in the official PlayStation 4 unboxing video.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-11-11-whos-this-mystery-man-unboxing-playstation-4|title=Who's this mystery man unboxing PlayStation 4?|first=Robert|last=Purchese|website=Eurogamer|date=November 11, 2013}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQUpg795iBo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/YQUpg795iBo |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |title=The Official PS4 Unboxing Video | PlayStation 4 |date=November 10, 2013 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}
On November 7, 2019, Sony announced that Yoshida had stepped down as President of SIE Worldwide Studios amid a company reshuffle to become head of a newly formed initiative that will focus on nurturing external independent creators. The new initiative, which would later become PlayStation Indies focused on supporting external developers that are creating 'new and unexpected' experiences for the gaming industry.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.sie.com/en/corporate/release/2019/191107.html|title=Sony Interactive Entertainment Nameshermen Hulst Head of Worldwide Studios|date=November 7, 2019}}{{Cite web |last=Takahashi |first=Dean |date=February 17, 2025 |title=Shuhei Yoshida looks back at 31 years at Sony PlayStation {{!}} exit interview |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/shuhei-yoshida-looks-back-at-31-years-at-sony-playstation-exit-interview/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 13, 2025 |website=VentureBeat}} He was replaced by Hermen Hulst, the former studio head of Guerrilla Games.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2019/11/07/sony-appoints-guerrilla-games-hermen-hulst-new-head-playstation-worldwide-studios/|title=Sony appoints Guerrilla Games' Hermen Hulst new head of PlayStation worldwide studios|newspaper=The Washington Post}}
Yoshida retired from SIE on January 15, 2025, after spending more than thirty years with the company.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-veteran-shuhei-yoshida-retiring-from-sony-in-january |title=PlayStation Veteran Shuhei Yoshida Retiring From Sony in January |first=Alex |last=Stedman |date=November 26, 2024 |accessdate=November 26, 2024 |work=IGN}} He would reveal in an interview later that year that Jim Ryan, then CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, gave him a choice in 2019 to work with indie games or leave Sony.
In his time at Sony, Yoshida was active on Twitter, particularly in promoting Indie games. Yoshida appears as a playable character in Super Time Force Ultra, able to fire tweets and heart emoticons from his in-game smartphone.{{Cite web |last=Welsh |first=Oli |date=November 27, 2024 |title=Shuhei Yoshida is the soul of PlayStation. What does his departure mean for Sony? |url=https://www.polygon.com/analysis/486140/shuhei-yoshida-leaves-playstation-sony |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Polygon}}
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Selected ludography
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/footer/about-us/world-wide-studios/ SIE Worldwide Studios homepage]
- {{Twitter|id=yosp}}
{{BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshida, Shuhei}}
Category:Japanese video game businesspeople
Category:Kyoto University alumni
Category:Businesspeople from Tokyo
Category:UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni