Kazuo "Kaz" Hirai, who led PlayStation from 2007 to 2012, has revealed that he often disregarded directives from Sony's top executives during his tenure. Hirai described his approach as going his own way and stating, "What the headquarters says is irrelevant. We are PlayStation."
This approach was shared in a recent conversation with Nikkei XTrend, as translated by Game Observer. Hirai noted that this independent stance was crucial for the PlayStation division.
Later, when Hirai himself ascended to the position of Sony CEO, he faced a period of significant struggle for the company. This challenging era prompted him to pivot the corporate strategy. He focused on ensuring "getting people to know me" and "getting them to move in the same direction." Hirai emphasized that without mutual respect, collaboration would falter.
Ironically, as the leader of the entire Sony corporation, Hirai sought to prevent the fragmentation he had previously fostered at PlayStation, aiming to unite all divisions toward common objectives. He introduced the corporate slogan 'kando,' derived from a Japanese term for being emotionally moved, to encourage the creation of products and experiences that resonated with users on a deeper level, beyond mere functionality.
Hirai's leadership at PlayStation occurred during a pivotal time, including the launch of the PlayStation 3, the challenging debut of the PlayStation Vita, and the significant PlayStation Network outage in 2011. He concluded his term as Sony CEO in 2018. Hirai is also notably remembered for the 2006 PlayStation E3 press conference.