After taking on the role in 2012 after being the face of PlayStation for many years. This follows on from news that Andrew House, appointed by Hirai as the head of PlayStation, also stepped down. Kaz Hirai will be replaced by current CFO Kenichiro Yoshida when he officially leaves the role in April.

Noting the main reason being to spend more time with family and less time jet-setting across the globe as the CEO of a major corporation, Kaz Hirai released the following statement.

“Ever since my appointment as President and CEO in April 2012, I have stated that my mission is to ensure Sony continues to be a company that provides customers with kando–to move them emotionally–and inspires and fulfils their curiosity.”

“To this end, I have dedicated myself to transforming the company and enhancing its profitability, and am very proud that now, in the third and final year of our current mid-range corporate plan, we are expecting to exceed our financial targets. And it excites me to hear more and more people enthuse that Sony is back again.”

As noted above he leaves the role with the PlayStation brand in a very good place. The PS4 is the current market leader by quite the margin, having now sold over 75 million units globally.