Shuhei Yoshida | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Yoshida in 2022 | |
| Born | (1964-02-11)February 11, 1964 (age 61) Kyoto, Japan |
| Other names | gameape2001, yosp |
| Alma mater | Kyoto University University of California, Los Angeles |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Shuhei Yoshida (吉田 修平,Yoshida Shuhei; born February 11, 1964) is a Japanese businessman and gaming industry veteran. He was the President ofSIE Worldwide Studios forSony 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 thePlayStation brand since its original concept, having been part of the company since 1993.
In 2023, he received theBAFTA Fellowship at the19th British Academy Games Awards for his work in the gaming industry.[1]
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Faculty of Economics atKyoto University, where he was involved in the corporate strategy group, as well as coordinating the PC business. Yoshida joined Sony Corporation in April 1986.[2]
He later earned hisMBA degree atUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1993.[3][4]
Yoshida joined Sony in 1986 as part of the corporate strategy group, with a role coordinating their PC business.[5] He was one of the initial members of thePlayStation project in February 1993, and the first non-engineer team member.[6] He acted as the lead account executive atSony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s third party licensing program.[7]
From the mid-1990s until 2000, Yoshida worked primarily as a producer on PlayStation titles, includingGran Turismo,Ape Escape, andThe Legend of Dragoon among others.[5] In April 2000, he became the Vice President at Sony Computer Entertainment America.[2] In February 2007, he became Senior Vice President at SCE Worldwide Studios USA,[2] and one year later in May 2008, he would be elevated to President of SCE Worldwide Studios.[2]
In November 2013 Yoshida appeared in the officialPlayStation 4unboxing video.[8][9]
On November 7, 2019, Sony announced that Yoshida had stepped down as President ofSIE 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.[10][11] He was replaced by Hermen Hulst, the former studio head ofGuerrilla Games.[12]
Yoshida retired from SIE on January 15, 2025, after spending more than thirty years with the company.[13] 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.[11]
In his time at Sony, Yoshida was active onTwitter, particularly in promotingIndie games. Yoshida appears as a playable character inSuper Time Force Ultra, able to fire tweets and heart emoticons from his in-game smartphone.[14]
| Year | Game title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Crash Bandicoot | Producer[15][16] |
| 1997 | Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back | |
| Gran Turismo | Executive Producer[17] | |
| 1998 | Spyro the Dragon | Producer[18] |
| Crash Bandicoot: Warped | Executive Producer[19][20][21][22] | |
| 1999 | CTR: Crash Team Racing | |
| Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! | ||
| Ape Escape | ||
| The Legend of Dragoon | Producer[23] | |
| 2000 | FantaVision | Executive Producer[24] |
