Hirai admits surprise at Harrison departure

Boss wasn't ready for departure

Speaking to the semi-official ThreeSpeech blog, Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai admitted that he was not expecting former Sony exec Phil Harrison to leave and become president of Atari.

"At the time, I didn’t know he was going to Atari," Hirai concedes. "It was obviously a surprise when he told me he was going to move on.

"But, you know, it’s a small industry and he’s obviously remained in it and from his perspective, it was a great thing to move on to a new challenge. On his last day, I was in Tokyo and I called him, and said I was sad to see him go but, at the same time, I was very happy for him to take on some new challenges."

Harrison took over the presidency of Atari parent Infogrames earlier this year. The firm will launch Alone in the Dark soon.

By Luke Guttridge