Ken Kutaragi was born August 8, 1950 in Tokyo, Japan, to middle-class parents who owned a small printing plant factory. Growing up, Ken Kutaragi worked in his parents’ factory and was a diligent and hardworking student. His keen interest in electronics inspired him to obtain an Electronics degree at the Denki Tsushin University.

Ken Kutaragi immediately proceeded to work for Sony after graduation, specifically in their digital research labs. When he worked for Nintendo, within Sony, he was able to persuade the management to financially support his research on the Super NES CD. This is the gadget that would later be known as the PlayStation. The PlayStation became a hit and this made him develop the PlayStation 2, and the latest PlayStation 3.

Due to the phenomenal success of the PlayStation series, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI) became the most profitable business division of Sony. Various financial and technological publications cited Ken Kutaragi for his achievements. TIME Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of 2004 and the “Gutenberg of Video Games.”

Sony promoted Ken Kutaragi as its deputy executive president, chief operating officer of Sony Global, and vice chairman in 2003. Later on, Kaz Hirai, the President of SCE America, replaced him as President of SCEI on November 30, 2006. Ken Kutaragi became Chairman of SCEI, and held his position as chief executive officer of the group. He announced that he would retire and instead be an Honorary Chairman on April 26, 2007.

Known as “The Father of the PlayStation,” Ken Kutaragi is currently chief executive officer of Cellius, a computer game developer in Shibuya, Tokyo that was founded in 2007 by Sony and Namco Bandai Holdings Inc. The latter is a Japanese holding company that has interests in toys, video games and arcades, anime, and amusement parks.