The man responsible for the development of the the PlayStation brand "will retire from his executive position" with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.  Kutaragi, whose PlayStation and PlayStation 2 platforms have sold over 200 million units, will serve as Honorary Chairman of SCEI and as a technology advisor to Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer, according to the company's press release.

For all his success, some have criticized Kutaragi for the poor public relations campaign and loss of third-party exclusives leading up to the PlayStation 3 launch.  He will be replaced as CEO of SCEI by Kazuo Hirai, currently the COO of SCEI, effective June 19.

Whether this is retribution for what many gamers saw as a poor launch for the PS3 or just Kutaragi changing positions is anyone's guess.