Jim Ryan, Former PlayStation Boss, Reveals His Favorite Video Games
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Jim Ryan fireside chat screenshot
For a person who oversaw the business of a console manufacturer, Jim Ryan may not look like someone who plays video games. The executive officially announced his departure from PlayStation last year, with March being his last month at the company. Ryan was always perceived as someone focused squarely on the business side of things, unlike Phil Spencer, the boss of PlayStation’s rival Xbox. As such, to hear one of his favorite video games of all time is Ridge Racer is a shocker.
In an interview with Variety, Ryan revealed his top games from each generation of the PlayStation cycle. Here are all the games he chose, dating back to the PS One:
PS1: Ridge Racer
PS2: Grand Theft Auto 3
PS3: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
PS4: Marvel’s Spider-Man
PS5: God of War Ragnarok
Okay, technically God of War Ragnarok’s inclusion could be discounted due to it being a cross-gen release, but it makes sense given how that’s the state of most games in this generation.
“It’s obviously a wonderful game, and was wonderfully critiqued,” said Ryan about Kratos’ final adventure. “But it coincided with the time that we were finally able to start building enough PlayStation 5s. Things snowballed in a beautiful way.”
Sony
Ryan served as the President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment for four years, overseeing the development of many key PlayStation hardware launches, including the PS5, PlayStation Portal, PS VR2, and the Inzone headsets. While the PS5 generation has been largely successful, many fans have expressed their disappointment with Ryan’s decision-making.
He is also responsible for overseeing and guiding a shift in PlayStation’s strategy to be more open, embracing live-service games and PC releases. It, like most of Ryan’s tenure during the PS5 generation, has received mixed results although it does seem like the fruits of those efforts are now being seen by the larger gaming audience.
After PlayStation, Ryan still has his sights set on working in the entertainment industry, teasing his next venture.
“I still have huge resources of energy and passion that I’m looking forward to deploying in some slightly different ways,” he said. “I’ve got a few things bubbling. I can’t say what they are — but I am going to take my life in a little different direction.
Related: Sony Won’t Release Any Major PlayStation Franchise Games Till 2025
Sony is currently expected to release a PS5 Pro console by the end of 2024, with a handheld console also reportedly in development.
