Kutaragi moves into the position of chairman and group CEO of SCE, while Hirai leaves his position as president and CEO of SCEA to become president and group COO of SCE. The move means that Kutaragi effectively loses day-to-day control of the PlayStation 3's launch.

A statement from Sony says: 'Ken Kutaragi will continue to oversee the entire SCE Group as chief executive officer, and will fully exercise his power to reinforce and further accelerate the development of the PlayStation business.'

'In his new capacity as President and Group COO of the entire SCE Group, [Hirai] will bring his strong leadership skills and experience to fulfill his responsibilities as head of operations worldwide.'

Other beneficiaries of the management reshuffle include David Reeves, who adds to his position as president and CEO of SCEE to become deputy president of SCE.

Hirai joined SCEA in 1995, being appointed executive VP and COO in 1996. He became president and COO in 1999 and president and CEO in 2003. During this time, he took PlayStation and PlayStation 2 to become market leaders in the American console market.

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All of the moves are effective from tomorrow.