Sony’s Kaz Hirai, who has been managing the PlayStation division for a decade now, has been promoted to the very top of the Sony ladder: he replaces Howard Stringer as the CEO and President of the company. Hirai will assume his position on April 1, and Stringer will be moved to Chairman of The Board.

Hirai is famously known for his “Riiidge Racer” outburst during an E3 presentation when showing off the PSP many years ago. Video above.

Sony’s Kaz Hirai, or as we like to cal him, Kaz “Riiidge Raacer” Hirai, has been a part of Sony since the original PlayStation was introduced, heading various game divisions in the company. A few years ago he replaced Ken Kutaragi as President of Sony Computer Entertainment, and now he’s been promoted to “executive deputy president” of Sony’s consumer electronics products.

That puts Hirai one promotion shy of becoming the new CEO of Sony, and with it, one of the most powerful execs in the industry. Current Sony CEO Howard Stringer is looking for his replacement, and he noted that Hirai was a candidate for the position.

When Sony’s PlayStation 3 first launched back in 2006 it featured an extraordinary price tag that translated into low sales figured. Luckily, the years have done the PS3 well and the console currently sits at a palatable $299.99 for a 160GB model. However, now that the console has been out for 4 years many have wondered what Sony’s plans are for their next generation video game console.

Well, according to SCE CEO Kaz Hirai, the company isn’t even yet thinking of this next generation console. Instead, he says, the company is focused on getting the NGP out the door and boosting the value of the PS3 – which, by his count, still has a good 5 years left in it.

Do you think you’ll be playing your PS3 for another 5 years or will you be craving a newer system?

via eurogamer

The Tokyo Game Show this year is right around the corner, and today we learn that Kaz Hirai, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, will be delivering the keynote at the event.

The keynote’s title will be “New Tactics For 2009″, and will also feature an all-Japanese panel discussion of executives from Capcom, Bandai Namco and Square Enix about global strategy.

This year’s Tokyo Game Show will be held from September 24 to September 27. The last two days will be open to the public, while the rest of the show is industry-only.

Read (Gamasutra)