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Connie Booth Leaves PlayStation After 34 Years, It’s Claimed

With my tinfoil hat on, and perhaps some misplaced hopes. Between all the internal moves we’ve been seeing at Sony (and across the wider industry), it feels like there is a major realignment away from GAAS. There’s been increasing public rejection, with a graveyard of large scale flops, whilst the big hits are straight up single player games. For Sony I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of this activity is gutting of people intimately tied to Sonys big pivot to GAAS.

This is what I feel is the case, too. From what I understand, she's been with Sony since 1989, so she was there since the PS1. Her retiring having put in 30+ years of work is absolutely likely.

But it doesn't mean things are mutually exclusive. She could be retiring simply to retire, while also retiring on some suggestion that maybe things resulting from the internal pivot to prioritizing GaaS (or maybe even the PC porting strategy) haven't quite worked out. Maybe Sony wants to adjust their focus better. Yes some of this is also my own personal thoughts and wishes at play, there's a bit of emotion in reading the news. Really though, EVERYONE'S analysis is going to involve a bit of an emotional read, we're human beings at the end of the day not machines.

So she could both be retiring because they're at the point career-wise that retirement is the best option, and stepping aside because Sony have decided to heavily adjust their various strategies regarding GaaS, PC, 3P partnerships/M&As/investments, marketing/advertising etc. Both things can be true simultaneously, and can even hold true for others who are retiring like Jim Ryan.

For now though, it's really just all speculation and it's safest to just assume they are retiring because they're a point where retirement seems like the obvious choice.

Jaffe always mentioned Connie Booth and Scott Rhode as the best execs and the enablers of the incredible projects done at Playstation, you know, the kind of people Microsoft needs to run their studios.

NGL if she ends up at Xbox it's gonna look a bit spooky for Sony, because I'm assuming she is retiring.

However it also will show just how absolutely awful Microsoft's corporate tactics truly are; remember they wanted an audit of Sony's upper management executives at SIE by the FTC during the ABK acquisition court hearings? Something like...access to performance reviews of those executives? I 'member that.

Which BTW was in addition to wanting a full roadmap of Sony's 1P and 3P exclusive software for the next 10 years. Now ask yourself what the fuk would Microsoft need that kind of information for just to get approval for buying ABK? That's the point: they didn't need it for ABK, they wanted it for poaching talent because they don't really have plants at SIE the way they did with Ybarra at ABK, for example.

I guess we'll see what happens but hey, if she or even someone like Jim Ryan shows up at Xbox, even if these are otherwise like 0.001% probability of happening odds...just look back here know the slimy way it probably happened.
 
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SenkiDala

Member
Watching Tv Disrespect GIF by Gogglebox Australia
 
It seems those social media retards get more and more desperate about finding "news" to get attention.
And the fucks posting it on these boards give it to them by spreading it around....Just why?
"Social Media Retards" is an accurate description of most PlayStation fanboys now. Ditto for most Xbox and Nintendo fanboys.
 

Darchaos

Member
I love the current world, people earns money by doing nothing: Influencers, streamers and people like this Jeff guy, make a headline on some shitplattform and earn money from some fucks klicking on it. Awsome!
 
Episode 2 Whatever GIF


Seriously, I thought it was about them closing a studio. But, it's about one higher up leaving around retirement age? Was Jaffe fucking her on the side? Why would this be devastating for PS?

I am laughing my ass off at some Xbox fans thinking it was going to be something big, though.
 
This is an early retirement move. They force you out early. But they give you your pension.

Dude she is likely in her early '60s. Retirement age in America is usually 65. If she's been forced out, it's likely by like 2-3 years

That's a super bad sign for the future. You can be sure that a lot of people who have been working for Playstation for 34 years are going to leave the company as well.

Typical fearmongering, over-exaggerative response as expected. Never mind she's nearing retirement age and might just want to take it easy at this point in her life.

But sure let's hyperbolize "Sony are DOOMED!"...man if Phil Spencer rightfully got fired tomorrow the internet would crash.
 
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HarryKS

Member
Dude she is likely in her early '60s. Retirement age in America is usually 65. If she's been forced out, it's likely by like 2-3 years



Typical fearmongering, over-exaggerative response as expected. Never mind she's nearing retirement age and might just want to take it easy at this point in her life.

But sure let's hyperbolize "Sony are DOOMED!"...man if Phil Spencer rightfully got fired tomorrow the internet would crash.
They push her out with an early retirement package. She doesn't decide. They make it an attractive proposition.

It's commonplace.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
They push her out with an early retirement package. She doesn't decide. They make it an attractive proposition.

It's commonplace.
And she'd get a giant severance package. Its like hitting the lottery.

Every person I've known working at my companies who were those long timers like "the 25 year club" and such got big pay outs in their 50s or 60s. Most of them were happy about it and retired. Most were hoping the day would come they get the boot or a voluntary leave option so they could cash out.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
In other news, Ted the janitor at PlayStation has also left the company after 25 years
At two of my companies I worked at in the past, each place had a guy in my dept who retired after 40 years. One guy started working out of college when the Beatles were around. His entire career was the same company. And another guy started work around 1970 and retired in 2010.

Each guy got a team dinner and a plaque. They'd laugh about it too as tons of us would joke around they've been working longer at the company than a lot of us were even born yet.
 
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Dr. Wilkinson

Gold Member
I doubt Jaffe is freaking out if she is just retiring. I'm guessing she was pushed out or something.
Assuming she started in her late 20s or sometime in her 30s, 34 years would be retirement age, though. Or well past it. Especially if you consider that her position was at the executive level and her salary is no doubt quite high, at least in the mid 6 figures.
 
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SenkiDala

Member
I’m sure Phil could use someone with industry experience.
If Phil cared about being surrounded by people of experience, the Xbox brand wouldn't be where it is now. Giving up about making good games, building good games studios, they prefer to buy those studios to force them to do mediocre games.
 
At two of my companies I worked at in the past, each place had a guy in my dept who retired after 40 years. One guy started working out of college when the Beatles were around. His entire career was the same company. And another guy started work around 1970 and retired in 2010.

Each guy got a team dinner and a plaque. They'd laugh about it too as tons of us would joke around they've been working longer at the company than a lot of us were even born yet.

Lol, I am starting to feel like that myself at my current company I work for, started here in 1994 when I was 18 and next year it will be my 30 year anniversary! Not the same job the whole time, but moving around do different positions, etc. I am getting old as balls!
 

Roni

Member
34 years is a fuck of a long time to work at one company.

Edit: hold up - why are they saying she left PlayStation after 34 years? Did she work at PlayStation in 1989?!!
That's the point of the whole story, she has been at Sony since '89 and has been Executive Producer since '95. So, pretty much there since the dawn of PlayStation. Which, I guess, is why the guy who broke the news was all like "if you liked PlayStation until now, you should revolt" or something.
 
Assuming she started in her late 20s or sometime in her 30s, 34 years would be retirement age, though. Or well past it. Especially if you consider that her position was at the executive level and her salary is no doubt quite high, at least in the mid 6 figures.
I don't understand your point. Just because she is near retirement age, doesn't mean she retired. He's clearly upset because he thinks she didn't retire.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Lol, I am starting to feel like that myself at my current company I work for, started here in 1994 when I was 18 and next year it will be my 30 year anniversary! Not the same job the whole time, but moving around do different positions, etc. I am getting old as balls!
If you ever get the boot or voluntary leave package, your severance will be ginormous!
 
They push her out with an early retirement package. She doesn't decide. They make it an attractive proposition.

It's commonplace.

Has it been confirmed she was pushed out? Thought this was just a voluntary retirement on her part.

The only source claiming she was fired is Jaffe, and that dude hates PlayStation so of course he would insinuate that, even without proof.

thicc_girls_are_teh_best thicc_girls_are_teh_best ChorizoPicozo ChorizoPicozo diffusionx diffusionx
Bros, I honestly can't believe you took my post seriously. Playstation didn't even exist 34 years ago...

I can't believe you believed we wouldn't take your post seriously 😂

I’m sure Phil could use someone with industry experience.

He prob got aggressive after the FTC told him to STFU about getting portfolio reviews for SIE executives for no good reason whatsoever (other than to poach without doing outright corporate espionage).

Assuming she started in her late 20s or sometime in her 30s, 34 years would be retirement age, though. Or well past it. Especially if you consider that her position was at the executive level and her salary is no doubt quite high, at least in the mid 6 figures.

Plus if she was in fact pushed out due to some disagreement, and Jaffe knew...why isn't he sharing details? What, we're supposed to just assume that's the case with no confirmation, if he knew somehow she was retiring after all?
 

Dr. Wilkinson

Gold Member
I don't understand your point. Just because she is near retirement age, doesn't mean she retired. He's clearly upset because he thinks she didn't retire.
Well he's the one that decided to put out the "news", so the onus is on him to bring that context with him. Agreed it would be helpful to actually know. "This lady at Sony left after 34 years" isn't exactly a front page headline 🤷‍♂️
 

yurinka

Member
I assume she did a great job all these years, looking at what Jaffe always said about her.

She left or was told to leave? If she just left after 34 years it could be for lots of good reasons.
She worked there for 34 years. Assuming she joined Sony being around 20 years old she may be around 55 years old. So maybe it's an early retirement now that there will be a transitional period to a new CEO.

Is this the dramatic news Jaffe was talking about?
Jaffe always praised her, and considered her one of the most important persons there.
 
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Sony just shot themselves in the foot.

I don't know how much the rest of you know about corporate culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in the rest of the country where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in corporate America, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

What this means is the American public, after hearing about this, is not going to want to purchase The Last of Us II 2 for any system, nor will they purchase any of Sony's games. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Sony has alienated an entire market with this move.

Sony, publicly apologize and rehire Connie Booth or you can kiss your business goodbye.
 
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