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Hirai was "surprised" that Harrison jumped ship

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc CEO and President Kazuo Hirai has admitted he was “surprised” by Phil Harrison’s decision to resign from his position with the company and join Atari.

Speaking during an interview with ThreeSpeech, Hirai said he had no knowledge of Harrison’s plans at the time, but added he was "very happy for him to take on some new challenges."

"At the time, I didn’t know he was going to Atari. It was obviously a surprise when he told me he was going to move on," he stated.

"But, you know, it’s a small industry and he’s obviously remained in it and from his perspective, it was a great thing to move on to a new challenge. On his last day, I was in Tokyo and I called him, and said I was sad to see him go but, at the same time, I was very happy for him to take on some new challenges."
 
Formally head of Sony Worldwide Studios, Harrison announced his departure from the company in February this year, before assuming his new role as President of Atari parent, Infograms, in March.

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