Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) has announced that David Reeves, President, CEO and Co-Coo of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), and Deputy President, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., will retire from Sony Computer Entertainment Group as of April 30, 2009. Reeves is to be replaced by Andrew House, currently chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Group Executive of Sony Corporation, as of May 1, 2009.

Reeves has been with SCEE since 1995. He helped establish numerous regional offices and contributed to the sale of millions of units of the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP. In 2003, he was appointed President and COO of SCEE and then CEO two years later. He had nearly 100 countries in the Europe/PAL territories reporting to him.

"David's contribution in firmly establishing the PlayStation brand and expanding the business in Europe/PAL territories in his 14 year tenure at SCEE is immeasurable," said Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment. "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to David for the many accomplishments he made to the PlayStation business and wish him the best luck in his future endeavours."

"It has been a wonderful ride with PlayStation," said David Reeves. "I never got to visit all 106 countries but managed 66. I have just two things to say on leaving: I want to thank all of those people who have supported SCEE and me personally in the past 14 years; you have been magnificent! Secondly, I am going to spend my time now trying to repay society for all I have taken from it. If your children are having physics lessons at the local school or wondering why their ski instructor is very elderly, your car mechanic has a bad back, or the social worker keeps bringing you PSP games, then it could just be me! Good luck to everybody at SCEE and everybody who continues to support us."

Andrew House originally started at Sony in 1990 as corporate communications staffer in Japan. In '95 he joined the marketing and communications division of SCEI, contributing to the marketing and promotion of the original PlayStation. Then, a year later he was promoted to Vice President, Marketing of Sony Computer Entertainment America, where he led SCEA's marketing efforts to establish the North American market for the original PlayStation as well as formulating and executing the market strategies which led to the successful launch of the PlayStation 2 and PSP businesses. He also led the Third Party Relations and Developer Support divisions from 2000, and then in 2005 he became CMO of Sony Corporation, with global responsibility for corporate marketing across all of Sony's businesses.

Now, in his new role taking over for Reeves, House will be responsible for managing the PlayStation business across nearly 100 countries in the Europe/PAL territories, including the company's PS2, PSP, and PS3 platforms (including the PlayStation Network).

"I'm very happy to welcome Andrew back to the PlayStation business and to work closely with him again" said Hirai. "I'm confident that the skills and expertise Andy has gained over the years working as Sony's CMO will contribute enormously in leading the PlayStation business in Europe/PAL countries and regions and to bring new initiatives in managing the business in the coming networked era."

"I'm delighted to return to the PlayStation fold and excited to take on this new challenge," said House, "I have strong ties to the interactive entertainment industry and I believe there is huge potential for further growth of our business in the Europe/PAL countries and regions, particularly in the area of networked entertainment. I'm looking forward to working with everyone at SCEE and with other groups in Sony to help achieve this potential."