Vice President
Global Marketing –Games
Sony Interactive Entertainment
I've always been passionate about games, and many of my favorites of all time are PlayStation® games. So, when I was offered the opportunity to work on Sony Interactive Entertainment's Global Marketing team in 2018, I accepted. Our Global Marketing team is responsible for marketing PlayStation® games across all platforms. I love playing our games and, in my role, it is an advantage to know the games as well as our players. We also have the luxury working with the best creators in the world, which is another great thing about working here. Marketing is really about a partnership with the creators. From as early as the concept stage, we work hand-in-hand with our studios to present player insights, assess business opportunities, and plan how we bring a game to market.
There are two things in terms of what I think make PlayStation Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment games so great. One is that we have such a history of great games and excellent game IP. I don't think another company has as strong game IP as Sony Interactive Entertainment, and creators looking for work see that as something very attractive. SIE allows creators the freedom to build the game or experience they want to develop. They are given the time needed to ensure the game is great at launch, and we prioritize quality over all else. That freedom allows them to deliver the best in the games. The other thing is that story plays a huge role in all the games we do, and we've got some of the best storytellers in the business. “The Last of Us”, “God of War”, “Horizon Forbidden West” and “Ghost of Tsushima” are examples of games in the last five years that are just phenomenal stories. So much so that PlayStation Productions is bringing these stories to other mediums, like film and TV. It's a testament to how good the stories are.
There are many different genres of games, and I play all types, but some of my favorites are those that have a story. Single-player story games are one of the genres that PlayStation Studios does better than anyone. Not only do they completely immerse the player through visuals, sound, and gameplay, but they also evoke emotion. Happiness is probably the emotion you would expect most from a game. But other games, like “The Last of Us”, tap into human emotions you don’t typically see in games, like sadness and loss, and it is what makes the game incredibly powerful. The creators do an excellent job of immersing us in their story and world, which is the key. Emotion is what makes these games memorable, so I believe evoking emotion is the goal of a great game experience.
We have all cultures represented at SIE, and diversity has been an important focus for the company. I believe there is a real benefit when the team working on a game represents that of the community that plays it.
When it comes to workplace culture, I would describe SIE as fun, which probably seems obvious when you work for a company that makes games. I love the amount of celebration we have for our games. There is a real effort to bring everyone together to celebrate the launch of our games and their successes. As we get the opportunity to spend more time in the office, it’s great to have moments together again to celebrate the wins. I feel it is the message across Sony whether you are working on film, music, or games, it’s a real privilege to work on these products. There's a lot of emotion in what we do. We're bringing fun experiences to players, which can often translate to our work life.
One thing I strive for is collaboration. I enjoy working with others and bringing teams together, be it teams within our own company, across our marketing organization, or with other counterparts within SIE. I also enjoy working with the extended the Sony Group companies. Being a part of the Sony Group gives us some additional benefits. We have this synergistic partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment (SME), which offers all three companies additional means to promote our games and their films and music. This type of partnership is a nice luxury that we have where other companies don’t. A recent example of this type of collaboration was with last year’s release of “God of War Ragnarök”. We partnered with our SIE Music team and SME to secure Hosier to create a song for the game’s end credits and our marketing campaign. The partnership culminated with a beautiful performance at the Game Awards. We enjoy when we get the chance to collaborate with other Sony Group companies because there is a real mutual love for the products.
The title, organization, and duty are the ones at the time of interview.
