Sony Europe president Chris Deering is leaving his post after just 18 months. Deering, the man credited with the succcess of the Playstation, is retiring to "pursue personal opportunities in the US where his family now resides".

From 1 November Deering will be replaced by Fujio Nishida, currently in charge of Electronics Marketing at Sony Tokyo. The two will work together over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition and Deering will continue to work for Sony as a consultant.

A Sony spokesman told The Reg Deering's departure was his own idea and not a big surprise. He said that his replacement, Fujio Nishida has wide, and international, marketing experience.

Deering took over as president of Sony Europe in April 2004, prior to this he was founding president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe from 1995 and oversaw the introduction of the Playstation and Playstation 2.

Sony's worldwide chief executive, Howard Stringer, is expected to reveal new strategy for the electronics giant in the next few days.

Sony's press statement is here ®

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