Ex-PlayStation US Boss Takes an Exciting Approach on His Return to the Gaming Universe

Jack Tretton, the former Head of Sony Computer Entertainment is back in the news after having parted ways with PlayStation developers in 2014. Currently, he is a member of the advisory boards for an AI startup Gentaur, and a digital publisher LifeApps Digital Media.

The 60-YO is pursuing a $225 million deal with his latest venture called PowerUp. The gaming SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) is looking for acquiring business organizations for making new video games.

Former US Head of PlayStation returning back into the gaming industry

Jack Tretton initially took a role at Sony in 1995 and later parted ways in 2014. Now, he has once again decided to venture into the gaming industry as the Chief Executive of PowerUp Acquisition, as noted in a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In this new venture, Tretton is joined by Bruce Hack who served as Former CEO and Vice Chairman for Vivendi Games and Activision Blizzard from 2008 and 2009. Through PowerUp, these former techies are now looking for acquiring companies in the interactive media space, focusing on video games. This field is not absolute for them and they might end up choosing any company for any given industry.

This venture is called Spacs, a term used for ‘blank cheque companies’. These companies are public listed businesses whose purpose is to complete the acquisition of private entities. The United States has around 600 Spacs operating with a financial turnover of $160 billion. Spacs are subject to performances and may sometimes underperform under traditional initial public offerings.

Jack Tretton and his previous involvements with the gaming industry

Jack Tretton is popular for the initial development of the PlayStation consoles such as PS1 and PS2. However, he had invited controversies through his comments for other companies’ consoles. He had previously called PS3 “Surf ‘n Turf”  and the PS2 “your favorite burger restaurant” while calling Wii a “lollipop”  and the Xbox 360 as “an unreliable cook”.  He rectified these statements after PS Vita’s release in 2012 saying that he is a “believer in a rising tide lifting all boats” and that “a successful Nintendo or a successful gaming industry is good for anybody that’s in the gaming business.”

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Nevertheless, Jack was also famous amongst Sony fans. He even appeared on Kinda Funny Live 2 and PS I LOVE YOU XOXO podcasts in 2016. So this update has sparked new hopes amongst PlayStation fans to see the former boss plunge into business after a long hiatus from the gaming industry.