The senior vice president of Sony Computer Entertaiment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS), Shuhei Yoshida, has been promoted and appointed as president, Sony has said.

In a statement, SCEI said that the change would be effective immediately.

Yoshida joined SCEI in 1993 as one of the initial members in establishing the PlayStation business. Since then, he has continued to move up the ladder, being appointed producer of the product development department in 1996 and then vice president of the same department in 2000.

In February 2007, Yoshida was promoted to senior vice president, US Studios, SCE WWS.

"SCE WWS has been developing global hit titles, sharing resources and know-how within SCE Group since its foundation, and we will reinforce our software business by further enhancing coordination among the studios under a new leader", said Kazuo Hirai, president and group CEO, SCEI.

"Under the leadership of Yoshida, who has proven track record in managing creative talent, SCE WWS will accelerate the software development for the PlayStation 3 and PSP platforms and vigorously expand the gaming market."