The Man Who Drew Up Sonys Next Game Plan

Mark Cernys journey from 17-year-old Atari programmer to lead architect of Sony Computer Entertainment will define the next blockbuster games console.

Mark Cernys soft voice and youthful looks belie the position of power he holds in the video-game industry. The 49-year-old Californian is the lead architect of Sonys PlayStation 4, the companys forthcoming video-game console cum entertainment hub, which is destined to arrive in millions of living rooms around the globe this winter. As such he is partly responsible for defining the next generation of video-game consoles and shaping the broader influence of these increasingly pervasive devices. It is a unique challenge in technological design. Unlike PCs, smartphones, or televisions, new video-game consoles launch only intermittently, every seven years or so. The design must be robust enough to remain relevant in a rapidly shifting technological landscape over an extended period.