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CVG: The Cult of Kaz Hirai. GAF members interviewed.

Castle Doctrine

Castle Doctrine

Member
The Cult of Kaz Hirai

It was almost as though the PlayStation Meeting video invite, which Sony published online on Jan 31, had some kind of subliminal message encoded within it. It was as though, somewhere between the video's shapes and sounds, a message lied, feeding into our subconscious minds the thought that Kaz Hirai will save us all.

Because ever since January 31, amid crazed anticipation for the PlayStation 4 showcase, internet forums have stopped publishing unflattering photos of the Sony chief executive and have chosen instead to depict him as a sort of modern-day Moses.

Animated GIFs of the executive now pepper game forums around the world. Most often they superimpose Hirai's face over a particularly dramatic movie scene that appears to have been plucked randomly out from decades of cinema, from Citizen Kane to Total Recall.
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His worship is nowhere more obvious than on the gaming forum NeoGAF and its PlayStation Meeting thread, which currently carries over 13,000 posts. Initially filled with the habitual declarations of enthusiasm and animated 'hype' GIFs of people in various states of intense excitement, over time the thread has slowly become something of a Hirai shrine.
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"Unlike some other public faces of gaming companies that are either clumsy or insincere, Kaz feels like he's completely genuine," said Tusken77, another of the thread's regulars who created a series of movie images with Hirai superimposed."Of course, being there from the early days and every step of the way with the PlayStation brand only strengthens his credibility. A man in a very powerful position, but also 'one of us'. He's grown alongside PlayStation. He's passionate and understands the hardcore gamer."
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Juancho9, another NeoGAF member, added: "We really know nothing about the guy, but I think he's been smart in being vocal and active in at the very least looking like he's interested in what gamers actually want in their video game systems."
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Can he pull it off? NeoGAF user Liamario put it best: "I think Hirai and Sony have been greatly humbled as of late, and I think he deserves a chance to prove himself".
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whitehawk.gif


Gif by whitehawk
 
K

Kenka

Member
Auto avatar quote.

image.php


edit: while I do sport a Kaz avatar today I don't understand the serious tone of some posts quoted. He basically turned into a meme himself, nothing more than that. He is still the same self-conscious, at times self-deluding, executive of Sony.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
Is it really fair to classify it as "something of a Hirai shrine"?

A shrine implies there is some sort of deification or worshiping going on; most of these gifs are a meme, mostly used to poke fun at the dude.
 
B

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
They managed to write two pages on the subject of "guys on the Internet shop faces from the gaming industry on to images". This is approaching Kotaku levels of slowness.
 
Acheteedo

Acheteedo

Member
ElTopo said:
The idea that people do this because they really love Kaz and Sony it a bit too much. It's really just harmless fun.
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Yeah of course it's all tongue in cheek, I mean the guy is a suit at the end of the day, if he could improve Sony profits by screwing all of us then no doubt he'd do it in a heart beat.
 
Liamario

Liamario

Banned
It's nice that he used 2 of my gifs, but there are better ones on GAF and the ones of mine he did used weren't that great.

But hey, I'm not complaining.
 
F

funkystudent

Member
Visualante2 said:
Tretton doesn't get enough credit. That's who I'm waiting to see. Guy's the best executive since Harrison.
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Tretton is a bit too Business for my liking.

Also it doesnt help he is driving SCEA into the ground.


Kaz is good. He seems to know his stuff and never came across like someone who spent the last month before a show taking corporate PR and public speaking lessons like Mattrick or Riccitello.


Peter Moore is still the king though.
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
It's just hyped fun around a big event.

But the cult of Kaz is going to be super-disappointed when Andrew House takes to the stage for tonight's reveal :p
 
Z

zoukka

Member
Amir0x said:
Is it really fair to classify it as "something of a Hirai shrine"?

A shrine implies there is some sort of deification or worshiping going on; most of these gifs are a meme, mostly used to poke fun at the dude.
Click to expand...

You are very bad at reading these things if you think there's no idolization going on here.
 
T

The Mana Legend

Banned
Kaz Hirai is pretty damn lame. It's sad when that's the best figurehead you have at Sony. And Microsoft's is even worse.

I don't know why there isn't a Cult of Iwata. He is infinitely more likeable and worthy of cult status.
 
E

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
All members of the deplorable "Cult of Kaz Harai" should be shot on sight. Disgusting.
 
N

Nibel

Member
gofreak said:
It's just hyped fun around a big event.

But the cult of Kaz is going to be super-disappointed when Andrew House takes to the stage for tonight's reveal :p
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Kaz is the boss

He will show off PS4

Andrew can go play some Wonderbook in the backstage area
 
T

Takao

Banned
spats said:
I loved the long Tretton interview on the Blogcast last year. Doesn't seem like the corporate slimebag GAF makes him out to be.
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Didn't sound like he played many video games other than the ocassional round of HSG either.
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
zoukka said:
This gif has the potential to becoming the most epic backfire ever.
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What we didn't realise is that the people approaching him were venting frustration at these features, and this is his response.

Gaffer: 'WAT?!? Always Online DRM?!'

Kaz: *gut-punch* 'deal with it'
 
S

spats

Member
gofreak said:
It's just hyped fun around a big event.

But the cult of Kaz is going to be super-disappointed when Andrew House takes to the stage for tonight's reveal :p
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My thoughts exactly. I think it'll be a Shuhei Yoshida+Andrew House+Jim Ryan tag team with Kaz sitting in the audience and getting a shoutout from Yoshida.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
zoukka said:
You are very bad at reading these things if you think there's no idolization going on here.
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I view it the same way people did those printing money gifs or Reggie not-my-problem shit; it's a group of people using a prominent figure to highlight a actual thing occurring in the industry.

Right now, that "thing" is an event where expectations are so ridiculously over the top that one of the ways to illustrate that is in hilarious gif form. Just like Reggie not-my-problem or his face being superimposed on everything when Wii was selling out every month, but not necessarily getting any third party games.

I don't know what you mean by idolization. Nobody is going home, logging off of neoGAF, and praying to Kaz Hirai or wishing they were like him when they grew up. If you can find one person that feels that way, maybe I can be convinced?

Even if someone making the gif respects Hirai, that is not the same as idolization.
 
P

pitcairn55

Member
I do quite like the chap, and I'm fully hyped for later, but my Kazchet avatar was made in the spirit of cheerful piss-taking, not hagiolatry.
 
S

Shinta

Banned
AOC83 said:
Loads of butthurt Nintendo/MS fanboys in this thread.
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My thoughts exactly lol. The gifs and pics have been legendary.

More than that though, the PS brand is gaining hype and popularity because of concrete decisions they've made. It's not baseless idol worship. This is the result of PS+, lots of great sales, free games, lots of great exclusives, and in general a sense that they still want to cater to the hardcore gamer.

The thread and the pics are partly a spontaneous expression of appreciation for things Sony has actually done, and the hope of things they will do in the future. Also, the PS brand is the underdog this time, and people are kind of eager to see Sony's redemption. I think the article nailed it honestly.
 
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