Phil Harrison, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios and one of the key men of the Japanese company, announced his resignation.

Harrison, who was Sony’s employee since 1992 when he came from Mindscape, is one the company’s most public man.

According to a statement release by Sony, Phil Harrison’s resignation will come in effect on February 29. Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO of SCEI, will immediately assume responsibilities as president of SCE WWS, in addition to his current duties.

Phil Harrison didn’t reveal any details about his future plans, but according to the media reports is very possible that he will head over to Atari, in an attempt to resurrect the company.

Speaking about his departure, Phil Harrison thanked everyone at Sony for their support. "The past 15 years at Sony Computer Entertainment has been the defining journey of my life so far...I am so proud of everything PlayStation has achieved and will continue to support its future in every way I can," Harrison said.

His resignation could be related to the bad results registered by PlayStation 3 in the past year. Although it is the most powerful gaming console available on the market, PlayStation 3 was outsold constantly by Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360.

Last year, Ken Kutaragi, the father of PlayStation, retired as Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s chairman and group chief executive. He was replaced by the same Kazuo Hirai.

"As one of the founding members of SCE, Phil played a key role in the development and growth of the PlayStation business and our industry," said Hirai about Harrison.