Dodd: Jack Tretton is leaving C-suite to write code

Video gaming's biggest news of the day came from Sony on Thursday, as the Japanese tech giant revealed Jack Tretton was stepping down as chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America. Being the Internet, the reaction was swift and fanatical, with numerous users on The NeoGAF suggesting this was more evidence of trouble at Sony.

Number one insider Pete Dodd, however, set the record straight via Twitter, leaving the real reason for Tretton's departure hiding in plain sight:

Why do successful people leave a job? For a better job. Retirement. Worse job but more money. There is no conspiracy. It's one of those.
— atFamousmortimer (@atPeteDodd) March 6, 2014

To the uninitiated, this may seem like a broad statement, but we took a deeper look at the message and were able to decode Dodd's true meaning. Here's what our process of elimination determined:

1. Retirement? Hell no. Turning 53 this year, Tretton is about 30 years shy of retirement age for CEOs.
2. Worse job but more money? It's hard to imagine anyone wanting to leave Sony; moreover, it's hard to imagine anyone paying better, right? Strike two.

Therefore, the clear answer was "better job." But coming off an amazing career as head of America's PlayStation division, it couldn't be just any job. It had to be the best job. 

We look forward to seeing what projects Tretton will look to develop as a programmer... or perhaps he's more interested in squashing bugs in an industry that has grown accustomed to Day 1 patches. Whatever the case, we're looking to former Xbox boss Don Mattrick to step down from Zynga soon and make the same move (followed closely by a revival of the Hardball! series of baseball games).