The PlayStation camp has taken some major blows this week, starting with the resignation of Amy Hennig from Naughty Dog Studios, and now, the paramount loss of Jack Tretton from Sony Computer Entertainment. Tretton has made a mutual agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment America and will not be renewing his contract with them after it expires on March 31st. After being with SCEA since it was founded in 1995, he made the following statement about his imminent exit:

“Working at SCEA for the past 19 years has been the most rewarding experience of my career. Although I will deeply miss the talented team at SCEA and the passion demonstrated every day by our fans, I’m very excited about starting the next chapter of my career. I want to thank the employees, partners and customers for their tireless commitment to the PlayStation brand and, of course, to our fans who have pushed us to new heights of innovation and entertainment over the past two decades. I leave PlayStation in a position of considerable strength and the future will only get brighter for PlayStation Nation.”

The current EVP and COO of Sony Computer Entertainment International, Shawn Layden, will take over as president on April 1st. This is definitely tough news for anyone who’s been a fan of the PlayStation brand since its release here in the states. And those epic PlayStation E3 Keynotes will never be the same again — a realization that would make anyone wish this was simply an April Fool’s joke.

Are you sad to see Jack go? Make sure to leave your thoughts on Tretton’s departure and the future of Sony Computer Entertainment America down in the comments.