Phil Harrison, to many people, was the face of Sony’s Playstation brand, especially if you lived in, or followed the gaming news from Euroland.  Many considered Ken Kutaragi the “hardware guy” and Phil Harrison the “software guy.”  Phil’s keen sense of direction pushed less traditional games like Singstar, Buzz, and the EyeToy based games when others would’ve likely left them to die, or worse yet, never be released.

Phil was a well-spoken, fairly well liked front man in an industry full of easily dispisable people.  Then…Phil Harrison suddenly announced he was leaving his head position with Sony Worldwide Studios to go to work for… Atari?!?!  Many wondered if Phil Harrison was crazy.  On the one hand, you could hardly blame him for thinking of leaving Sony after suffering so many setbacks, hard times and disappointments, but jumping from Sony to Atari just seemed like jumping from the frying pan into the fire to many.  Personally, I’m inclined to think Phil was looking for more of a challenge (and I can’t help but think there wasn’t some financial incentive there as well.)

Harrison’s first big release after joining Atari was Alone in the Dark (which sucked.)  Phil has been vocal that Atari will be shying away from big budget single-player games and moving toward lower budget, partially (or completely) downloadable games with a more social focus.

Whether or not Harrison’s move will be one leaving our head scratching as he (and Atari) fade off into the abyss or Phil Harrison saves the ship many thought had already sunk remains to be seen.  This totally unexpected move definitely qualifies as one of Sarcastic Gamers Top 100 Gaming Moments of 2008.

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