Renegade Sony exec Ken “Father of the PlayStation” Kutaragi will resign from executive duties at Sony at the next shareholder meeting in mid-June, ending an era in which a new entertainment icon was born.

From the press release: “After completing the launch of PlayStation 3 worldwide, Mr. Kutaragi has decided to pursue his dreams beyond PlayStation and to accelerate his network vision.

In Kutaragi words: “I am happy to graduate from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. after introducing four platforms to the PlayStation family. It has been an exciting experience to change the world of computer entertainment by marrying cutting-edge technologies with creative minds all over the world. I’m looking forward to building on this vision in my next endeavors.”

In January, the FT reported Kutaragi was working on a Sony Computer Entertainment and BandaiNamco game software joint venture called Cellius. It’s aim is to develop games for the PS3’s Cell Broadband Engine. No word on whether he’s sticking with that.

We’ll miss the straight-talker who rarely minced his words. On one occasion years ago, he once told this reporter (while working at another publication) that Sony was in talks with Apple Inc., during a bathroom break at Allen & Co.’s mogul fest in Sun Valley. In another, at a video game convention, he told us about discussion to spin off PlayStation.com (this was the Web 1.0 era).

But his hard-charging disposition was what got him into trouble eventually. At a press conference in Sept. 2006 — ahead of the PlayStation 3 launch when they were forced to halve shipments to the U.S. and Japan — he blamed Sony’s electronics division: “If we’re asked whether Sony’s quality of manufacturing has declined, I would have to say ‘yes,’” Mr. Kutaragi told reporters at the time, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Kutaragi’s straight-talk also landed him in hot water with gamers ahead of the launch of PlayStation 3, when he referred to the machine’s hefty $600 price tag as “too cheap” and suggested people would be willing to work two jobs to cope.