Tohru Okada, Creator Of PlayStation's Logo Sound, Dead At 73
Anyone who's ever booted up a game on PlayStation has probably heard the sound that plays when the logo appears on the screen. It's a unique blend of a mid-range key tone layered with the bassy beat of a drum and a moderate amount of distortion. It has a techy, electronic feel while also packing a punch that demands the listener's attention.
Less than a second long, the sound itself can hardly even be called a jingle, yet it has managed to persist as the PlayStation transformed over the years and ingrain itself into the minds of generations of gamers. Sony has experimented with other tunes, but few hold such an intrinsic link to the console brand as this singular sound which still appears in numerous ad campaigns over two and a half decades after its inception.
The Japanese media outlet Excite (translation via Google Translate) recently reported that the creator of this sound, Tohru Okada, died of heart failure at the age of 73 on February 14. Okada's life was filled with many other experiences and accomplishments.
Okada was a talented musician
Okada had an incredibly far-reaching body of work. He served as a composer, arranger, keyboardist, music producer, and one of the founding members of the Japanese rock band, Moonriders, which has been around since 1976. The Excite report stated that Okada found himself in the hospital due to a compound fracture early last year, but had recovered and eagerly anticipated performing at the Hyde Park Music Festival on April 29-30. The festival will take place in Sayama, where Okada resided in the past. The band has since announced on its Facebook page that its performance has been canceled in the wake of his passing.
While he was certainly a gifted keyboardist, Okada was perhaps best known for his composition work. He made a song that was used in numerous early Japanese "Crash Bandicoot" commercials and he is credited with composing music for numerous anime TV shows and films such as "Time of Eve" and "The Extreme Sukiyaki." This is an impressive legacy for anyone, but gamers will perhaps remember him best for a simple tune that will forever be associated with the joy of booting up a video game.