The Man Behind PlayStation’s Iconic Emblem Sound Has Died

Tohru Okada, the Japanese musician behind the distinctive sound that has accompanied the PlayStation emblem in commercials for 1 / 4 century, has handed away.

The information of Okada’s passing was confirmed immediately by his bandmates on Twitter in addition to the Japanese information website, Excite. In accordance with Excite, Okada handed away on the age of 73 as a consequence of coronary heart failure on the morning of February 14th.

Of us may not have recognized the composer by title previous to his passing, however they’ve undoubtedly heard his sound all through the numerous years of PlayStation commercials. Okada not solely contributed to PlayStation’s emblem jingle, however he additionally composed a tune that was used in some madcap, early Crash Bandicoot commercials in Japan, as famous by GameSpot. In case you’re in want of a visit down reminiscence lane, right here’s a video chronicling the evolution of the long-lasting emblem sound that’s punctuated the tip of so many PlayStation commercials from the previous 25 years.

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Exterior of his contribution because the creator of the PlayStation emblem sound impact, Okada additionally served as a founding member of the influential Japanese rock band, The Moonriders. Serving because the band’s keyboardist, Okada carried out alongside fellow founder Keiichi Suzuki. Like Okada, Suzuki left a heavy affect on video video games and anime along with his music contributions to basic Nintendo RPGs like Mom (higher recognized within the West as EarthBound Beginnings) and EarthBound in addition to composing the rating to Satoshi Kon’s award-winning anime movie, Tokyo Godfathers.

Final 12 months, Okada introduced his hospitalization as a consequence of a compression fracture, in keeping with Excite. Throughout that point, Okada’s company launched an announcement from him saying that his aim was to rehabilitate in time to carry out on the Hyde Park Music Pageant in Sayama, Japan, the place he used to stay, on April 29 and thirtieth. In accordance with The Moonriders’ official Fb web page, the band’s efficiency has been canceled however its members plan to share their ideas on Okada in the course of the occasion.