The man behind PlayStation’s iconic logo sound has died

Tohru Okada, the Japanese musician behind the distinctive sound that has accompanied the PlayStation logo in advertising for a quarter of a century, has passed away.

The news of Okada’s death was confirmed today by his bandmates on Twitter as well as the Japanese news site. stimulate. Accordingly stimulateOkada died of heart failure on the morning of February 14 at the age of 73.

People might not have known the composer by name before his death, but they’ve definitely heard his sound over the many years of PlayStation promotion. In addition to contributing to PlayStation’s logo jingle, Okada also composed it a song that was used in some crazy, early Crash Bandicoot Commercials in Japan as noted by GameSpot. In case you need a trip down memory lane, here’s a video chronicling the evolution of the iconic logo sound that marked the end of so many PlayStation commercials over the past 25 years.

Continue reading: Wait, the PS1 logo was a 3D model?

Aside from his contribution as the creator of the PlayStation logo sound effect, Okada was also a founding member of the influential Japanese rock band, The Moonriders. As the band’s keyboardist, Okada performed alongside his co-founder Keichi Suzuki. Like Okada, Suzuki has made a name for itself with its musical contributions to classic Nintendo RPGs such as B. Video games and anime heavily influenced Mother (better known in the West as Earthbound beginnings) And earthbound as well as composing the music for Satoshi Kon’s award-winning anime film, Tokyo godfather.

Last year, Okada announced his hospitalization for a compression fracture stimulate. During this time, Okada’s agency released a statement from him that his goal was to redeem himself in time to perform at the Hyde Park Music Festival in Sayama, Japan, where he used to live, on April 29 and 30. According to The Moonriders official facebook pagethe band’s performance has been cancelled, but its members plan to share their thoughts on Okada during the event.