Tohru Okada, a major contributor to PlayStation’s corporate identity, has died. He had also left his mark on Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot franchise.
After Bernie Stolar, founder of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, PlayStation loses musician Tohru Okada. A musician who made the success of the PS1 and the brand as a whole.
Tohru Okada, a figure of PlayStation, is dead
You may not know his name, but his work, yes. Tohru Okada, a musician who designed the sound that accompanied the PlayStation logo in advertisements, died at the age of 73 on February 14, 2023. A death which is due to heart failure.
With a single note and a robotic voice that said “Play-Sta-tion”, Tohru Okada was able to create an iconic sound identity that got into people’s heads very quickly. Simple and efficient. A sound that is still as iconic 29 years later, and which despite all the changes within PlayStation, has never been abandoned by the manufacturer.
In life, Tohru Okada was also part of a Japanese rock band: The Moonriders. A formation born in 1975 with, among others, Keiichi Suzuki, the composer of Earthbound on SNES. ” We love you “ said The Moonriders in tribute to their former comrade.
His other works
Apart from offering a sound to the PlayStation logo, the musician/composer/arranger was behind the Japanese advertisements for Crash Bandicoot, when the studio Naughty Dog was at the helm of the franchise.
During his long career, he was also able to approach other cult licenses like Gundam.
