Click on the video above to check out all the secrets of the PS1 startup
The PS1 startup undoubtedly brings back many memories, but who could have created that iconic sound? Takafumi Fujisawa is the name behind this work. Fujisawa began his career in the gaming industry as a composer and sound designer. Shortly after, he became a producer for games such as Ape Escape and Siren. He also worked as a voice actor on Global Force. Even before the PS1 had an official development team, Fujisawa was already involved in the project. In 1994, a prototype of the console was built, and the composer received the opening animation so he could create the sound for it. Fujisawa even participated in the development of the console's sound chip, and this helped him a lot to understand the processing capacity of the PlayStation 1.
However, he noticed a certain limitation in the ROM of the console and this made him keep the audio files as small as possible.
The first demo of the opening sound was almost approved on the first try. There was also an alternative version with a voice whispering “PlayStation”.
However, the bosses at Sony preferred to approve the simpler version, so as not to give the impression that the console was talking to the player.
How did Takafumi Fujisawa create the PS1 opening sound?
The composer started by creating an orchestral sound and then added an ethnic style as the opening progressed. The goal of the opening, when turning on the console, was to create a sense of security, followed by excitement with a C major chord in constant dominance. Later, the strings enter and then the shimmering fourths, indicating success in reading the disc. It’s a good feeling, right? But Fujisawa even applied a sound to certain problems. There is a reverse sound that was prepared to loop if the disc was not read, making the user understand that something went wrong. The composer said that the complete opening sound took about 16 days to be finished, and the intention was to demonstrate that something fun would happen when turning on the console. Subsequently, Fujisawa was also involved in the opening of the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, and evaluates these experiences as valuable and exciting.
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