Creative founder Sim Wong Hoo, the man behind Sound Blaster, has died

The company has confirmed the death of the founder, CEO and chairman. He died peacefully on January 4, 2023. He was older than 65 years old.

There was a time when computer sound wasn't guaranteed. Creative Labs' Sound Blaster was the most successful sound card you could buy if you wanted to use headphones or speakers that could do more. It sold over 400 million units in the last 30 years.

Few words in PC gaming were as important as the phrase "Sound blaster compatible", which allowed players to hear the dogs bark in Wolfenstein 3D, or mess with the synthesized voice in Creative's Dr. Sbaitso demo.

Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

A $100 million settlement was obtained by the company when it sued Apple over its iPod.

Success didn't happen immediately. According to 1993 and 1994 profiles of the man at The New York Times, he originally wanted to build a computer that could talk. Two years after Steve Jobs let the Macintosh speak for itself, the company's PCs had sold so poorly that he was said to be down to just a few engineers.

The company found its footing after taking the music board to a computer exhibit in the US. He said that the money they made on a few hundred boards was equivalent to the money they made on the PC.

The idea hadn't quite come to fruition. The first sound card sold by Creative was called the Creative Music System and was used by PC gaming fans. The soundtrack score for King's Quest IV was designed to be played on early sound cards, and the publisher went on to advertise those PC parts for sale.

Creative got a piece of that action by changing its card to the " Game Blaster" in 1988 and adding a dedicated game port in 1989. The Sound blaster looked like an excellent deal over the Adlib, because PC gaming usually had to buy it separately.

Creative became the first Singapore company to be listed on the stock exchange after being determined to succeed. In 1994, The New York Times headline was literally "Entrepreneurial Company Defies Singapore Model," and he went on to author a book called Chaotic Thoughts from the Old Millennium, which describes an underlying difficulty in becoming anentrepreneur.

The tech world and Singapore have lost a legend according to Min-Liang Tan. The George Lucas- founded audio company was purchased by Razer.

After PCs began to be able to play quality audio by themselves, Creative kept gaming enthusiasts interested with features like the Sound Blaster Crystallizer, a dynamic range enhancer that "applies the audio boost (an audible effect) to the lower, Transient"

I still remember how proud I was to install a Creative Sound blaster 2 ZS Platinum Pro in a desktop gaming PC and what it unlocked for me at the time, I ran three game consoles into my PC monitor, using the card to handle sound, and marveled at how this one gadgets works The Gateway pack-in speakers only accepted digital input over a 3.5mm jack and the audigy was very useful.

Creative hasn't been a household name in recent years, but it still sells popular soundbars like the Sound blaster Katana. There is still a Sound blaster sound card in the lineup.

The Audigy 2 is still doing well in some people's PCs.

There are more images and information about the Creative computer. In addition, you should read this CustomPC interview where he talks about the early days, namedrops Michael Jackson, and more.