The sound comes from the boot sequence of Sony's original PlayStation, first released in Japan in 1994 and in North America and Europe in 1995. Players heard it every time the console powered on, before the PlayStation logo formed on screen, which made it inseparable from first experiences with early PlayStation games. As retro gaming grew online, clips of the startup were shared in compilations, remixes and reaction videos, and its loud version became a shorthand for nostalgia. It remains popular because a single chime instantly signals 1990s gaming to audiences who recognise it.