We’re not starting a cult but some followers on Instagram would be nice. Thank you.
On Jan. 5, 2023, Singaporeans woke up to the news that founder and CEO of Creative Technology Sim Wong Hoo, 67, had passed away the day before.
The tech pioneer, who became Singapore’s youngest billionaire at the age of 45, was best known for the Sound Blaster sound cards, which dominated the personal computer audio market till the early 2000s.
Battle of the MP3 players
Think MP3 players, and the (now-defunct) iPods would probably come to mind first.
But before the iPod, there was the Creative Nomad Jukebox, the first mass-produced hard drive-based MP3 player.
The Nomad Jukebox shipped in the U.S. in September 2000 and by January 2001, Creative reported that it had sold 100,000 units.

Image via Nostalgia Pictures/Facebook
In 2004, Creative launched a range of new models with a S$165 million advertising campaign with the aim of unseating Apple’s iPod, which had won over more than half of the music player market that year.
According to Forbes, Sim had publicly declared war on Apple—an “unusual step” for businesses in the industry, apparently.
The Singaporean wanted to capture 40 per cent of the global market for MP3 players.

Image via Sim Wong Hoo/Facebook
At the time, Creative was second in line, with 16.5 per cent of the market.
Although sales of Creative products increased, the low margins ultimately took a toll on the company.
In August 2005, they reported a quarterly loss of US$31.9 million (S$42.78 million)–the first loss in three years–compared with a US$6.6 million (S$8.85 million) profit in the previous quarter.
David vs. Goliath
But Creative was not about to go down without a fight.
Those old enough may recall the time they took Apple to court and walked away with a US$100 million settlement—a remarkable achievement for a small company from a tiny island state.
In May 2006, Creative sued Apple, saying that the iPod and iPod Nano infringed on a patent that the company had for the interface in its Zen media player.
Apple countersued.
The legal dispute was eventually settled with US$100 million paid by Apple, granting them license to a patent for the hierarchical user interface used in Creative’s products.
In an interview with CNBC, Sim spoke about his belief that Apple had taken their ideas.
“It was something we had to do because Apple did not just… infringe our patent. Actually, Steve [Jobs] came to our booth, saw our products and liked the product. He saw the future of Apple there.
[…]
Then, he asked our people to go to his headquarter to present it to him. Our people went to look for some collaboration. Unfortunately, I was not there because I was in Singapore. Maybe if I was there, maybe the history would change. He was trying to work something together, but it didn’t turn out.”
The US$100 million, Sim viewed as “consolation prize,” instead of a win per se.
And so David never did defeat Goliath in this instance (iPods also went on to dominate the market), but Creative’s accomplishments were nothing to scoff at either.
By 2007, Creative had hit a milestone of 25 million MP3 player sales.
Sim said at that time, “Shipment of 25 million MP3 players marks a major milestone in Creative history, as our player unit volume exceeds the combined unit sales from some of the biggest names in consumer electronics.”
Foes to frenemies?
That’s not to say that the feud was not without its amusing moments.
I remember when Apple released their RED iPod engraved with U2 band’s signatures on it. Not to be outdone, Sim released a red Creative MP3 player engraved with his signature. 🤣
— NinjaHelloKitty ([email protected]) (@food_blogger) January 5, 2023
But when Apple founder Steve Jobs died of complications due to pancreatic cancer in 2011, Sim, in a show of grace, took out a full page newspaper ad to pay tribute to him.

Image via Sim Wong Hoo/Facebook
Comeback kid
While Creative later faded into relative obscurity as losses continued to mount, Sim never gave up.
He acknowledged the battle against Apple as one of his “worst defeats“, and admitted that Creative had “overestimated” themselves.
By 2019, Creative was back in the game with the Super X-Fi, a technology that recreates a holographic sound experience with headphones.
The Super X-Fi won 14 awards at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in the U.S. and led to Sim being lauded in Budget 2019 for his “spirit of entrepreneurship“.
Good old days
Tributes have poured in from folks who have fond memories of Creative products.
Sim Wong Hoo, the founder, chairman and CEO of Singapore’s Creative Technology, has died at the age of 67. His company made the first MP3 player I ever owned, the Zen Micro. And a great bit of kit it was too. pic.twitter.com/ITjxDEk3Cz
— Peter Hoskins (@PeterHoskinsTV) January 5, 2023
Rest in peace Mr Sim Wong Hoo, Founder of @CreativeLabs that brought Sound Blaster and decent sound to the computing world and cemented Made in Singapore’s innovation on the global map forever where @Microsoft had even recommended it. I’ll never forget the joy of having my 1st SB
— Zac Chen (@zacction) January 5, 2023
RIP good sir 🙏 thanx for flying our Singapore 🇸🇬 flag high and internationally 🙏 if you have ever played games on PC when music and sound were beeps, boops … and @CreativeLabs came along – #Soundblaster epic! 🔥 🙏 IYKYK https://t.co/lzI2c0l1dF
— rekt_teacherkiat (@teacherkiat_tan) January 5, 2023
This legend is Sim Wong Hoo. You may not know him, but you’ll know his contributions. He gave the world an affordable and reliable sound system for our Desktop 486 pc’s.
Sound Blaster 16
Sound Blaster 32
CreativeAll his.
Farewell Mr Sim. pic.twitter.com/7O3bCWBlji
— Adrian Lee (@althing) January 5, 2023
Rest in peace Sim Wong Hoo. Maybe not so well known these days, but if you ever had a Sound Blaster, you have him to thank. He’s the reason I went to Ngee Ann Poly!
— Faffery (@FaffPlays) January 5, 2023
RIP, creator of the SoundBlaster sound cards. You changed PC gaming for good.https://t.co/dblmn7cAcA
— Starrus (@StarrusGaming) January 5, 2023
Top image via Sim Wong Hoo/Facebook and Getty Images
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