Monday, January 30, 2017

Namco Founder Masaya Nakamura Has Died

Masaya Nakamura, the founder of Namco, has died, the company announced today. Nakamura was 91-years-old, and remained an honorary advisor until his passing. A cause of death was not released.

When Masaya Nakamura founded Nakamura Manufacturing in 1955, video games didn't exist—the company was focused on building mechanical rides for children. As part of a reorganization a few years later, Nakamura Manufacturing became Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company, aka NAMCO. When the company acquired the flailing Atari Japan in 1974, it was the start of a process that would change them forever. Its first original game,  Gal Bee, arrived in 1978, and just two years later,  Pac-Man arrived. From there, history took over.

Nakamura was not a game designer, though; Namco engineer Toru Iwatani was responsible for  Pac-Man. In fact, Pac-Man Museum has an interview with Nakamura from that time period, in which he talked about enjoying the game's financial success but worried "some young people play it so much."

Read more on Waypoint



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