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."

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