Masaya Nakamura, the "Father of Pac-Man" who founded the Japanese video game company behind the hit creature-gobbling game, has died. He was 91.
Nakamura, who died on Jan. 22, founded Namco, part of Bandai Namco, in 1955. It started out as just two mechanical horse rides on a department store rooftop but went on to pioneer game arcades and amusement parks.
PAC-MAN, a monster-eating game, went on sale in 1980 and proved a big hit in Japan and internationally, prompting the Guinness Book of World Records to name it as the world's most successful arcade game at the time.
Nakamura founded the company that became Namco in 1955, which started life operating two electrically-powered rocking horses on top of a department store in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo.
He took up the post of top adviser of the holding company when it was formed in 2005 through merger of Namco and Bandai.
It's estimated to have been played more than 10 billion times: Guinness World Record has named it the world's most successful coin-operated arcade game.
The game was non-violent but just challenging enough to hook players into steering the Pac-Man for hours through its mazes on the hunt for ghostly tidbits.
The iconic Pac-Man adorns T-shirts and other merchandise and inspired animation shows, a breakfast cereal and even the nickname for Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.
The idea for Pac-Man's design came from the image of a pizza with a slice carved out. Nakamura reportedly chose the word "Pac," or "pakku" in Japanese, to represent the sound of the Pac-Man munching its prey.
"Pac-Man is a gamer friendly game with tons of cute characters and that's why it was loved for such a long time," Iwatani said in 2015 at a New York red carpet premiere of "Pixels," that featured Pac-Man creatures and featured him in a cameo role.
The game started out as an arcade item and then was at first played on the Nintendo Family Computer home console. It since has been adapted for cellphones, PlayStation and Xbox formats.
Other hits from Namco include driving simulation games like "Ridge Racer" and a drumming game.
Nakamura was a key player in Bandai Namco's global growth. His pet saying was that his company delivered varied and total entertainment. He took pride in having fun and games for his job.
The company reported Nakamura's death but would not comment on its cause or other personal details, citing his family's wishes. A private wake and funeral were held for the family, but a separate memorial is being planned, Bandai-Namco said.
