The father of one of the most iconic arcade games in the world, Pac-Man, Mr. Masaya Nakamura, has died at the age of 91.
Masaya Nakamura started his business by building two mechanical horses for a funfair on the top floor of a department store, but he managed to become a pioneer in arcade games. In the 1970s, he acquired Atari and renamed the company Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company, or NAMCO for short.
The company created Pac-Man in 1980, which won a Guinness Book of World Records award as the most successful coin-operated arcade game. And surely the 80s generation remembers very well the coins that were spoiled on the machine in the weaving mills. Namco's profitable history includes arcade games Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug and Pole Position.
Although the game was developed by a young Namco employee named Toru Iwatani, the title “father of Pac-Man” was given to Nakamura in honor of being the company’s founder. Legend has it that Iwatani decided to base his game on food – and Pac-Man was a pizza with a missing slice.
In 2004, Namco merged with Bandai, with Nakamura remaining on the company's board of directors as an honorary advisor until his death on January 22.
