Masaya Nakamura, founder of game maker Namco, passed away on Jan. 22 at the age of 91.
Before being awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government, the entertainment pioneer got his start with children’s toys, Variety notes. Namco launched in 1955 as Nakamura Manufacturing, which operated mechanical horses on the roof of a department store in Tokyo. The firm later underwent a name change to Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company — NAMCO.
Its first original video game, Gee Bee, was released in 1978, followed by RGB color graphics title Galaxian in 1979. It was 1980’s Pac-Man, however, that helped Namco (and Nakamura) make a name…