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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It seems like things worked out okay for Nakamura (and Namco).Since his passing, several Japanese game designers who knew Nakamura have spoken publicly:Masaya Nakamura is thrilled about the global success of his creation, but he isn't crazy about the way some people spend hours playing it.
"I am a little concerned about the way some young people play it so much," Mr Nakamura said.
"It's not a very happy thing to see people spending so much time on it. Once it goes beyond a certain level, it is not good for young people."
Not that Mr Nakamura doesn't enjoy Pac-Man. On a recent visit to Atlantic City, the bespectacled, paunchy 57-year-old Tokyo businessman stood in front of one of his creations, grimacing and muttering in Japanese as the ominous words "Game Over" flashed on the screen.
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