This article is more than 1 year old

Father of Pac-Man dies at 91

Masaya Nakamura famous for popularising the iconic 80s arcade game

The father of the world's most iconic arcade game Pac-Man, Masaya Nakamura, has died at the age of 91.

Nakamura founded the Japanese company Namco in 1954, which began as two mechanical horse rides on a department store rooftop but went on to pioneer game arcades and amusement parks.

The company launched Pac-Man in 1980, which went on to become the Guinness Book of World Records most successful coin-operated arcade game.

The game was developed by a young Namco employee named Toru Iwatani. Legend has it Iwatani decided to base the game on eating - and Pac-Man is a pizza with a slice missing.

In 2004 Namco merged with Bandai, with Nakamura remaining on the company's board as an honorary advisor at Bandai Namco until his death on 22 January.

In a statement, the company praised Nakamura for developing Namco and said he was "instrumental in the development of the industry as a whole and the development of video-related industries". ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like