Namco

Namco
legal form	Kabushiki-gaisha (joint stock company)
founding	2006
Seat	Ōta , Tokyo , Japan
Website	www.namco.co.jp

Namco
legal form	Kabushiki-gaisha (joint stock company)
founding	1955
resolution	2005
Seat	Nerima , Tokyo , Japan
Website	www.namco.com

KK NAMCO ( Jap. 株式会社ナムコ , Kabushiki-gaisha Namuko from N akamura A musement Machine M anufacturing Co mpany ) is a Japanese entertainment company, which has become known as a developer of video games. The most famous games include " Pac-Man ", the " Tekken ", " Soul Calibur " / " Soul Blade " - and the " Ridge Racer " series.

On March 31, 2006, the old Namco, whose legal successor is now Bandai Namco Holdings , the Amusement and Shinki Kaihatsu Jigyō ( 新規開発事業部門 , German: "Development of new business areas") spun off into a new company that the Name Namco took over.

history

"Old" Namco (1955-2005)

Masaya Nakamura founded the company in Tokyo in 1955 as Nakamura Manufacturing Ltd. It began with the production of mechanical Rodeo - horses and similar children's riding and driving machines , which in some shopping centers in Yokohama and Nihonbashi were installed. This production line was followed through the 1960s and expanded in 1966 by now also producing devices in the form of Walt Disney characters.

The company name was changed to Namco in 1972, and in 1974 the Japanese division of Atari was acquired to enter the coin-based video game machine business. Namco Enterprises Asia Ltd. was founded in Hong Kong , soon followed by Namco America, Inc. in California . In 1980 one of Namco's most famous slot machine games, Pac-Man, was released . When Nintendo started producing the Famicom home console, Namco started developing games for it, starting with Galaxian , which was introduced in arcades in 1979 .

In 1981 the space game Galaga was released . The multicolored star background conveyed a previously unknown, spatial image. Galaga challenged his player to eliminate a number of different space insects flying in from different directions. The shortness of the individual levels and the possibility of doubling the fire capacity with a hijacked and then recovered spaceship were certainly one of the reasons why this video game never got boring and always delighted people.

Namco was the first to introduce a multiplayer arcade game with two cabins: Final Lap appeared in 1987. This game allowed up to eight players to play against each other when four two-player cabins were in a simple network were linked. By 1988 Namco's capital exceeded 5.5 billion yen . In 1989 another racing game called Winning Run was released ; That same year, the company's driving simulation experience was demonstrated with the development of the Eunos Roadster Driving Simulator, a joint venture with Mazda Motor Corporation, followed by road safety educational software developed with Mitsubishi .

In the 1990s, Namco began selling coin-operated arcade machines directly in the United States through its subsidiary Namco America and expanded the market into Europe with the establishment of Namco Europe, Ltd. in London . Sennichimae Plabo opened in Osaka , offering a new concept of wide- ranging arcade entertainment, and Namco Wonder Eggs, a theme park, opened in Tokyo. Additional theme parks have opened, including Namco Wonder Park Sagamihara and Namco Wonder City.

In 1993, Namco merged its US arcade company, Namco Operations, Inc., with the newly acquired Aladdin's Castle, Inc. to form Namco Cybertainment, Incorporated, making the company the largest arcade company in the world. In the following years, Namco Cybertainment, Inc. (NCI) bought other arcade companies, which further strengthened the position. NCI now manufactures arcade machines under the names Time Out, CyberStation, Aladdin's Castle, Diamond Jim's, Space Port, and Pocket Change.

In addition, " Ridge Racer ", a driving simulation game, appeared in the arcades in 1993 and offered 3D graphics ; the game was later released for the Sony Playstation . Another very famous game is the beat 'em up " Tekken ", which appeared in 1994 and was also soon ported to the Playstation. Subsidiaries in Germany , France , Spain and Israel were founded, and the development of arcade games soon began there too.

In the spring of 2005, Namco and Bandai announced a merger of their operative business, which on September 29 of the same year resulted in the establishment of Namco Bandai Holdings . On March 31, 2006, the games division of Bandai in Namco and led to the establishment of the Namco Bandai Games .

"New" Namco (2006–)

At the same time, the Amusement (arcade machines, food theme parks , Internet shops) and Shinki Kaihatsu Jigyō business areas of the former Namco, as well as the rehabilitation area - a common word from rehabilitation and entertainment - were transferred to a new subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings, which took over the name Namco .

Well-known games (selection)

Namco developer Keita Takahashi with a character from Katamari Damacy

Web links

Commons : Namco - collection of images, videos and audio files

Official Website (Japanese)