function onPlayerReadyVidible(e){'undefined'!=typeof HPTrack&&HPTrack.Vid.Vidible_track(e)}!function(e,i){if(e.vdb_Player){if('object'==typeof commercial_video){var a='',o='m.fwsitesection='+commercial_video.site_and_category;if(a+=o,commercial_video['package']){var c='&m.fwkeyvalues=sponsorship%3D'+commercial_video['package'];a+=c}e.setAttribute('vdb_params',a)}i(e.vdb_Player)}else{var t=arguments.callee;setTimeout(function(){t(e,i)},0)}}(document.getElementById('vidible_1'),onPlayerReadyVidible); Masaya Nakamura, the founder of an innovative Japanese entertainment company that invented the video game Pac-Man, has died. He was 91.The Associated Pressreported Monday that game maker Bandai Namco, which includes the company Nakamura founded in 1955, confirmed his death, which occurred Jan. 22. Company officials did not reveal a cause, The New York Times reported.Nakamuras company, Namco, introduced Pac-Man in 1980, as the video game industry was in its infancy.The game became an instant hit with arcade players, who enjoyed racking up points by moving a chomping, circular Pac-Man around a board with an insatiable appetite to eat gold balls and elude ghosts.Versions of Pac-Man were later made for home-gaming systems like Nintendo. Its popularity led to Pac-Man-themed merchandise and apparel, a short-lived animated television series, and spinoff games like Ms. Pac Man.Nintendo, which worked with Namco for years, tweeted a tribute to Nakamura on Monday.As a 3P partner Namco has been a big part of Nintendo's history, thanks in large part to Masaya Nakamura. He changed gaming for the better. Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 30, 2017 Nakamura Manufacturingoriginally operated mechanical rides at a Tokyo department store. The company, later renamed Namco, partnered with the retail chain that wanted childrens rides in all of its locations. In the 1970s, Namco delved into video games with Galaxian, a shooter game, and acquired Atari Japan.Namco engineer Toru Iwatani invented Pac-Man, but it was reportedly Nakamura who came up with the name. Pac is short for pakku, which in Japanese denotes a munching sound.The A.V. Club reported an alternate history of the games creation. It said Nakamura renamed the creation Pac-Man after recognizing that the original title, Puck Man, would inevitably lead vandals to deface the arcade game by replacing the P with an F.In 2005, Namco merged with Bandai, forming a huge company specializing in toys, video games, and amusement facilities. It reported sales of 575.5 billion yen in 2016' more than $5 billion by the current exchange rate.Nakamura held an honorary position with the company until his death, C-Net reported.Nakamura, born in 1925, studied shipbulidng at the Yokahama Institute of Technology. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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