Namco
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer
and publisher
. Following a merger with Bandai
in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games
on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of video arcade
s and amusement park
s. Its headquarters are located in Ōta
, Tokyo.
Namco was a front-runner during the Golden age of video arcade games. Pac-Man
, its most famous title, went on to become the best-selling arcade game in history and an international popular culture
icon.
founded the company as Nakamura Manufacturing in 1955. Based in Tokyo
, the company started out by running children's rides on the roof of a department store in Yokohama
. The business eventually expanded throughout the Tokyo area. Nakamura Manufacturing was reorganized in 1958 and underwent a slight name change to Nakamura Manufacturing Co., which would later be used to form the acronym Namco. In 1970 the company produced a coin-operated mechanical driving simulator
called "Racer".
Atari Japan, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of Atari, was struggling financially by 1974. General manager Hide Nakajima was left in charge of the company after his boss had quit. Nakajima claims that employees had been stealing money and that he had contributed funds from his personal savings in order to pay creditors and stave off bankruptcy. Though Nakajima wanted to try saving Atari Japan, owner Nolan Bushnell
was already struggling to keep the parent company afloat due to undercapitalization
and was looking to sell the Japanese subsidiary for some badly needed cash. Sega
, then a manufacturer of pinball
machines, offered to acquire Atari Japan for $50,000. Nakamura put in a bid for $800,000 and shocked others out of competition. The deal was finalized at $500,000 and Bushnell was glad to take it. Debts inherited from Atari Japan would take Nakamura two years to pay off, but the deal had also secured for him an exclusive license to distribute Atari's games in Japan for ten years. Nakamura would follow up by opening video arcade
s featuring Atari games.
Nakajima was promoted to vice president in 1978, and on his recommendation Namco opened a subsidiary, Namco America, in the United States
. The location he chose was across the street from Atari's former headquarters in Sunnyvale
, California
. At the time, games were not released in the U.S. under the Namco label. Namco America existed mainly to license Namco's games to companies such as Atari and Midway Games
for distribution in the U.S.
In 1985, after the video game crash, and after previously having been sold to Warner Communications
, Atari had been split into two corporate entities: Atari Corporation
, which took over the home computer and console hardware business; and Atari Games
, which retained the arcade game business. Namco America acquired a controlling interest in Atari Games for $10 million, against the advice of their accountants at Price Waterhouse. Disagreement over how to run the Atari Games subsidiary led to a falling out between Nakamura and Nakajima. Nakamura considered Atari to be a competitor. Back in Japan, Namco still held distribution rights for Atari's games, and Nakamura refused to sell them to other arcades. Nakamura also resented sharing ownership of Atari Games with Warner. Nakajima grew increasingly frustrated with his boss, and in 1987 the two arrived at a means to part ways: Namco would sell part of its interest in Atari Games to Nakajima and the Atari Games employees, and the rest back to Warner. Nakajima and Wood then resigned from Namco to head Atari Games.
By 1989, games for the Nintendo Entertainment System
accounted for 40% of Namco's sales. As Nintendo
's first licensee, Namco had previously been given privileged terms, such as the right to manufacture their own cartridges. However, upon renewal of the license, these special terms were revoked, prompting Nakamura to publicly criticize Nintendo for monopolistic
behavior. In addition, Nakamura announced that Namco would support Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis console, which eventually received most of the better productions the company developed for the home market in the 16-bit era
.
Later expanding into the amusement park
business, Sennichimae Plabo was opened in Osaka
, featuring a new concept of large-scale arcade amusement, and Namco Wonder Eggs, a theme park, was opened in Tokyo. Additional amusement parks were opened, including Namco Wonder Park Sagamihara and Namco Wonder City.
In 1996 Namco acquired a controlling share of the Japanese film company Nikkatsu
, but its interest would be sold during the merger with Bandai.
In September 2005, Namco merged with Bandai
to become "Namco Bandai Holdings", the 3rd largest video game entity in Japan. On March 31, 2006, Namco's game development operations absorbed that of Bandai's. From then on, the part of the company that was most closely associated with the Namco label would become Namco Bandai Games
. The Namco Ltd. name was retained by its Japanese arcade management division, and now operates as part of Namco Bandai's Amusement Facility SBU.
(1978). Galaxian
(1979) revolutionized the industry as the first video game to use RGB color graphics. It was Pac-Man
(1980), however, that would become definitive of Namco's legacy, going on to become a fixture in popular culture
. Galaga
(1981), a follow-up to Galaxian, was one of the most successful sequels of the era. Dig Dug
(1982), Xevious
(1982), and Pole Position
(1983) continued Namco's success in establishing iconic franchises during the so-called Golden Age.
Namco was the industry's first manufacturer to develop and release a multi-player, multi-cabinet competitive game, Final Lap
, in 1987. This game allowed up to 8 players to compete when four 2-player cabinets were linked in a simple network. By 1988, the company's capital exceeded 5,500 million Yen. In 1989, another racing simulation game, Winning Run
, was released; that same year, the company's expertise with driving simulation matured with the development of the Eunos Roadster Driving Simulator, a joint venture with the Mazda
Motor Corporation, followed by an educational program for traffic safety developed with Mitsubishi
. In a bid to win over a new kind of audience, Namco started up business for the elderly and the disabled with "Talking Aid" in 1985.
In 1989, it was revealed that Namco was developing a true 16-bit game console inspired by the success of NEC
's PC Engine
. In its July 1989 issue, Electronic Gaming Monthly
reported that "Namco has a machine comparable to the Super Famicom almost completed, but is unsure which way to market it with so many other game machines already in the marketplace." . Namco decided to partner themselves with NEC to release their Super System as the PC Engine 2. However, talks fell apart because NEC's other partner, Hudson Soft feared that NEC would abandon them in favor of Namco. Hudson pushed the completed, but technically inferior version of the PC Engine 2, which came to be known as the ill fated SuperGrafx
.
In 1993, Ridge Racer, a driving simulation game, entered arcades, featuring 3D computer graphics
; the game was later released for the PlayStation
. Another of the company's most famous games, Tekken
, was released in 1994, which was also soon ported to the PlayStation. In 1995 the game Soul Edge
(Soul Blade in the PAL region
) was released. With its Tekken and Soul franchises, Namco has been dominating the 3D fighting game
market. Some light gun
games were also released such as Point Blank
and Time Crisis
.
. Further expansion in Asia would follow in 1993 with Shanghai Namco Ltd., based in mainland China
.
Namco purchased the arcade operations of Atari Games
in 1990, renaming it Namco Operations Inc. With the purchase, Namco began its arcade management business in the United States
. Namco Operations managed several large facilities in venues such as Pier 39
in San Francisco, California, and Church Street Station
in Orlando
, Florida
.
In 1993, Namco purchased the Aladdin's Castle
arcade chain from Bally and merged it with Namco Operations to form Namco Cybertainment Inc. The merger produced the largest arcade operator in the United States. Arcades were branded under the principal trade names of Aladdin's Castle and Cyberstation. Throughout the 1990s, NCI continued to merge or purchase several arcade companies. Chief among them was Edison Brothers Mall Entertainment (operating under the Time-Out and SpacePort names) in 1996. Also in the late 1990s, Namco acquired Diamond Jim's and in the early part of the new century purchased Pocket Change.
The Namco Bandai merger had little effect on the Namco Cybertainment subsidiary, which continues its original mission of operating arcades in the U.S, although most of its mall based arcades are now closed. It has been organized under the parent company's Amusement Facility SBU.
Namco Cybertainment's corporate offices reside in Bensenville
, Illinois
. Its sister company, Namco America, which manufactures the arcade cabinets, relocated to Elk Grove, Illinois, in 2008.
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
and publisher
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
. Following a merger with Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games
Namco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of video arcade
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
s and amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
s. Its headquarters are located in Ōta
Ota, Tokyo
is one of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo, Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 676,458, with 348,492 households, and a population density of 11,376.69 persons per km²...
, Tokyo.
Namco was a front-runner during the Golden age of video arcade games. Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
, its most famous title, went on to become the best-selling arcade game in history and an international popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
icon.
History
Masaya NakamuraMasaya Nakamura (Namco)
is the founder of Namco, the third largest video game developing entity in Japan. The Japanese government awarded Nakamura the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette” in their Spring Conferment of Decorations for his contribution to Japanese industry...
founded the company as Nakamura Manufacturing in 1955. Based in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, the company started out by running children's rides on the roof of a department store in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
. The business eventually expanded throughout the Tokyo area. Nakamura Manufacturing was reorganized in 1958 and underwent a slight name change to Nakamura Manufacturing Co., which would later be used to form the acronym Namco. In 1970 the company produced a coin-operated mechanical driving simulator
Driving simulator
Driving simulators are used for entertainment as well as in training of driver's education courses taught in educational institutions and private businesses...
called "Racer".
Atari Japan, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of Atari, was struggling financially by 1974. General manager Hide Nakajima was left in charge of the company after his boss had quit. Nakajima claims that employees had been stealing money and that he had contributed funds from his personal savings in order to pay creditors and stave off bankruptcy. Though Nakajima wanted to try saving Atari Japan, owner Nolan Bushnell
Nolan Bushnell
Nolan K. Bushnell is an American engineer and entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain...
was already struggling to keep the parent company afloat due to undercapitalization
Undercapitalization
Under-capitalization refers to any situation where a business cannot acquire the funds they need. An under-capitalized business may be one that cannot afford current operational expenses due to a lack of capital, which can trigger bankruptcy, may be one that is over-exposed to risk, or may be one...
and was looking to sell the Japanese subsidiary for some badly needed cash. Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
, then a manufacturer of pinball
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
machines, offered to acquire Atari Japan for $50,000. Nakamura put in a bid for $800,000 and shocked others out of competition. The deal was finalized at $500,000 and Bushnell was glad to take it. Debts inherited from Atari Japan would take Nakamura two years to pay off, but the deal had also secured for him an exclusive license to distribute Atari's games in Japan for ten years. Nakamura would follow up by opening video arcade
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
s featuring Atari games.
Nakajima was promoted to vice president in 1978, and on his recommendation Namco opened a subsidiary, Namco America, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The location he chose was across the street from Atari's former headquarters in Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. At the time, games were not released in the U.S. under the Namco label. Namco America existed mainly to license Namco's games to companies such as Atari and Midway Games
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
for distribution in the U.S.
In 1985, after the video game crash, and after previously having been sold to Warner Communications
Warner Communications
Warner Communications or Warner Communications, Inc. was established in 1971 when Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets, due to a financial scandal over its parking operations and changed its name....
, Atari had been split into two corporate entities: Atari Corporation
Atari Corporation
Atari Corporation was a manufacturer of computers and video game consoles from 1984 to 1996. Atari Corp. was founded in July of 1984 when Warner Communications sold the home computing and game console divisions of Atari to Jack Tramiel. Its chief products were the Atari ST, Atari XE, Atari 7800,...
, which took over the home computer and console hardware business; and Atari Games
Atari Games
Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari, Inc..-History:When, in 1984, Warner Communications sold the Atari Consumer division of Atari Inc...
, which retained the arcade game business. Namco America acquired a controlling interest in Atari Games for $10 million, against the advice of their accountants at Price Waterhouse. Disagreement over how to run the Atari Games subsidiary led to a falling out between Nakamura and Nakajima. Nakamura considered Atari to be a competitor. Back in Japan, Namco still held distribution rights for Atari's games, and Nakamura refused to sell them to other arcades. Nakamura also resented sharing ownership of Atari Games with Warner. Nakajima grew increasingly frustrated with his boss, and in 1987 the two arrived at a means to part ways: Namco would sell part of its interest in Atari Games to Nakajima and the Atari Games employees, and the rest back to Warner. Nakajima and Wood then resigned from Namco to head Atari Games.
By 1989, games for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
accounted for 40% of Namco's sales. As Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's first licensee, Namco had previously been given privileged terms, such as the right to manufacture their own cartridges. However, upon renewal of the license, these special terms were revoked, prompting Nakamura to publicly criticize Nintendo for monopolistic
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
behavior. In addition, Nakamura announced that Namco would support Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis console, which eventually received most of the better productions the company developed for the home market in the 16-bit era
History of video game consoles (fourth generation)
In the history of computer and video games, the fourth generation began on October 30, 1987 with the Japanese release of Nippon Electric Company's PC Engine...
.
Later expanding into the amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
business, Sennichimae Plabo was opened in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, featuring a new concept of large-scale arcade amusement, and Namco Wonder Eggs, a theme park, was opened in Tokyo. Additional amusement parks were opened, including Namco Wonder Park Sagamihara and Namco Wonder City.
In 1996 Namco acquired a controlling share of the Japanese film company Nikkatsu
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...
, but its interest would be sold during the merger with Bandai.
In September 2005, Namco merged with Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
to become "Namco Bandai Holdings", the 3rd largest video game entity in Japan. On March 31, 2006, Namco's game development operations absorbed that of Bandai's. From then on, the part of the company that was most closely associated with the Namco label would become Namco Bandai Games
Namco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
. The Namco Ltd. name was retained by its Japanese arcade management division, and now operates as part of Namco Bandai's Amusement Facility SBU.
Games
Namco's first original video game was Gee BeeGee Bee (arcade game)
Gee Bee is Namco's first internally designed arcade game, released in 1978. It was developed by Tōru Iwatani, who went on to create Pac-Man...
(1978). Galaxian
Galaxian
is an arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was published by Namco in Japan and was imported to North America by Midway in 1980. A fixed shooter-style game in which the player controls a spaceship at the bottom of the screen and shoots enemies descending in various directions, it was designed...
(1979) revolutionized the industry as the first video game to use RGB color graphics. It was Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
(1980), however, that would become definitive of Namco's legacy, going on to become a fixture in popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. Galaga
Galaga
is a fixed shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan and published by Midway in North America in 1981. It is the sequel to Galaxian, released in 1979. The gameplay of Galaga puts the player in control of a space ship which is situated on the bottom of the screen...
(1981), a follow-up to Galaxian, was one of the most successful sequels of the era. Dig Dug
Dig Dug
is an arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan in 1982 for Namco Galaga hardware. It was later published outside of Japan by Atari. A popular game based on a simple concept, it was also released as a video game on many consoles.-Objective:...
(1982), Xevious
Xevious
is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game by Namco, released in 1982. It was designed by Masanobu Endō. In the U.S., the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari. Xevious runs on Namco Galaga hardware. In Brazil the arcade cabinet was printed with the name 'COLUMBIA' for the game, while the...
(1982), and Pole Position
Pole Position
Pole Position is a racing video game released in 1982 by Namco. It was published by Namco in Japan and by Atari, Inc. in the United States...
(1983) continued Namco's success in establishing iconic franchises during the so-called Golden Age.
Trivia
- On Ridge Racer 64Ridge Racer 64Ridge Racer 64 is a racing game developed by Namco and Nintendo Software Technology for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. It features tracks from Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution and its very own set of desert tracks exclusive to the Nintendo 64....
, This NintendoNintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
logo changes into the Namco logo, and then turns back to Nintendo logo on their billboardBillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
. - On Ridge Racer DS, the Namco logo is now white and has been put it on the red background.
Namco was the industry's first manufacturer to develop and release a multi-player, multi-cabinet competitive game, Final Lap
Final Lap
Final Lap is a racing video game produced by Namco, and released by Atari Games for the United States in 1987. It was the unofficial sequel to the popular Pole Position games....
, in 1987. This game allowed up to 8 players to compete when four 2-player cabinets were linked in a simple network. By 1988, the company's capital exceeded 5,500 million Yen. In 1989, another racing simulation game, Winning Run
Winning Run
Winning Run is a video game, released by Namco in 1988. It was the first game to use the Namco System 21 hardware. The music was composed by Hiroyuki Kawada.It was housed in a movable cabinet...
, was released; that same year, the company's expertise with driving simulation matured with the development of the Eunos Roadster Driving Simulator, a joint venture with the Mazda
Mazda
is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...
Motor Corporation, followed by an educational program for traffic safety developed with Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
. In a bid to win over a new kind of audience, Namco started up business for the elderly and the disabled with "Talking Aid" in 1985.
In 1989, it was revealed that Namco was developing a true 16-bit game console inspired by the success of NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
's PC Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
. In its July 1989 issue, Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
reported that "Namco has a machine comparable to the Super Famicom almost completed, but is unsure which way to market it with so many other game machines already in the marketplace." . Namco decided to partner themselves with NEC to release their Super System as the PC Engine 2. However, talks fell apart because NEC's other partner, Hudson Soft feared that NEC would abandon them in favor of Namco. Hudson pushed the completed, but technically inferior version of the PC Engine 2, which came to be known as the ill fated SuperGrafx
SuperGrafx
The SuperGrafx video game console is an upgraded version of NEC's popular PC Engine system. At first it was known as the PC-Engine 2—which was purported to be a true 16-bit system with improved graphics and audio capabilities, not expected to see release until 1990...
.
In 1993, Ridge Racer, a driving simulation game, entered arcades, featuring 3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
; the game was later released for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. Another of the company's most famous games, Tekken
Tekken (video game)
Tekken is a fighting game and is the first of the series. It was released at arcades in late 1994 and on the PlayStation in 1995. A simplified "arcade" version of the game was later released in Tekken 5s Arcade History mode. It was developed and published by Namco...
, was released in 1994, which was also soon ported to the PlayStation. In 1995 the game Soul Edge
Soul Edge
is a 3D arcade fighting game developed by Project Soul and published by Namco. It is the first installment in the Soul series of fighting games...
(Soul Blade in the PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
) was released. With its Tekken and Soul franchises, Namco has been dominating the 3D fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
market. Some light gun
Light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
games were also released such as Point Blank
Point Blank (arcade game)
Point Blank is a shooting game series by Namco for the Arcade, PlayStation and Nintendo DS. It was originally a trilogy first made by Namco since 1994, later Namco created two ports for the PlayStation and the Nintendo DS called Point Blank DS were later developed and released in 1997 and 2006...
and Time Crisis
Time Crisis
Time Crisis is a light gun shooter arcade game produced by Namco in 1995 and released in early 1996. It was later ported for the PlayStation in 1997, bundled with the G-Con 45 controller.-Gameplay:...
.
International arcade operations
In 1977, Namco launched its first international arcade subsidiary, Namco Enterprises Asia Ltd., in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Further expansion in Asia would follow in 1993 with Shanghai Namco Ltd., based in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
.
Namco purchased the arcade operations of Atari Games
Atari Games
Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari, Inc..-History:When, in 1984, Warner Communications sold the Atari Consumer division of Atari Inc...
in 1990, renaming it Namco Operations Inc. With the purchase, Namco began its arcade management business in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Namco Operations managed several large facilities in venues such as Pier 39
Pier 39
Pier 39 is a shopping center and popular tourist attraction built on a pier in San Francisco, California. At Pier 39, there are shops, restaurants, a video arcade, street performances, an interpretive center for the Marine Mammal Center, the Aquarium of the Bay, virtual 3D rides, and views of...
in San Francisco, California, and Church Street Station
Church Street Station (Orlando)
Church Street Station, also called the Old Orlando Railroad Depot is a historic U.S. depot in Orlando, Florida. It is located at Depot Place and West Church Street, and is a planned station on the proposed SunRail commuter rail system. It is also a commercial entertainment development in downtown...
in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
In 1993, Namco purchased the Aladdin's Castle
Aladdin's Castle
Aladdin's Castle is one of several amusement arcade brands used by Namco Cybertainment.- History :The shopping-mall arcade chain that became Aladdin’s Castle began as American Amusements, Incorporated, in the early 1970s. It was purchased and renamed Aladdin’s Castle by Bally Manufacturing...
arcade chain from Bally and merged it with Namco Operations to form Namco Cybertainment Inc. The merger produced the largest arcade operator in the United States. Arcades were branded under the principal trade names of Aladdin's Castle and Cyberstation. Throughout the 1990s, NCI continued to merge or purchase several arcade companies. Chief among them was Edison Brothers Mall Entertainment (operating under the Time-Out and SpacePort names) in 1996. Also in the late 1990s, Namco acquired Diamond Jim's and in the early part of the new century purchased Pocket Change.
The Namco Bandai merger had little effect on the Namco Cybertainment subsidiary, which continues its original mission of operating arcades in the U.S, although most of its mall based arcades are now closed. It has been organized under the parent company's Amusement Facility SBU.
Namco Cybertainment's corporate offices reside in Bensenville
Bensenville, Illinois
Bensenville is a village located primarily in DuPage County, Illinois, with a small section near O'Hare International Airport in Cook County, Illinois, overlapping into the city of Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 20,703. Bensenville is home to the Edge Ice Arena, home of...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Its sister company, Namco America, which manufactures the arcade cabinets, relocated to Elk Grove, Illinois, in 2008.