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Posted (edited)

If this was posted elsewhere on the site, sorry.

Masaya Nakamura, founder of the company behind hit Japanese arcade game Pac-Man, has died at the age of 91.

Nakamura reportedly died on January 22. Namco confirmed his death on Monday, but did not comment on the cause of death or other personal details, citing his family's wishes.

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Edited by Atari Creep

Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT!

Posted

The Atari connection is even earlier than that.  From Wikipedia:

 

Atari Japan, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of Atari, was struggling financially by 1974.[7] 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.[8][9]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 arcades featuring Atari games.

Everyone thought [Nakamura] was mad when he paid so much for Atari, but it turned out to be a very wise investment.[8]

— Hide Nakajima, former vice president of Namco
Posted

 

The Atari connection is even earlier than that.  From Wikipedia:

 

Atari Japan, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of Atari, was struggling financially by 1974.[7] 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.[8][9]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 arcades featuring Atari games.

Everyone thought [Nakamura] was mad when he paid so much for Atari, but it turned out to be a very wise investment.
[8]

— Hide Nakajima, former vice president of Namco

 

 

 

Wonderful treasure trove of info, thanks for sharing Rick!  :)

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