Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection E3 2005 Preshow Report

Ah, the 1980s, the decade of President Reagan, Miami Vice, big hair, and some of the greatest arcade games of all time, a large number of which will appear in Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection. What's this about 50th anniversary? After all, the '80s were only two decades ago. The 50th anniversary refers to Namco's own 50th anniversary, and to honor such a milestone the company is putting out this collection of 14 of the greatest Namco arcade games ever.

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You really can't have this list without Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, the two definitive video games of the decade. But wait, there's more. Galaga, Galaxian, Dig Dug, Pole Position and Pole Position II, Rolling Thunder, Rally X, Bosconian, Dragon Spirit, Sky Kid, Xevious, and Mappy. Yeah, some of the games at the end of the list aren't anywhere near as popular as Pac-Man, but trust us, those are some great games. And relax, the arcade games that originally supported up to two players will support up to two players in this collection.

So what will you need to revel in this cornucopia of arcade delight? You'll be good to go so long as you have a PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, or PC. And, let's face it, you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't. (We should probably note that the GBA version will only include Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug, and Bosconian.) The Namco 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection will ship for all those platforms this August.