Namco to mark 50th anniversary next June

TOKYO--Namco announced today it will be marking its 50th anniversary on June 1, 2005. Prior to becoming a game publisher, Namco was known as Nakamura Seisakujo (Nakamura Corporation) in the entertainment business.

The company first started out small, building two wooden-horse rides on the rooftop of a department store in Yokohama, a harbor city near Tokyo. Nakamura Seisakujo went on to build larger rides, eventually mass-producinging them and licensing Disney characters.

In 1971, the company started operating in the video game business after receiving a license from Atari in 1974. In 1977, Nakamura Seisakujo officially changed its company name to Namco. Three years later, Namco released the arcade title Pac-Man, which established a dominant position for the company in the gaming industry. Other classic games in its catalog are Dig-Dug, Galaxian, and Galaga.

To commemorate its upcoming 50th anniversary, Namco has created a logo imprinted with a wooden horse that symbolizes the company’s origins. The logo is scheduled to be used in various places by Namco, including advertisements and campaigns that have yet to be announced.