The father of PAC-MAN dies in Japan

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By Catherine Hardy  with Reuters
The father of PAC-MAN dies in Japan



The founder of Japanese toy and game software makers Bandai Namco Holdings has died at the age of 91.

Masaya Nakamura was known as the “Father of PAC-MAN”.

He served as a senior adviser to the company.

The group said in a statement he died on January 22. No further details were given.



PAC-MAN



The monster-eating game went on sale in 1980.

It proved to be a big hit in Japan and internationally.

The Guinness Book of World Records named it as the world’s most successful arcade game of all time.





Electric rocking horses



Nakamura founded the company that became Namco in 1955.

It started life operating two electrically-powered rocking horses on top of a department store in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo.

He took up the post of top adviser of the holding company when it was formed in 2005 through the merger of Namco and Bandai.