was a Japanese businessman and the founder of Namco. He was the company's president up until 2002, where he took a ceremonial role in its management. Following the formation of Bandai Namco Holdings, Nakamura would retain an honorary position in the video game division, Bandai Namco Entertainment.
Born in Tokyo, Nakamura graduated from the Yokohama Institute of Technology in 1948, having earned a degree in shipbuilding. Nakamura would found his own company in 1955, Nakamura Seisakusho, Ltd., which produced pop-cork guns and coin-operated mechanical rides for Japanese department store rooftops. In 1974, Nakamura purchased the Japanese division of Atari from Nolan Bushnell, seeing it as a perfect opportunity to get into the market, and were allowed to release the company's games in Japan. His company would be renamed to "Namco" in 1977, and a year later would release its first video game produced in-house. Under Nakamura's leadership, Namco would become one of the most dominant video game companies in Japan, alongside Nintendo, Sega and Konami.
Nakamura purchased Japanese film studio Nikkatsu in 1993 and be involved with many of their films, being credited for several of them. He also led Namco to begin maintaining arcade centers and amusement parks across Japan and soon overseas, such as Wonder Eggs in Tokyo, and to purchase the Aladdin's Castle chain from Bally. Nakamura would also assist in the formation of Japanese developer Monolith Soft, and become the chairman of the Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association (JAMMA). In 2002, he would step down as Namco's CEO, instead taking on a ceremonial role in the company's management. After Namco merged with Bandai in 2005 to form Bandai Namco Holdings, Nakamura would retain an honorary position in the company's video game branch.
Nakamura is credited as a pioneer in the video game industry for his accomplishments, and one of the most important figures in video game history. In 2007, he was awarded the "Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette" by the Japanese government for his contributions to video games, and was inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame in 2010. His influence on the industry would have him considered "the father of Pac-Man". Nakamura died on January 22, 2017, at age 91, which was announced a week later by Bandai Namco out of respect for his family's privacy.
Biography
Early life and formation of Namco
Masaya Nakamura was born on December 24, 1925, in Tokyo. He graduated from the Yokohama Institute of Technology in 1948 with a degree in shipbuilding, however following World War II he was unable to secure a job with his experience. His father owned a shotgun repair business in a Tokyo department store. In the wake of Japan's economic recovery, Nakamura founded his own company on June 1, 1955, "Nakamura Seisakusho, Ltd.". Beginning with US$3,000, he purchased two mechanical rocking horse rides that had to be installed on the roof of a department store due to stiff competition. Each day, Nakamura would clean and repair the rides if needed, and greeted the mothers of the children when they arrived. His company was renamed to "Nakamura Manufacturing Co., Limited." in 1959. Following this, Nakamura would make a deal with the Mitsukoshi department store chain in the early 1960s to install a ride on the rooftop of one of their stores. This ride, named the "Roadaway Race", was popular with children and led to Mitsukoshi commissioning Nakamura and his company to install similar rides for all of their stores. Nakamura's company would continue to design similar mechanical games for other stores — one such game was Periscope (1965), claimed to be the first game he designed himself.