Log in / create account

Endpoint: Namco Ltd.



39:36
Videos (2)
created on: 17/05/2021
by: Lo55o (12433)
 
 

Company properties

General info :
Namco Limited was a Japanese multinational video game developer and publisher headquartered in Ota, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, and Shanghai Namco in mainland China.

Namco was founded by Masaya Nakamura on June 1, 1955, as Nakamura Seisakusho, beginning as an operator of coin-operated amusement rides. After reorganizing to Nakamura Manufacturing Company in 1959, a partnership with Walt Disney Productions provided the company with the resources to expand its operations. It entered the video game industry after acquiring the struggling Japanese division of Atari in 1974, distributing games such as Breakout in Japan. The company renamed itself to Namco in 1977 and published Gee Bee, its first original video game, a year later. Among Namco's first major hits was the fixed shooter Galaxian in 1979. It was followed by Pac-Man in 1980, the best-selling arcade game of all time. Namco prospered during the golden age of arcade video games in the early 1980s, releasing popular titles such as Galaga, Xevious, and Pole Position.

Namco entered the home console market in 1984 with conversions of its arcade games for the Nintendo Family Computer. Its American division majority-acquired Atari Games in 1985, before selling a portion of it in 1987 following disagreements between the two companies. Arguments over licensing contracts with Nintendo led Namco to producing games for competing platforms, such as the Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, and PlayStation. Namco's early support of the PlayStation was crucial to the console's success. The company continued to produce hit games in the 1990s, including Ridge Racer, Tekken, and Taiko no Tatsujin. Namco endured numerous financial difficulties in the late 1990s and 2000s as a result of the struggling Japanese economy and diminishing arcade market. In 2005, Namco merged with Bandai to form Namco Bandai Holdings, a Japanese entertainment conglomerate. It continued producing games until it was merged into Namco Bandai Games in 2006.

Namco produced several multi-million-selling game franchises, such as Pac-Man, Galaxian, Tekken, Tales, Ridge Racer, and Ace Combat. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and also produced films, toys, and arcade cabinets and operated a chain of restaurants. Namco is remembered in retrospect for its unique corporate model, its importance to the industry, and its advancements in technology. Its successor, Bandai Namco Entertainment, and its subsidiaries continue to use the Namco brand for their video arcades and other entertainment products.

In early 2005, Namco began merger talks with Bandai, a toy and anime company. The two discussed a year prior about a possible business alliance after Namco collaborated with Bandai subsidiary Banpresto to create an arcade game based on Mobile Suit Gundam. Bandai showed interest in Namco's game development skills and believed combining this with its wide library of profitable characters and franchises, such as Sailor Moon and Tamagotchi, could increase their competitiveness in the industry. Nakamura and Namco's content development division advisors pushed against the idea, as they felt Bandai's corporate model wouldn't blend well with Namco's more agricultural work environment. Namco's advisors were also critical of Bandai for focusing on promotion and marketing over quality. As Namco's financial state continued to deteriorate, Ishimura pressured Nakamura into supporting the merger. Bandai's offer was accepted on May 2, with both companies stating in a joint statement their financial difficulties were the reason for the merger.

The business takeover, where Bandai acquired Namco for $1.7 billion, was finalized on September 29. An entertainment conglomerate named Namco Bandai Holdings was established the same day; while their executive departments merged, Bandai and Namco became independently-operating subsidiaries of the new umbrella holding company. Kyushiro Takagi, Namco's vice chairman, was appointed chairman and director of Namco Bandai Holdings. The stock swap was valued at ¥458 billion upon its completion, making Namco Bandai the third-largest Japanese game company after Nintendo and Sega Sammy Holdings. Namco Bandai's impatience to move forward with the merger and clashing corporate cultures between both parties resulted in a loss of ¥30 billion. As its parent company was preparing for a full business integration, Namco continued its normal operations, such as releasing Ridge Racer 6 as a launch title for the newly-unveiled Xbox 360 in October and collaborating with Nintendo to produce the arcade game Mario Kart Arcade GP. The company honored the 25th anniversary of its Pac-Man series with Pac-Pix, a puzzle game for the Nintendo DS, and entered the massively multiplayer online game market with Tales of Eternia Online, an action role-playing game based on its Tales franchise.
Relations :
Uses the brand name : Namco
This endpoint is approved in the database from previous submissions.
Merged into : Namco Bandai Games, Inc.
This endpoint is approved in the database from previous submissions.
Source :
Copied Wikipedia parts under license :
ENA's

Brand

(2 items)

Video Games

(8 items)

Item number : 39696

Submitted by : Lo55o (12433)
on : 17/05/2021