User:Namcokid47/History of Namco
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The history of Namco, a Japanese multinational video game developer and publisher, began with the foundation of Nakamura Seisakusho Co., Ltd.[lower-alpha 1] in 1955. Founded by businessman Masaya Nakamura, the company began as an importer and producer of rocking horses and coin-operated electro-mechanical arcade games for Japanese department store roof gardens. The Namco name was inducted as a brand in 1971, an abbreviation of Nakamura Manufacturing Company, which later became the company's official corporate name in 1977. Namco purchased the financially-unstable Atari Japan from Nolan Bushnell in 1974, giving the company the rights to distribute Atari video games in arcades and amusement centers across the country.
The resources gained from the purchase of Atari Japan allowed Namco to begin production of its own video games in-house, starting in 1978 with Gee Bee. In 1979 the company released its first major hit Galaxian, a shoot 'em up that gained attention for its then-impressive usage of RGB graphics. Namco's biggest success was Pac-Man in 1980, which became a social phenomenon and one of the best-selling and highest-grossing video games of all time. The success of Pac-Man made Namco one of the leading video game companies in Japan, who began producing hits such as Galaga, Dig Dug, Pole Position, and Xevious. Namco became one of the first third-party developers for the Nintendo Family Computer in 1984, with its games causing sales of the console to jump by nearly one million units. Namco acquired a controlling stake in Atari Games in 1985, before selling it off in 1987 over disagreements between executives.
After bitter disagreements with Nintendo over licensing contracts for the Family Computer, Namco began supporting other competing game consoles such as the Sega Genesis, PC Engine, and PlayStation. The PlayStation benefited from Namco's support, gaining a strong foothold in the home console market and giving it an edge over its competition. Namco also began construction and development of theme parks, video arcades, restaurants, and virtual reality software. A corporate merge with long-time rival Sega was attempted in 2001, which failed due to opposition from Sammy, a company that Sega considered merging with.
In 2005, Namco merged with toy and game company Bandai, forming Bandai Namco Holdings. Bandai's financial success and back catalog of established brands was a reason for Namco's decision to merge, seeing Bandai as a leader in both industries. The two companies worked independently under the umbrella holding corporation until March 31, 2006, when Namco's video game operations were merged into a new company called Namco Bandai Games, known today as Bandai Namco Entertainment. In the same day, a new company called Namco was established as the theme park and prize machine branch of Bandai Namco Holdings. A corporate restructure in 2018 caused the company to be renamed to Bandai Namco Amusement.