Masaya Nakamura, the "Father of Pac-Man" who founded the Japanese video game company behind the hit creature-gobbling game, has died at the age of 91. Nakamura, who died on January 22, held an honorary position at Bandai Namco, formed in 2005 from a merger of two games companies. He founded Namco in 1955, and its beginnings were humble - just two mechanical horses on the rooftop of a department store. But it went on to pioneer games arcades and amusement parks. Pac-Man, designed by video game-maker Toru Iwatani, went on sale in 1980. Guinness World Records has named it the world's most successful coin-operated arcade game. The idea for the game came from the image of a pizza with a slice carved out. It launched at a time when there were few rival games, such as Space Invaders. It is estimated to have been played more than 10 billion times. Pac-Man is a mainstay of Japanese culture, having inspired T-shirts and other merchandise, animation shows and the nickname for Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. Nakamura reportedly chose the word "Pac" to represent the munching of the Pac-Man devouring its prey. Nakamura was a key player in Bandai Namco's global growth. The company reported his...
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