Namco History

The pioneer's pioneer.

Namco has been around for quite some time. But they are more than just "the Pac-Man company." Here's a list of some of their achievements:

King & Balloon (1980) - First game with synthesized speech

Rally X (1980) - First game to feature a bonus round

Bosconian (1981) - First game to have a 'Continue' feature

Pole Position (1982) - First 3D racing game with driving controls

Xevious (1982) - One of the first vertically scrolling space shooters

Pac-Land (1984) - First complex side-scrolling platformer

Dragon Buster (1984) - One of the first games to feature a life bar

Motos (1985) - First game to calculate damage based on weight

So many of these things we take for granted. But you walk into any place that has one or more old arcade cabinets (which is such a historic thing now), that game might not have a continue option, or a bonus round, because at that time they didn't exist. Somebody had to say, "Hey, what if you could put in more money and continue from where you died?" And they had to find a way to make that work with the limited programming space available. It just seems so absurd that someone had to say that.

Before the point of gaming handouts, if you were good, you didn't die. Period. Many gamers today (especially younger ones) have little to no patience, and expect to be handed infinite continues, an ability to save wherever and whenever they damn well please, and a difficulty level that isn't difficult at all. When you present games from the 1980's (e.g. Pac-Man, Galaga, Donkey Kong), and play those games with them, it's comical to see how quickly they die three or four times and ask, "Where's my guy?" And upon finding out that that's it, the game is over, they look incredulous. Who's playing the joke? Is the game broken? Why didn't I win? How do you beat that guy? Is it even possible to win?

Then comes the big difference, the fork in the road. Some say (and they're the people I want to play games with), "Let me try it again." They have a penchant for challenges, enjoy getting replay value out of a game, and building up their skill level. They will keep trying (and improving) because they're thinking about it while they're doing it, not just blindly mashing buttons and slamming joysticks. They start to understand better how the controls work, what their timing has to be. Sure, frustration is a part of it, but when they die and yell, "ARGH!" they're smiling and laughing at the same time. It is such a good feeling to watch a kid play Ms. Pac-Man with that intense look of focus and determination on their face, totally oblivious to the world around them, because they're gonna eat all those dots if it's the last thing they do, dammit.

Then there's the other people. After they lose the first time and find out the game is over, that's it, they look at the game like it's a piece of junk.

"Do you have any games that are good?"

Because they are not instantly brilliant at a game, it must be crap. These are the people, kids up to adults, that are used to everything being handed to them in games. They are used to putting in codes before the game even starts for infinite lives, unlimited ammo, invincibility, etc., often before they've even played the game without these things first. These are the people who buy the player's guide in the same purchase as the game itself. Because thinking is hard, am I right? When they try a game out (even modern ones), if it requires more than a little effort, "It's stupid." When you watch these people play these older games, they have that vacant look on their faces, like they'd rather be anywhere else in the world. Watching them play, you'd swear their hands aren't connected to their brains whatsoever, because they seem to be moving in erratic, uncontrolled, uncaring spasms. Where are the explosions? The instant respawns? I can only move in two directions at only one speed. What kind of crap is this?

I'm not saying everyone has to like Xevious, but if one calls themselves a 'full-fledged gamer', they should at least be aware that games have existed for quite some time before Call of Duty. And with the beauty of the internet, it is so easy to immediately try them out on your computer or console, and it's usually free. If not, it's cheaper than a map pack DLC. I have (and still try) to try out as many different games in as many different genres as I can, just to be able to know what is happening. Even if I don't like some of them that much, it's still part of what is happening. I find gaming history fascinating, and respect companies like Namco immensely for their contributions and innovations to the industry. Companies like that have managed to survive all the pitfalls that strike other companies at some point (multiple times, even), and have adapted to survive and thrive even today. The fact that they're still around and making quality games (on and off) is impressive in itself.

Bravo.