Namco Ltd. (株式会社ナムコ, Kabushiki Kaisha Namuko?) is a Japanese corporation be… Read Full Bio ↴Namco Ltd. (株式会社ナムコ, Kabushiki Kaisha Namuko?) is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of video arcades and amusement parks. Its headquarters are located in Ōta, Tokyo.
Namco was a forerunner during the Golden age of video arcade games. Pac-Man, its most famous title, went on to become the best-selling arcade game in history and an international popular culture icon.
Masaya Nakamura founded the company as Nakamura Manufacturing in 1955. Based in Tokyo, the company started out by running children's rides on the roof of a department store in Yokohama. The business eventually expanded throughout the Tokyo area. Nakamura Manufacturing was reorganized in 1958 and underwent a slight name change to Nakamura Manufacturing Co., which would later be used to form the acronym Namco. In 1970 the company produced a coin-operated mechanical driving simulator called "Racer".
Atari Japan, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of Atari, was struggling financially by 1974. General manager Hide Nakajima was left in charge of the company after his boss had quit. Nakajima claims that employees had been stealing money and that he had contributed funds from his personal savings in order to pay creditors and stave off bankruptcy. Though Nakajima wanted to try saving Atari Japan, owner Nolan Bushnell was already struggling to keep the parent company afloat due to undercapitalization and was looking to sell the Japanese subsidiary for some badly-needed cash. Sega, then a manufacturer of pinball machines, offered to acquire Atari Japan for $50,000. Nakamura put in a bid for $800,000 and shocked others out of competition. The deal was finalized at $500,000 and Bushnell was glad to take it. Debts inherited from Atari Japan would take Nakamura two years to pay off, but the deal had also secured for him an exclusive license to distribute Atari's games in Japan for ten years. Nakamura would follow up by opening video arcades featuring Atari games.
Nakajima was promoted to vice president in 1978, and on his recommendation Namco opened a subsidiary, Namco America, in the United States. The location he chose was across the street from Atari's former headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. At the time, games were not released in the U.S. under the Namco label. Namco America existed mainly to license Namco's games to companies such as Atari and Midway Games for distribution in the U.S.
In 1985, after the video game crash, and after previously having been sold to Warner Communications, Atari had been split into two corporate entities: Atari Corporation, which took over the home computer and console hardware business; and Atari Games, which retained the arcade game business. Namco America acquired a controlling interest in Atari Games for $10 million, against the advice of their accountants at Price Waterhouse. Disagreement over how to run the Atari Games subsidiary led to a falling out between Nakamura and Nakajima. Nakamura considered Atari to be a competitor. Back in Japan, Namco still held distribution rights for Atari's games, and Nakamura refused to sell them to other arcades. Nakamura also resented sharing ownership of Atari Games with Warner. Nakajima grew increasingly frustrated with his boss, and in 1987 the two arrived at a means to part ways: Namco would sell part of its interest in Atari Games to Nakajima and the Atari Games employees, and the rest back to Warner. Nakajima and Wood then resigned from Namco to head Atari Games.
By 1989, games for the Nintendo Entertainment System accounted for forty percent of Namco's sales. As Nintendo's first licensee, Namco had previously been given privileged terms, such as the right to manufacture their own cartridges. However, upon renewal of the license, these special terms were revoked, prompting Nakamura to publicly criticize Nintendo for monopolistic behavior. In addition, Nakamura announced that Namco would support Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis console.
Later expanding into the amusement park business, Sennichimae Plabo was opened in Osaka, featuring a new concept of large-scale arcade amusement, and Namco Wonder Eggs, a theme park, was opened in Tokyo. Additional amusement parks were opened, including Namco Wonder Park Sagamihara and Namco Wonder City.
In 1996 Namco acquired a controlling share of the Japanese film company Nikkatsu, but its interest would be sold during the merger with Bandai.
In September 2005, Namco merged with Bandai to become "Namco Bandai Holdings", the 3rd largest video game entity in Japan. On March 31, 2006, Namco's game development operations absorbed that of Bandai's. From then on, the part of the company that was most closely associated with the Namco label would become Namco Bandai Games. The Namco Ltd. name was retained by its Japanese arcade management division, and now operates as part of Namco Bandai's Amusement Facility SBU.
Namco's first original video game was Gee Bee (1978). Galaxian (1979) revolutionized the industry as the first video game to use RGB color graphics. It was Pac-Man (1980), however, that would become definitive of Namco's legacy, going on to become a fixture in popular culture. Galaga (1981), a follow-up to Galaxian, was one of the most successful sequels of the era. Dig Dug (1982), Xevious (1982), and Pole Position (1983) continued Namco's success in establishing iconic franchises during the so-called Golden Age.
Namco was the industry's first manufacturer to develop and release a multi-player, multi-cabinet competitive game, Final Lap, in 1987. This game allowed up to 8 players to compete when four 2-player cabinets were linked in a simple network. By 1988, the company's capital exceeded 5,500 million Yen. In 1989, another racing simulation game, Winning Run, was released; that same year, the company's expertise with driving simulation matured with the development of the Eunos Roadster Driving Simulator, a joint venture with the Mazda Motor Corporation, followed by an educational program for traffic safety developed with Mitsubishi. In a bid to win over a new kind of audience, Namco started up business for the elderly and the disabled with "Talking Aid" in 1985.
In 1989 it was revealed that Namco was developing a true 16-bit game console inspired by the success of NEC's PC Engine. In its July 1989 issue, Electronic Gaming Monthly reported that "Namco has a machine comparable to the Super Famicon almost completed, but is unsure which way to market it with so many other game machines already in the marketplace." . Namco decided to partner themselves with NEC to release their Super System as the PC Engine 2. However, talks fell apart because NEC's other partner, Hudson Soft feared that NEC would abandon them in favor of Namco. Hudson pushed the completed, but technically inferior version of the PC Engine 2, which came to be known as the ill fated SuperGrafx.
In 1993, Ridge Racer, a driving simulation game, entered arcades, featuring 3D computer graphics; the game was later released for the PlayStation. Another of the company's most famous games, Tekken, was released in 1994, which was also soon ported to the PlayStation. In 1995 the game Soul Edge (Soul Blade in the PAL region) was released. With its Tekken and Soul franchises, Namco has been dominating the 3D fighting game market. Some light gun games were also released such as Point Blank and Time Crisis.
In 1977, Namco launched its first international arcade subsidiary, Namco Enterprises Asia Ltd., in Hong Kong. Further expansion in Asia would follow in 1993 with Shanghai Namco Ltd., based in mainland China.
Namco purchased the arcade operations of Atari Games in 1990, renaming it Namco Operations Inc. With the purchase, Namco began its arcade management business in the United States. Namco Operations managed several large facilities in venues such as Pier 39 in San Francisco, California, and Church Street Station in Orlando, Florida.
In 1993, Namco purchased the Aladdin's Castle arcade chain from Bally and merged it with Namco Operations to form Namco Cybertainment Inc. The merger produced the largest arcade operator in the United States. Arcades were branded under the principal trade names of Aladdin's Castle and Cyberstation. Throughout the 1990s, NCI continued to merge or purchase several arcade companies. Chief among them was Edison Brothers Mall Entertainment (operating under the Time-Out and SpacePort names) in 1996. Also in the late 1990s, Namco acquired Diamond Jim's and in the early part of the new century purchased Pocket Change.
The Namco Bandai merger had little effect on the Namco Cybertainment subsidiary, which continues its original mission of operating arcades in the U.S. It has been organized under the parent company's Amusement Facility SBU.
Namco Cybertainment's corporate offices reside in Bensenville, Illinois. Its sister company, Namco America, which manufactures the arcade cabinets, relocated to Elk Grove, Illinois, in 2008.
Namco was a forerunner during the Golden age of video arcade games. Pac-Man, its most famous title, went on to become the best-selling arcade game in history and an international popular culture icon.
Masaya Nakamura founded the company as Nakamura Manufacturing in 1955. Based in Tokyo, the company started out by running children's rides on the roof of a department store in Yokohama. The business eventually expanded throughout the Tokyo area. Nakamura Manufacturing was reorganized in 1958 and underwent a slight name change to Nakamura Manufacturing Co., which would later be used to form the acronym Namco. In 1970 the company produced a coin-operated mechanical driving simulator called "Racer".
Atari Japan, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of Atari, was struggling financially by 1974. General manager Hide Nakajima was left in charge of the company after his boss had quit. Nakajima claims that employees had been stealing money and that he had contributed funds from his personal savings in order to pay creditors and stave off bankruptcy. Though Nakajima wanted to try saving Atari Japan, owner Nolan Bushnell was already struggling to keep the parent company afloat due to undercapitalization and was looking to sell the Japanese subsidiary for some badly-needed cash. Sega, then a manufacturer of pinball machines, offered to acquire Atari Japan for $50,000. Nakamura put in a bid for $800,000 and shocked others out of competition. The deal was finalized at $500,000 and Bushnell was glad to take it. Debts inherited from Atari Japan would take Nakamura two years to pay off, but the deal had also secured for him an exclusive license to distribute Atari's games in Japan for ten years. Nakamura would follow up by opening video arcades featuring Atari games.
Nakajima was promoted to vice president in 1978, and on his recommendation Namco opened a subsidiary, Namco America, in the United States. The location he chose was across the street from Atari's former headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. At the time, games were not released in the U.S. under the Namco label. Namco America existed mainly to license Namco's games to companies such as Atari and Midway Games for distribution in the U.S.
In 1985, after the video game crash, and after previously having been sold to Warner Communications, Atari had been split into two corporate entities: Atari Corporation, which took over the home computer and console hardware business; and Atari Games, which retained the arcade game business. Namco America acquired a controlling interest in Atari Games for $10 million, against the advice of their accountants at Price Waterhouse. Disagreement over how to run the Atari Games subsidiary led to a falling out between Nakamura and Nakajima. Nakamura considered Atari to be a competitor. Back in Japan, Namco still held distribution rights for Atari's games, and Nakamura refused to sell them to other arcades. Nakamura also resented sharing ownership of Atari Games with Warner. Nakajima grew increasingly frustrated with his boss, and in 1987 the two arrived at a means to part ways: Namco would sell part of its interest in Atari Games to Nakajima and the Atari Games employees, and the rest back to Warner. Nakajima and Wood then resigned from Namco to head Atari Games.
By 1989, games for the Nintendo Entertainment System accounted for forty percent of Namco's sales. As Nintendo's first licensee, Namco had previously been given privileged terms, such as the right to manufacture their own cartridges. However, upon renewal of the license, these special terms were revoked, prompting Nakamura to publicly criticize Nintendo for monopolistic behavior. In addition, Nakamura announced that Namco would support Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis console.
Later expanding into the amusement park business, Sennichimae Plabo was opened in Osaka, featuring a new concept of large-scale arcade amusement, and Namco Wonder Eggs, a theme park, was opened in Tokyo. Additional amusement parks were opened, including Namco Wonder Park Sagamihara and Namco Wonder City.
In 1996 Namco acquired a controlling share of the Japanese film company Nikkatsu, but its interest would be sold during the merger with Bandai.
In September 2005, Namco merged with Bandai to become "Namco Bandai Holdings", the 3rd largest video game entity in Japan. On March 31, 2006, Namco's game development operations absorbed that of Bandai's. From then on, the part of the company that was most closely associated with the Namco label would become Namco Bandai Games. The Namco Ltd. name was retained by its Japanese arcade management division, and now operates as part of Namco Bandai's Amusement Facility SBU.
Namco's first original video game was Gee Bee (1978). Galaxian (1979) revolutionized the industry as the first video game to use RGB color graphics. It was Pac-Man (1980), however, that would become definitive of Namco's legacy, going on to become a fixture in popular culture. Galaga (1981), a follow-up to Galaxian, was one of the most successful sequels of the era. Dig Dug (1982), Xevious (1982), and Pole Position (1983) continued Namco's success in establishing iconic franchises during the so-called Golden Age.
Namco was the industry's first manufacturer to develop and release a multi-player, multi-cabinet competitive game, Final Lap, in 1987. This game allowed up to 8 players to compete when four 2-player cabinets were linked in a simple network. By 1988, the company's capital exceeded 5,500 million Yen. In 1989, another racing simulation game, Winning Run, was released; that same year, the company's expertise with driving simulation matured with the development of the Eunos Roadster Driving Simulator, a joint venture with the Mazda Motor Corporation, followed by an educational program for traffic safety developed with Mitsubishi. In a bid to win over a new kind of audience, Namco started up business for the elderly and the disabled with "Talking Aid" in 1985.
In 1989 it was revealed that Namco was developing a true 16-bit game console inspired by the success of NEC's PC Engine. In its July 1989 issue, Electronic Gaming Monthly reported that "Namco has a machine comparable to the Super Famicon almost completed, but is unsure which way to market it with so many other game machines already in the marketplace." . Namco decided to partner themselves with NEC to release their Super System as the PC Engine 2. However, talks fell apart because NEC's other partner, Hudson Soft feared that NEC would abandon them in favor of Namco. Hudson pushed the completed, but technically inferior version of the PC Engine 2, which came to be known as the ill fated SuperGrafx.
In 1993, Ridge Racer, a driving simulation game, entered arcades, featuring 3D computer graphics; the game was later released for the PlayStation. Another of the company's most famous games, Tekken, was released in 1994, which was also soon ported to the PlayStation. In 1995 the game Soul Edge (Soul Blade in the PAL region) was released. With its Tekken and Soul franchises, Namco has been dominating the 3D fighting game market. Some light gun games were also released such as Point Blank and Time Crisis.
In 1977, Namco launched its first international arcade subsidiary, Namco Enterprises Asia Ltd., in Hong Kong. Further expansion in Asia would follow in 1993 with Shanghai Namco Ltd., based in mainland China.
Namco purchased the arcade operations of Atari Games in 1990, renaming it Namco Operations Inc. With the purchase, Namco began its arcade management business in the United States. Namco Operations managed several large facilities in venues such as Pier 39 in San Francisco, California, and Church Street Station in Orlando, Florida.
In 1993, Namco purchased the Aladdin's Castle arcade chain from Bally and merged it with Namco Operations to form Namco Cybertainment Inc. The merger produced the largest arcade operator in the United States. Arcades were branded under the principal trade names of Aladdin's Castle and Cyberstation. Throughout the 1990s, NCI continued to merge or purchase several arcade companies. Chief among them was Edison Brothers Mall Entertainment (operating under the Time-Out and SpacePort names) in 1996. Also in the late 1990s, Namco acquired Diamond Jim's and in the early part of the new century purchased Pocket Change.
The Namco Bandai merger had little effect on the Namco Cybertainment subsidiary, which continues its original mission of operating arcades in the U.S. It has been organized under the parent company's Amusement Facility SBU.
Namco Cybertainment's corporate offices reside in Bensenville, Illinois. Its sister company, Namco America, which manufactures the arcade cabinets, relocated to Elk Grove, Illinois, in 2008.
Zero
NAMCO SOUNDS Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cum poten
Tia sua daemon
Fundet mortem in terram
Deinde
Moritur cum somnus
Finit Razgriz surget iterum
Cum historia mutat val
De Razgriz revelat
Ipsum primum daemon scelestus est
Gloria mutat val
De Razgriz revelat ipsum
Sua Daemon fundet (mortem)
Gloria mutat val
De Razgriz revelat ipsum
Moritur, somnus finit
Razgriz (Surget iterum)
Magnus
Heros est
Cum poten
Tia sua daemon
Fundet Mortem in terram
Deinde
Moritur cum somnus
Finit Razgriz surget iterum
Tia sua daemon
Fundet mortem in terram
Deinde
Moritur cum somnus
Finit Razgriz surget iterum
De Razgriz revelat
Ipsum primum daemon scelestus est
Gloria mutat val
De Razgriz revelat ipsum
Sua Daemon fundet (mortem)
Gloria mutat val
De Razgriz revelat ipsum
Moritur, somnus finit
Razgriz (Surget iterum)
Magnus
Heros est
Cum poten
Tia sua daemon
Fundet Mortem in terram
Deinde
Moritur cum somnus
Finit Razgriz surget iterum
The lyrics to NAMCO SOUNDS's song ZERO are in Latin and describe the story of Razgriz. The lyrics convey a sense of power and transformation as the character Razgriz, who is associated with an evil daemon or spirit, dies and is reborn. The opening lines, "Cum poten/Tia sua daemon/Fundet mortem in terram/Deinde," roughly translate to "With its power, the daemon pours death onto the earth and then..." The lyrics go on to describe how Razgriz dies and is reborn with the changing of history and glory.
The lyrics suggest that Razgriz is not simply an evil being, but a complex character with a history and a purpose. The line "De Razgriz revelat ipsum primum daemon scelestus est," suggests that Razgriz was originally a wicked daemon, but that his true nature was revealed through his actions. The use of Latin in the lyrics adds to the sense of mystery and power surrounding the character of Razgriz.
Overall, the lyrics to NAMCO SOUNDS's song ZERO convey a sense of transformation and power, as the character of Razgriz moves from death to rebirth and from wickedness to heroism.
Line by Line Meaning
Cum poten
With great power
Tia sua daemon
Comes their own demon
Fundet mortem in terram
Bringing death upon the earth
Deinde
Then
Moritur cum somnus
Dying as sleep comes
Finit Razgriz surget iterum
Razgriz ends, but rises again
Cum historia mutat val
As history changes its value
De Razgriz revelat
Razgriz reveals
Ipsum primum daemon scelestus est
His own demon is his first sin
Gloria mutat val
As glory changes its value
De Razgriz revelat ipsum
Razgriz reveals himself
Sua Daemon fundet (mortem)
His own demon brings death
Gloria mutat val
As glory changes its value
De Razgriz revelat ipsum
Razgriz reveals himself
Moritur, somnus finit
He dies, sleep ends
Razgriz (Surget iterum)
Razgriz (will rise again)
Magnus
Magnificent
Heros est
Is the hero
Contributed by Brody R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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@Agent-ur7tf
I tried it but the fps drops really low
And a game like this needs all 60 fps to be played properly
I'm trying some settings to make it run faster but there ain't much hope
Why doesnt bandai namco release all ps2 games as a collection though?
Halo did it and people really liked it
And soon ninja gaiden is gonna do it too
Why not ace combat?
The only entry it has for pc is ace combat 7
And that's too heavy for me to run it
@lukasi.v4269
I love how the guy playing the guitar masters different techniques in flamenco such as the rasgueados and picados. He definitely knows his shit.
Also, the way the palmas, castanuelas and zapateados (I'm almost sure I can hear some zapateados in there) support and actually accent the guitar riffs is so nicely done. I think I can hear a cajon too, but am not sure, could it be the guitarrist playing golpes very subtle on his spanish, or better, sapinish guitar?
Who said that flamenco couldn't go well with a battle between two fighter jets?
The japanese definitely go hard on art when making games for some reason. That's a cultural thing I guess. No wonder those videogame soundtracks sound so addicting and delightful for the ears and senses.
P.S: btw for people wondering which flamenco style it is, I remember asking a spanish friend and he said at the time Zero is basically what you'd call "freestyle" (I put the quotes here because there's no such a thing as an actual freestyle flamenco) flamenco with roots set on Rumba flamenca. The song as a whole as mutant of different styles along with rumba, interesting eh?
Funny fact: there are several flamenco schools in Japan. Coincidence? I don't think so, as it is reflected in the quality of this soundtrack.
@formulabf1
I knew that we were destined to meet here Cipher, ever since the beginning
Think about Hoffnung Cipher, it’s all because of borders and police officers telling me I can’t eat the drywall at Home Depot
Can you see any borders from up here? What has borders given us? Books? No, I’ll just have to destroy them all, reset everything to zero. That’s what V2 was for
You’ll have to kill me to stop this launch
How many nukes do you think I can fit on a single aircraft? EAT MY SQUARE EXPLOSIONS!
HOW MANY CAN YOU DODGE, SEVEN? Probably seven
I HAVE THE POWER OF GOD CIPHER, THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
LAUNCH THE BIG FUCK
@dragonsteamworks6675
<<<Fire away, coward!>>>
<<<Come on!>>>
This brings back so many memories of that final fight with the joust. The Arthurian themes were just stellar to me because I enjoy Arthurian stories. Dodging Excalibur, Flying through Avalon and becoming the Demon Lord of the Round Table.
The interviews with those Cipher brought down was great, gave you insight into how they perceived him. A sort of primal force, an entity that knew no rest, no remorse, the moment they thought they were in the clear they'd only hear the sound of missile alerts again (Gelb-2 specifically).
They revered him, feared him. In a way it reminds me of the Doomslayer from the DOOM games. An unspeaking protagonist that defies the odds, hits so far up his weight class that he's basically a god and how everyone they encounter has some form of praise for him.
<<<Yo Buddy, still alive?>>>
@ElPhoenix_015
" ... "
" You're a slave to history. "
" Even after calamity, you fight against the only order that can garuntee the safety of your people. "
" YOU solely are responsible for this. "
@standardissuetonk3846
say "borders" three times in the mirror and pixy will fire a nuke at your house
@thefelon8027
Borders, borders, borders. See! Nothing happ-
@blackman7166
@@thefelon8027sol 2 here, what’s up?
@iowasucks9494
If you yell out “THIS IS THE NIAD” at the top of your lungs 3 times at 3 am an evil creature called your mom will appear and will ground you
@Trigger1721
@@iowasucks9494 If you throw up on the bathroom floor at exactly 4:20am and then screech "Amongus" 69 times a mythical monster called "mom" will appear and beat you, you will then wake up in a strange place called "The orphanage"
@toonistiny
@@thefelon8027 <<Too bad, buddy.>>
@gabbyprincip1575
At this point I think the game drops all pretenses of being an arcade flight sim and straight up becomes a Devil May Cry boss fight
@cellokid5104
Accurate
@sovereign5091
YOU GOT NOTHING AND NOTHINGS GOT YOU
@MachineMan-mj4gj
"EAT MY SQUARE EXPLOSIONS!"