Not to be confused for Namco Limited or Namco Hometek. For other uses of Namco, see Namco (disambiguation).
Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly known as Namco Bandai Games, is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, and is based in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 2006 after the merge between Bandai and Namco, it is the main video game division of Bandai Namco Holdings. The company's U.S. branch is Bandai Namco Entertainment America, the successor to Namco Hometek.
History[]
Japanese headquarters (general)[]
In May of 2005, it was publicly announced that Bandai Co., Ltd. - a large company in the toy industry - was going to merge with the video game company Namco Limited. While some reports claim that Bandai "bought out" Namco entirely (to a total of $1.7 billion USD), the agreement was mutual between both companies; though Bandai held a slight majority ownership (57 percent compared to Namco's 43 percent).[1][2] Bandai Namco Holdings was officially founded on September 29th, 2005. By April of 2006, Namco Limited had merged with Bandai's video game division, forming the Namco Bandai Games company.
In 2014, for unknown reasons, Namco Bandai Games changed their company name to "Bandai Namco Games"; in 2015, the name was changed again to Bandai Namco Entertainment. In 2022, the company's logo had its design changed, and now only reads "Bandai Namco" (though the internal company name still retains "Entertainment").
Japanese headquarters (Pac-Man development)[]
The Pac-Man series continued production under the Namco-Bandai merger; though was quickly impacted by the legal issues surrounding Ms. Pac-Man, which caused serious issues for the Pac-Man IP. Ms. Pac-Man, as well as the majority of other games/characters created under Bally Midway's ownership, were largely phased out under Namco Bandai's control. In 2007, Namco Bandai released Pac-Man Championship Edition for the Xbox 360; this was followed by several Namco Museum compilations, including the Wii game Namco Museum Remix. Championship Edition in particular was a very successful game, and was later followed by Pac-Man Championship Edition DX in 2010.
In or around 2009, Namco Bandai formed plans for a "reboot" of Pac-Man World. This project was canceled for unknown reasons, though much of its development team would later work on the 2010 Wii game Pac-Man Party. Another successor to Pac-Man Championship Edition - oddly, also titled "Pac-Man Party" - was also planned for the Xbox 360; this title was ultimately reworked into the arcade game Pac-Man Battle Royale, which was only published by Namco-America.
The concept of a full reboot for Pac-Man would still see fruition, in the form of the TV series Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. Namco Bandai was considered a co-producer on the project (alongside 41 Entertainment), and distributed the series in Japan. While met with initial success, the Ghostly Adventures series was short-lived; by 2016, Pac-Man had largely reverted back to using the original series' motifs. Namco Bandai had also begun producing the Super Smash Bros. series in the early 2010s, in conjunction with Sora Ltd. and Nintendo; Pac-Man has become a recurring fighter in the franchise, utilizing his "classic" design.
In 2015, Bandai Namco greenlit the Namco Catalog IP project, allowing developers to use the Pac-Man IP for mobile and web-based software; this program lasted until 2018. At some point in the later 2010s, Bandai Namco formed a team solely for Pac-Man development; often led by a "Chief PAC-MAN Officer", which occasionally changes position. Bandai Namco continues to produce Pac-Man games to this day, and he is still recognized as the company's official mascot.
Subsidiaries[]
Other notable subsidiaries of Bandai Namco Holdings include:
- Bandai Namco Entertainment America (2006-present) - Superseded Namco Hometek as the American home video game branch; Hometek underwent numerous issues due to the Namco-Bandai merger. Some early BNEA releases (including Pac-Man World Rally) were carry-overs of Namco Hometek-commissioned games; otherwise, the company's post-2006 output is largely localized versions of titles from the Japanese division.
- Bandai Namco Studios (2012-present) - A separate video game development company, headquartered in Japan with additional offices in Malaysia and Singapore. Bandai Namco Studios developed games such as Pac-Man Championship Edition 2.
- Bandai Namco Amusement (2006 [?]-present) - Handles VR attractions, arcade machine production, arcade locations, amusement parks, and other retail locations in Japan.
- Bandai Namco Amusement America (1978-present) - Produces arcade machines for the U.S. market; formerly Namco-America; the company was renamed to use the Bandai name in 2014.
- Namco USA (1990-2021) - Operated arcade locations in the United States; remained almost entirely unchanged from the Namco-Bandai merger, before being shut down in 2021.
- Namco Networks (2006-2011) - A short-lived company focused on mobile phone software, spun-off from Namco-America's mobile development.
Trivia[]
- Similar to Namco Hometek's output, many of Bandai Namco's published Pac-Man games were not actually developed by the company. Some of these are effectively "ghost developers", and are not credited within the games themselves; examples include TOSE, Gotch Technology, and Mine Loader Software. Pac-Man World Re-Pac and Pac-Man Museum + were developed by Now Production, who is credited in-game.
- Possibly by coincidence, the colors of the pre-2022 Bandai Namco logos are the same trademark colors of Pac-Man (yellow, orange, and red).
Gallery[]
Logos[]
References[]
External Links[]
- Bandai Namco Wiki (FANDOM)