- For other uses of Namco, see Namco (disambiguation).
Namco Networks America, Inc. was an American company based in San Jose, California. The company was founded in 2006, being split off from Namco-America (now known as Bandai Namco Amusement America) as a result of the formation of Bandai Namco Holdings. The company ceased operations in 2011, being merged back into Namco Bandai Games America (now known as Bandai Namco Entertainment America).
History[]
Beginning in 2003, Namco-America - a company who otherwise solely focused on the arcade industry - began releasing mobile games for the then-new mobile phone market. Following the forming of Bandai Namco Holdings, the mobile team at Namco-America was split into a separate subsidiary known as Namco Networks America, Inc.; the new company was formed on January 1st, 2006.[1] Some parts of Namco Hometek (a company which was effectively shut down amidst the Namco-Bandai merger) would also be merged into the Namco Networks company.
Namco Networks was designed to be a fully mobile-focused subsidiary of Namco.[1] Effectively all branding used for Namco-America's mobile operations were retained, though new game titles were also produced. Namco Networks would also open a shopping website known as "clubNAMCO", which sold various pieces of Pac-Man merchandise.[2]
In May of 2006, Namco Networks released Super Pac-Man on mobile devices; a giveaway of a customized, Pac-Man-themed Volkswagen New Beetle was held to promote the game.[3] In September of 2006, Namco Networks began production on games for iPod devices, including a newly-developed port of Pac-Man.[4] In 2008, Namco Networks would launch Pac-Man titles on the App Store (for iPhone and iPod Touch) and for BlackBerry devices.[5][6] Shortly thereafter, Namco Networks released Pac-Man for the first commercial Android device;[7] this also resulted in Pac-Man being the first video game on the Android platform.[8]
In 2009, Namco Networks began producing casual PC games in addition to their mobile output; these included both downloadable titles and in-browser Adobe Flash games. In August of 2010, Namco Networks was merged into Namco Bandai Games America;[9] most Namco Networks titles continued official distribution (under different publishing) until 2015, in which a large bulk of them were delisted.[10]
Pac-Man releases[]
Note that many titles are republished from Namco-America and/or Namco of Japan.
Mobile games and applications[]
For further information, see Pac-Man mobile games.
| Name | Platforms |
|---|---|
| Pac-Man (2001, 2006-2008) | J2ME/BREW, BlackBerry, Android, iOS, iPod, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Windows Mobile-based smartphone |
| Ms. Pac-Man (2001, 2006-2008) | J2ME/BREW, BlackBerry, Android, iOS, iPod, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Windows Mobile-based smartphone |
| Pac-Man Casino Card Game Pack (2003, 2006) | J2ME/BREW, BlackBerry |
| Pac-Man Casino Slots Pack (2003, 2006) | J2ME/BREW |
| Ms. Pac-Man for Prizes (2004, 2006) | J2ME/BREW |
| Pac-Man Bowling (2004, 2006) | J2ME/BREW |
| Pac-Man Puzzle (2004, 2006) | J2ME/BREW, BlackBerry |
| PAC-Match! (2004, 2006) | J2ME/BREW |
| Game Tones (2004, 2006) | J2ME/BREW |
| Pac-Man Pinball (2005, 2006) | J2ME/BREW, BlackBerry |
| Pac-Mania (2005, 2006) | J2ME/BREW, iOS |
| Pac-Man's Arcade Corner (2005, 2006) | BREW |
| Super Pac-Man (2006) | J2ME/BREW, BlackBerry, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Windows Mobile-based smartphone |
| Pac-Man Plus (2007) | J2ME |
| Pac-Man Fever (2007) | J2ME/BREW |
| Ms. Pac-Man Fever (2007) | J2ME/BREW |
| Pac-Man Arcade Golf (2008) | J2ME/BREW |
| Pac-Man Pinball Deluxe (2008) | J2ME/BREW |
| Pac-Man Championship Edition (2009-2010) | J2ME/BREW, Android, iOS |
| Pac-Man Remix (2009) | iOS |
| Pac-Match Party (2010) | iOS |
| Namco Games Portal (2010) | iOS |
| Pac-Chain (2010) | iOS |
| Pac-Attack (2010) | iOS |
| Pac-Man Kart Rally (2010) | J2ME/BREW, Android |
| Letter Labyrinth: Pac-Man Edition (2010) | iOS |
| Pac-Man Battle Royale (2011) | iOS |
Others[]
| Name | Platforms |
|---|---|
| Namco All-Stars: Pac-Man (2009) | PC (downloadable) |
| Namco All-Stars: Pac-Man and Dig Dug (2009) | PC (downloadable) |
| Pac-Mania (2009) | Zeebo |
| Pac-Man Pizza Parlor (2010) | PC (downloadable) |
| Pac-Match Party (2010) | PC (web browser-based) |
Trivia[]
- Across Namco Networks press releases, the company is inconsistently labeled as being either a subsidiary of Namco-America or a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Games America; both of which are separate entities.
- Alongside Namco-based titles, Namco Networks also released licensed mobile/PC ports of games from other publishers. Notable examples include Cooking Mama, BurgerTime, Mr. Do!, and the Popeye arcade game.
- In the late 2000s, Namco Networks ran baseball-themed Pac-Man animations on the monitor screens in the San Jose Municipal Stadium (now known as the Excite Ballpark); with themed sequences for when a team scored a single, double, triple, or home run. Each animation ends in a static advertisement for a Namco mobile game.[11]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20060509003235/http://www.namcogames.com/pressDetails.php?id=39
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20060509003303/http://www.namcogames.com/pressDetails.php?id=43
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20061116180035/http://www.namcogames.com/pressDetails.php?id=45
- ↑ https://www.macworld.com/article/181554/ipodgames.html
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/07/10/pac-man-and-ms-pac-man-chomp-their-way-into-apples-new-app-store
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20181006035144/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080714005233/en/PAC-MAN-Fever-BlackBerry-Smartphones
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/09/23/pac-man-chases-pesky-ghosts-onto-first-android-powered-device
- ↑ "Google's Android operating system launched yesterday with a decidedly underwhelming games line-up of, er, just Pac-Man." https://kotaku.com/gameloft-glu-announce-android-games-452594236
- ↑ https://venturebeat.com/games/digital-game-transition-drives-a-reorg-at-namco-bandais-u-s-operations/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150315134357/http://pacman.com/en/pac-man-news/pac-man-game-news/important-notice-of-service-termination
- ↑ YouTube uploads of the animations: single, double, triple, home run