March 31st, 2021, was the last day of Namco USA's operation. Covid hit the gaming industry hard, arcades even moreso. In Namco's case, to the tune of 13 billion yen, or about $120 million USD. Even with such an incredible pioneer of the medium, Namco simply could not last through the pandemic. Many of you likely haven't even heard this news. It's being buried, intentionally so. But no, this isn't a late April Fool's joke; Namco has officially shut down, and the company no longer exists.
...Now, let me clarify here. There are still technically "Namcos" out there; but those are all Bandai Namcos. Not that classy, red lowercase Namco; the ones remaining are the nasty, ketchup-mustard smear Namcos. The Namco which just closed was the final remaining "standard" Namco, which was still running through the decades up until now.
So, what did Namco USA do, and what will this effect in the future? Basically, this particular Namco operated arcades and other amusement facilities around the United States. These include a lot of popular 80s and 90s arcades, like Time Out and Aladdin's Castle; that's also why later Time Out locations had Pac-Man in their logo, if you're curious. Though of course, those examples are far past their prime; Namco USA's most recent success was with a chain of Pac-Man-branded arcades. They were known under a variety of names, with the most prominently used being "Pac-Man Play" and "Pac-Man Zone".
These arcades were...a mixed bag, to say the least. They were very small, generally found in strip malls. Despite the branding, there wasn't really anything especially "Pac-Man-ey" about them - they had the logo, they could have a beat-up Pac-Man machine if you're lucky, but not much else. I have seen multiple counts of these arcades not having a single Pac-Man game in them; not even a junky ticket-redemption one. There were definitely some cool ones though; a few even had big Pac-Man statues in the front, standing atop the four ghosts, and a decent selection of Pac-Man games.
However, one arcade stood far above the rest. "Pac-Man Entertainment", originally known under the way cooler name "Level 257". This location was much bigger, and was basically a Dave & Buster's wannabe. It had a full restaurant, bowling lanes, and of course, an arcade area. But Pac-Man Entertainment did the Pac-Man theming justice. There were glass cases of Pac-Man memorabilia. There was a giant Pac-Man statue made of Legos. And they had all the games, including Jr. Pac-Man and Baby Pac-Man. (Not Ms. Pac-Man, though. Go figure.)
Truthfully, though, I...never went to a single one of these arcades. They were all too far away. The closest one was a "Pocket Change", which was still a 75 mile drive; and at that point, I decided going to Round1 was the better option. The only Namco-operated places I've ever been to are a few movie theaters, which had Pac-Man Play-branded claw machines in the front. So basically, I've...missed my chance now. Not that I was missing out much in the first place...
As of writing this, the Pac-Man arcades are undergoing extreme rebranding, sneakily so. You see, Namco USA sold every location, split across three mysterious companies. Additionally, Namco has confirmed that they had no prior connection to any of them. The "namco.com" website is gone. The "pacmanplay.com" website is now a video of a cat tripping, for some reason. And "pacmanentertainment.com" is...still up, actually. But believe me, it's gone too. Poor customers on their Facebook page have confirmed that the Lego Pac-Man statue, all of the wall decorations, and EVERY SINGLE GAME, have already been removed. The only thing left is the name itself, and the maze-themed carpeting; which I'm sure will both be changed in due time.
So, what will happen from here? From what I hear, Bandai Namco will still produce arcade machines (under the "Bandai Namco Amusement" name); though I can't help but presume that it will be on a smaller scale. Full-scale arcade locations are gone, and will probably never return. Everything else will remain the same, and our slump of horrible Pizza Hut Pac-Man games will continue.
Really, though, it's not about what will happen that bothers me; it's about the Namco name in itself. The Namco name is engraved in my mind. Namco Museum; Namco All-Stars; the Japanese wordplay of "7650". It symbolizes a different time, a different era. And the last remnant of it, not coated in smeared Bandai condiments, is gone. It's just weird to think about.
Ireallydontcare123456789 (talk) 19:52, 3 April 2021 (UTC)Ireallydontcare123456789