Father of Pac-Man, Masaya Nakamura, Dead at 91

Masaya Nakamura—known as the "Father of Pac-Man"—died on Jan. 22 at the age of 91, Namco announced today. The businessman was a pioneer in the Japanese arcade gaming industry and founded video game developer and publisher company Namco in 1955.

Pac-Man, created by Namco engineer and video game designer Toru Iwatani, was first introduced to the world in 1980. At the time, the yellow guy with the big chomper only had competition with space shooter games like Space Invaders and Asteroids. It soon became one of the most iconic faces in both the video arcade world and pop culture.