The man considered to be the father of "Pac-Man," Masaya Nakamura, has passed away. The founder of the company, Namco, died at the age of 91, last week on Jan 22. The rest of the world was officially informed of his death Monday via an announcement from Bandai Namco.

A lot of fans, who are thankful for Nakamura's contribution to the gaming industry, mourned his death through a number of touching tributes that were posted on different social websites. The circumstances of his death or any other personal details were not announced by Bandai Namco citing that it was the wish of his family to keep these things private, as per a report from Wired.

Nakamura originally founded Namco back in 1955. The company itself started out as an operator of children's rides, starting out with only two mechanical horses on a department store. The company soon grew when they went into making video games, with their first product being "Gee Bee" in 1978, and then "Galaxian" in 1979. The "Galaxian" video game elevated the company to being just a rides operator to being a true gaming powerhouse as it revolutionized the industry by being the first game to have RGB color graphics.

However, it wasn't until a year later, when "Pac-Man" was officially launched, that the company itself would become a household name. The video game, which was designed by Toru Iwatani, became so popular that it became a worldwide phenomenon that has reportedly been played more than a billion times. Guinness World Records even awarded "Pac-Man" as the most successful coin-operated arcade game in history back in 2008.

Namco later merged with the Japanese toy maker, Bandai, which is why the company is now called Bandai Namco. The new company has been responsible for several iconic franchises including "Dragon Ball," "Tekken," "Gundam," and "One Piece," to name a few. According to Mirror, Nakamura continued to hold an honorary position in the company until his death.

Tags: Masaya Nakamura Death Masaya Nakamura Pac-Man Father of Pac-Man