Masaya Nakamura, founder of Namco - passed away today. The news today, wanting clickable headlines billed this as he death of the Father of Pacman.
As an engineer I consider Toru Iwatani (the engineer who actually created PacMan) to be Pac's father figure.
Still, though Namco has been a pioneer in the amusement industry and Masaya Nakamura's vision for amusement gaming was felt in Namco throughout the golden age of arcade and even after he officially stepped down as CEO in 2002.
Our thoughts and well-wishes are with his family & friends. Thank you, Masaya Nakamura. Rest in Peace.