Recently a large bash in Tokyo was held for the 50th anniversary of Namco, one of the leading video game developer/publishers in the industry. Many industry luminaries where on hand to congratulate a company that reached such a memorable milestone, such as Konami's CEO Kagemasa Kozuki and Hiroshi Yamauchi, former Nintendo chairman. Bill Gates and Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi sent their well wishes via videotape. In his message, Mr. Kutaragi stated that "Namco's Ridge Racer series has driven the demand for the PlayStation and PSone to the tune of 100 million units worldwide."

Started in 1955 as Nakamura Factory, Namco was not known for its video games but as a manufacturer of fairground rides in Yokohama. During the 1970's Namco began acquiring several different toy brands from North America and branched out into the amusement and video game markets. The name Namco was adopted in 1977, and blasted to prominence three years later with the release of Pac-Man.

During the festivities, Namco announced that it will be opening a theme-park in Shanghai, China by 2010. However they plan to have much of the park operational by the time the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games commence. Visitors will be able to sample from hundreds of games and attractions during that time. Namco Chairman Mr. Nakamura also took the opportunity to show off some of the companies upcoming titles.