Namco Almost 50, Ups Profit, Shows Taiko

Thanks to GameSpot for its short piece noting Namco is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a company, after it "started out small, building two wooden-horse rides on the rooftop of a department store in Yokohama", before it "released the arcade title Pac-Man [in 1980], which established a dominant position for the company in the gaming industry." IGN PS2 also has Namco's 2003 financial results, which were "higher than those of previous years", with a 8,500,000,000 yen (USD$75 million) profit, after "Soul Calibur 2 performed well worldwide, with the Taiko no Tatsujin drumming game crossing the two million mark across its four PS2 titles." The company's official E3 site has been showcasing its recently announced titles, including the newly unveiled Tekken 5, as well as the quietly shown U.S.-localized Taiko Drum Master, which 1UP notes "may be a hard sell to American gamers whose definition of 'rhythm action' begins and ends with the frenetic aerobics of Dance Dance Revolution", even notwithstanding increased American interest [free reg. req.] in taiko drumming.

Comments

Tekken tour still the best

[superpulpsicle]

I don't care if Tekken 5 is coming out. Tekken 4 blows, and 5 is on the same track if the article's right.

Let's bring back every damn character ever in a Tekken game. We should keep on accumulating, not lose a couple characters on every sequel.