In 1979 engineers throughout the company are teamed together to create the company’s first internally designed videogame, including the planner of the game, Kazunori Sawano, assisted by Akira Takundai and Hurashi Nagumo. The company name is changed to Namco in 1972, and they establish a videogame presence with the purchase of the Japanese subsidiary of Atari Inc. In 1966 they begin licensing Disney characters for their rides. In 1955, Nakamura Manufacturing Company of Tokyo, Japan is founded by Masaya Nakamura as an installer and operator of merry-go-rounds perched atop a department store in Yokohama.
