Arcade game maker Midway introduces the coin-op video game Galaxian in American arcades. The game, originated in Japan by Namco, is the first entry in a fruitful relationship between the two companies; another game in the works at Namco will prove to be huge windfall for Midway in 1980. 
Under license from Namco, the game’s Japanese originators, Midway Manufacturing introduces the obsession that is Pac-Man to American arcades. Titled Puck-Man in its homeland (due to the yellow character’s resemblance to a round hockey puck), Midway swaps vowels for fear that vandals will turn the letter P into an F on the arcade cabinets. With its cute characters and instinctive game play, Pac-Man catches on immediately, propelling the video game industry into overdrive.
Arcade game maker Midway introduces the coin-op video game Rally-X in American arcades. The game, originated in Japan by Namco, is rolled out at a 1980 trade show for amusement and arcade machine operators alongside another Namco/Midway import, Pac-Man. With its more-accessible-to-mainstream-America race car elements, Rally-X is considered the hot favorite of the two, possibly a major hit in the making.
Namco releases the arcade video game King & Balloon, a shooter game with cute characters and a medieval setting, with early speech synthesis. Though the game becomes a staple of the company’s later arcade compilations on home consoles over a decade later, it does not gain a wide following in arcades.
Better known for making jukeboxes and speakers, Rock-Ola dips its toes into the video game industry by releasing Warp Warp in the United States. The arcade game, originated in Japan by Namco, features cute, colorful characters in a maze setting, not entirely unlike Pac-Man, but fails to catch on in American arcades.
Midway releases the arcade video game Bosconian, licensed from Namco, the Japanese developers behind Pac-Man and Galaga.
Atari releases the Namco-developed arcade video game Dig Dug in the United States. The game’s release is accompanied by an elaborate theatrical trailer, a rarity for any video game, then or now.
Midway releases the arcade video game Super Pac-Man, licensed from Namco, the Japanese developers behind Pac-Man, of which this game is a direct sequel.
Japanese video game maker Namco releases Pole Position in the United States by way of American licensee Atari. Quickly gaining popularity in arcades, Pole Position marks one of the first “meta” moments in video games, featuring briefly-glimpsed billboards advertising other games by the same manufacturer.
Atari releases the arcade video game Xevious, licensed from Namco, the Japanese developers behind Pac-Man.
Midway releases the arcade video game Mappy, licensed from Namco, the Japanese developers behind Pac-Man.
Midway releases the arcade video game Pac ‘N’ Pal, licensed from Namco, the Japanese developers behind Pac-Man, of which this game is a loose sequel.
Atari’s arcade game Pole Position II, originated by Japanese manufacturer Namco, is released in the United States. A sequel to the hit racing game Pole Position, this game adds new tracks and improved graphics.
Atari releases the arcade video game TX-1, licensed from Namco (which itself licensed the game from another Japanese manufacturer). This game is available only in a massive “cockpit” big enough to accommodate three CRT screens.
Scitron Digital releases the album Namco Video Game Music, collecting recordings of music and sounds from the company’s classic arcade games.
Atari Games releases the arcade video game Pac-Mania, licensed from Namco, the Japanese developers behind Pac-Man, of which this game is an isometric 3-D remake.
Apollon Music, via its Compusic imprint, releases the album This Is Namco!, reinterpreting video game music from the celebrated game manufacturer’s back catalog.
Namco releases the arcade compilation Namco Museum Volume 2 for the Sony Playstation, including the ’80s arcade hits Gaplus, Mappy, and Xevious. (This is the Japanese release; the same title will be released in North America later in the year, with a slightly different lineup of games.)
Namco releases the arcade compilation Namco Museum Volume 1 for the Sony Playstation, including the ’80s arcade hits Pac-Man, Galaga, Pole Position, and Bosconian. (The same title was released to the Japanese market in 1995.)
Namco releases the arcade compilation Namco Museum Volume 3 for the Sony Playstation, including the ’80s arcade hits Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Dig Dug, and Pole Position II. (The same title was released to the Japanese market the previous year, with the same lineup of games.)
Namco releases the arcade compilation Namco Museum Volume 4 for the Sony Playstation, including the ’80s arcade games Pac-Land, Ordyne, and others. (The same title was released to the Japanese market the previous year, with the same lineup of games.)
Pony Canyon releases the remix album Xevious 3D/G+, featuring remixes of the music from the recently-released game.
Namco releases the arcade compilation Namco Museum Encore in Japan for the Sony Playstation, including the ’80s arcade games Motos, King & Balloon, and others. (This volume is not released in North America.)
Namco releases the arcade compilation Namco Museum Volume 5 for the Sony Playstation, including the ’80s arcade games Pac-Mania, Baraduke, and others. (The same title was released to the Japanese market earlier in the year, with the same lineup of games.)
Wonder Spirits releases the soundtrack from the arcade game Namco Classic Collection Volume 1.
Pony Canyon releases the album Namco Classic Collection, new remixes and compositions based on music from Namco’s classic arcade games.
Scitron Digital releases an EP of remixes of music from the video game Super Xevious by Haruomi Hosono (Yellow Magic Orchestra).
Columbia Records Japan releases the soundtrack album from the Playstation 2 game Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy (translation: We Love Katamari). In the wake of the critical acclaim for the original game’s music and its soundtrack album, anticipation for this game’s soundtrack is high.
Columbia Japan releases the soundtrack album The Complete Sounds Of Katamari, with selections from (and paying tribute to) the first three Katamari Damacy video games.
Masaya Nakamura, the founder of pioneering Japanese video game maker Namco, dies at the age of 91. Founded in 1955 as Nakamura Manufacturing Co., Namco was an early proponent of video game development in Japan, though it saw its earliest successes as the Japanese distributor of Atari arcade games imported from the U.S. After moderately successful early coin-ops such as Gee Bee, Namco quickly established itself as a global powerhouse with the release of such perennial classics as Pac-Man, Galaxian, Galaga, Dig Dug, Pole Position, and Xevious, among many others. Namco’s growth in the 1980s was so explosive that it absorbed Japanese film studio Nikkatsu in 1993 (several of whose titles Nakamura oversaw as executive producer), and later merged with Bandai in 2005.