The horse jumped over the moon, the story of Namco, part 9

Over the course of this series I talked about the importance that play had with the early success of Namco. President, and founder Masaya Nakamura saw opportunities in the changing economy decades before most of his peers. The company extended this philosophy of “creating play” to their arcades. Unlike other Japanese arcades which were referred to as “Game Centers” Namco called their sites “Play Centers” like Milaiya, Plabo, and Carrot. Each had their own look, their own theme, and branding. These were places where casual, or hardcore gamers could escape the pressures of the world by engaging in play in the truest sense of the word. They could enjoy any number of sports, fantasy, science fiction, or other unique experiences that Namco had created. The way Namco approached each arcade title was akin to the way The Walt Disney Company approached each attraction. All of these wonderful experience were contained within a larger themed environment.

Namco purchased, and operated play centers all around the world. They learned about what different countries enjoyed in gaming, and catered to them. In the United States they worked with the Universal group to put classic style arcades in their Florida park. Their arcades had a vintage feel but featured the latest games. The company had become a major player in the amusement industry in both Japan, and the US. They learned the importance of creating, and maintaining a themed environment. Any mall, any park could have rides, and attractions, but the ability for the park to create a storytelling narrative through the use of detailed themed locations elevated the experience. Walt Disney wanted to create a special place for families to enjoy. He took the best elements of amusement parks, boardwalks, World’s Expos, and pleasure gardens. His imagineers cleaned them up, made them family friendly, and created a superior experience with Disneyland in 1955. It set a standard that was copied the world over. The question was if Namco could follow in Disney’s footsteps? Moreover, could they create what would possibly be the first urban theme park? After all there was a big difference between setting up a few play centers in a themed building, and creating an entire theme park around gaming in the heart of a big city. How would the studio accomplish this?

Before Disneyland opened Walt Disney had already established a series of cartoon, and comic book hits. These characters were destined to become mascots in the young park. Walt’s name was synonymous with pop culture going back to the 1920’s. By the time Disneyland opened 32 years after the founding of the Disney Bros. Studio there was an entire generation that had been raised on his IP. They had Mickey Mouse toys in their crib, wore clothes, and sneakers featuring the iconic mouse, followed along with his antics in movie theaters, comic books, and radio serials. When they were adults, and had children of their own they were eager to share the magic of the Disney brand with a new type of park. Masaya Nakamura, and Namco walked a similar path. The company had launched in 1955, and by 1994 they were ready to open their own theme park as well. There was a generation that had been raised on their rides, and games. There was a generation that celebrated Pac-Man, and Mappy with the same amount of love that the previous generation had for Mickey, and Minnie. These fans were getting older, their tastes were becoming more sophisticated, they were eager to experience the next evolution in play.

Namco had a deep library from which to pull new experiences from. The studio had teased the idea of creating a park with multiple themed areas, such as a labyrinth area inspired by Pac-Man, a race car track inspired by Pole Position, a fantasy area inspired by the Babylonian castle series, a horror themed area inspired by Golly Ghost!, and a science fiction area inspired by the UGSF universe. Drawing concept pieces in their self published NG magazine was one thing, but building an actual park was going to take considerably more time, and money. The good news for them that they had already built two theme park attractions for the World Expo ’90. They had disassembled them, but didn’t destroy them. They would be able to relocate, and build around them. Of course they needed to figure out where they would move the Tower of Druaga, and Galaxian³ “Hyper Entertainment” attractions. Real estate was at a premium in Japan, especially in the most populated cities. It would be less expensive to build any sort of business, or center if there was prepared land available for lease or purchase. 

Namco didn’t want to build too far from a major city, or train station. Parks that were difficult to reach didn’t last very long in the amusement industry. There was a reason why Tokyo Disneyland, and Tokyo DisneySea were built on reclaimed land from Tokyo Bay, it was far less expensive to purchase, and develop than anywhere near central Tokyo. At the same time both parks, and the surrounding hotels were easily accessible by light rail for tourists, and families. In the early ‘90s Namco discovered a perfect place to build their own park, Futakotamagawa Garden in the southern Tokyo ward of Setagaya-ku. It was colloquially referred to as “Futako” or “Nikotama,” the latter coming from an alternate reading of the first three kanji characters in the name. I think this location was selected thanks to Shigeki Toyama. It was the park that he used to work at when he was younger, and that featured a roller coaster designed by his grandfather Tokio. Namco would build in roughly in the same place of the amusement park, which was in operation from 1922 to 1985. The coaster, and various attractions had long since been torn down by the time Namco got their hands on the property.

The company had a name for their massive undertaking. They called their urban theme park Wonder Eggs. It was proposed to be unlike any other theme park before, and would challenge the other arcade titans to step up. I would argue that the work Namco put into Wonder Eggs would make Sega pursue their own Joypolis amusement centers. Wonder Eggs was designed to be a temporary urban theme park. Namco would build, run, and disassemble the park within a few years. I do not know whether this was an arrangement with the lease, or a business decision from the top. In either case it was meant to be a unique experience for visitors. The Disney parks domestically, and overseas were in a constant struggle to keep themselves fresh for visitors. Walt would say he was “plussing” the park by reinvesting in the individual attractions, and themed areas of Disneyland. These sometimes minor additions in the queues, restaurants, rides, and staff left visitors with a favorable impression. They could see, and feel that the park was not becoming stale or outdated. It was the gold standard that all other parks would be measured against. Namco did not have ambitions to challenge Disney, or Universal in the theme park arena. The company did however want to show that they could create something equally memorable in a short span of time. They would be willing to redo two of their standout attractions, and turn the temporary structures from the expo into more permanent buildings.

Namco challenged their staff to go far beyond the work that they had put into the World’s Expo. They saw first hand how quickly the entertainment industry evolved between Expo ’85, and Expo ’90. The technology used with their own video games jumped exponentially in that time. They had moved from 2D sprite art into 3D polygons within their arcade hits. The company knew that unless their attractions kept pace with these changes then they would become stagnant within a few years. Setting an end date for Wonder Eggs would prevent them from hemorrhaging money on upkeep, “plussing” or developing new rides. The initial goal was for Wonder Eggs to run for about four years. Similar to an Olympics, or World Cup. What happened instead was the park ran for eight years, and brought in almost 15 million visitors. To be fair Tokyo Disneyland had about 16 million visitors a year in the early ‘90s, however that park was massive by comparison, and had been in operation since 1983. I would argue that Namco managed to do much more with less, and in a shorter amount of time. In fact Wonder Eggs was so successful that it ended up having a sister park built right next door within two years. To put it in context Disney California Adventure opened in 2001 across from Disneyland. This was 46 years after Disneyland began operations. Tokyo Disney Sea also debuted in 2001, some 18 years after Tokyo Disneyland opened their gates.

Namco certainly had a hit on their hands, but it was much more than being in the right place, at the right time. The philosophy of play that Masaya Nakamura cultivated had a lot to do with it. It was embraced by his company, and allowed his staff to reach into the psyche of visitors, and give them experiences they never knew were possible. In fact some of the attractions were never equalled, and others are barely being matched by the titans of theme parks some 30 years later. We will look at the phases of the urban theme park in the next blog. Were there any unique theme parks, or amusement parks that you visited as a kid? Are there any around these days that you still visit? Please tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Wonder Eggs, and Egg Empire research collected from: Wonder Eggs Guide Map, Namco Graffiti magazine, the book “All About Namco II", NOURS magazine, The Namco Museum, Namco Wiki, Ge-Yume Area 51 Shigeki Toyama Collection, mcSister magazine, first person attraction details from Yoshiki. Event details from Hole in the Socks