Namco’s first ever video game from 1978 is getting its first re-release this week
Gee Bee is also the first ever game created by Pac-Man designer Toru Iwatani
The first ever video game developed by Namco is getting re-released for the first time this week.
Gee Bee was originally released in arcades in 1978, and is getting its first ever home release as part of the Arcade Archives series by Hamster Corporation.
The game was designed by Toru Iwatani, who would go on to create Pac-Man, and was developed as a compromise because Iwatani wanted to manufacture pinball machines but Namco’s bosses weren’t keen on the idea.
Instead, Iwatani created Gee Bee, a video game inspired by Breakout but with pinball table elements such as bumpers, spinners and ‘NAMCO’ rollover letters.
The original game was played with a dial to move the numerous paddles. While the Arcade Archive version can replicate this to some degree with analogue stick controls, it also supports mouse controls for players who want extra accuracy.
To date, the Arcade Archives series – which started in 2014 – has seen the release of 487 arcade games (including its spin-off series ACA Neo Geo), with new arrivals coming every week.
In June the publisher launched a new series called Arcade Archive 2, which runs alongside Arcade Archives and adds extra functionality to each game.
The Arcade Archives versions of each game – including Gee Bee – are available on Switch and PS4, and feature Original Mode, Hi Score Mode (where you have to score as much as possible with a single credit) and Caravan Mode (where you have a 10-minute limit), with online rankings for each.
The Arcade Archives 2 versions, which are available on Switch 2, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, add more features including Time Attack Mode (where you have to finish the game as quickly as possible, regardless of score) and VRR support to ensure the game runs as accurately as possible.
