It is widely regarded as a classic of the golden age of arcade video games and one of the greatest video games of all time. The project became immensely popular around the company, with Namco's president Masaya Nakamura even taking interest.Īlthough early location tests were unsuccessful, Galaga received critical acclaim and went on to become one of the most successful arcade games, routinely appearing on Japanese and American arcade charts through 1987. Inspiration for the dual fighter mechanic was taken from a film that Yokoyama had seen prior to development, where a ship was captured using a large circular beam. Originally developed for the Namco Galaxian arcade board, it was instead shifted to a new system as suggested by Namco's Research and Development division. Initial planning took about two months to finish. Shigeru Yokoyama led development with a small team.
