It was a good move for a company asserting a more global presence, and Namco is now recognisable worldwide as one of the biggest names in console and arcade gaming. The series of five titles (a sixth was only released in Japan) included games that either had extremely limited release outside of Japan or were originally distributed by companies like Midway or Atari Games with the Namco name being completely absent.

For many outside of Japan, it was the first time the Namco brand was associated with these games. When it was originally released on the Sony Playstation, the Namco Museum series joined a few other collections of emulated or ported classic arcade games thanks to the Playstation having enough horsepower to accurately present these titles coupled with the generation of gamers that grew up with them being old and wistful enough to spend money on video game nostalgia. Released at the end of the Gamecube's life to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Namco (a company whose humble origins in the mid-1950s saw it making department store coin-op kiddie rides), Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary is a pretty big disappointment considering the history of the Namco Museum series as well as the company that it's supposed to celebrate.

Namco is a company with one of the most impressive back catalogues in video games and is now one of the biggest names in home entertainment following a successful merger with toy and anime company Bandai five years ago.

Namco museum 50th gamecube