Masaya Nakamura, the main creator of popular video game Pac-Man, has died aged 91, according to a statement from the company Bandai Namco Entertainment.

The former chairperson of Namco, the predecessor company to Bandai Namco, died on Jan 22, it was announced yesterday.

Bandai Namco did not give the cause of his death or any other personal details.

Nakamura founded Namco in 1955 and started his career at the company building installations at department stores in Japan, Bandai Namco said in a statement.

He then launched Pac-Man, designed by company engineer Toru Iwatani, as an arcade game in 1980. The product went on to become a global hit while Nakamura became known as the Father of Pac-Man.

"I never thought it would be this big," Nakamura said later, in an interview with Pac-Man Museum.

Nakamura was pleased with the worldwide hit, but said he was worried about the way some people spent too much time on it.

"I am a little concerned about the way some young people play it so much," Nakamura said.

"It's not a very happy thing to see people spending so much time on it. Once it goes beyond a certain level, it is not good for young people."

Pac-Man did, at one stage, hold the title as the world's most successful arcade game in the Guinness Book of Records.

Nakamura, born in Tokyo on Dec 24, 1925, graduated from what is now Yokohama National University, majoring in shipbuilding, the company said.

- dpa