|
 Company: Namco Networks America, San Jose, CA
Entry Submitted By: VisiTech PR
Company Description: Since 2002, Namco Networks America Inc., a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings (USA) Inc. and a worldwide leader in the high-tech entertainment industry, has used cutting-edge technology to provide fun, quality entertainment to mobile consumers throughout the Americas. For more information about Namco mobile games, please visit www.namcogames.com.
Nomination Category: Creative Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Creative Organization/Department
Nomination Title: Namco Networks America
- Tell the story about what this nominated organization/department achieved since January 1 2007 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Often in business, companies look to bring in a variety of outside influences,
whether it’s a motivational speaker or unique bean bag furniture, to inspire
creativity among employees, proving only that the team itself lacks the
imaginative spirit required to be truly creative. At Namco Networks, a leading
publisher of mobile games and entertainment, creativity isn’t a state of mind
that the company attempts to occasionally inspire with the latest motivational
fad; creativity is what they do for a living. Exhibiting creativity is more
than keeping the work environment fun, employees happy and inspiring out-of-box
thinking. For Namco, creativity is the lifeblood that drives the company’s
success. Without it, Namco’s products and, subsequently, its business would
actually suffer.
Namco understands that in order to make inspired and fun games, everyone
involved in the product from beginning to completion must fundamentally agree
that creativity is at the core of what is being produced. Each employee on a
production plays an invaluable role. Whether it’s the marketer, the producer,
the designer or the engineer, everyone contributes to the overall vision of the
game. A designer can come up with a revolutionary idea, but without the
engineer’s input, it may not translate into a great mobile game. Without the
help of imaginative marketing, the game wouldn’t get into the public’s hands.
To maintain a respect for the importance of creativity, employees are
encouraged to put a creative spin on everything they do, resulting in
delightfully unexpected results. Company functions become more than just cake
and punch when the events team insists that the summer 2007 company party must
be a 1920’s Prohibition gambling saloon, and employees gladly dress up in
costume and gamble the night away. Or, that Namco Networks’ 2nd two-year (aka
four-year) birthday would be 16 themed children’s birthday parties in one big
room, with employees fighting to sit at the coveted Transformers table and
obtain their Transformers gift bag (whereas My Little Pony table was not nearly
as popular). At consumer trade shows, Namco Networks doesn’t bring a
conventional exhibit; they build a 1980’s graffiti covered arcade, complete
with arcade machines and old school payphones that, on closer inspection, house
cellphones loaded with PAC-MAN and other retro-inspired mobile games.
Due to its core business, Namco attracts naturally imaginative employees who
are drawn to the work of creating fun. Namco employees are people who in their
spare time create artwork, do stand-up, join a band, and work on the next great
American novel. When was the last time you saw an executive wearing a PAC-MAN
plush hat, rockin’ out to “Dani California” while playing Rock Band? There is
no on/off switch to Namco’s employees’ creativity; instead it encompasses
everything they do both at work and in life.
Each day, the team comes into the office with one question in mind: “Are we
here to play or are we here to work?” Naturally, with the culture of Namco and
their day-to-day work, many employees would say “Both!”—“We play to work.”
- List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
http://mobile.gamezone.com/news/10_19_07_09_57AM.htm
http://www.namcogames.com
http://www.gamersreports.com/media/1070
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/19/namco-brings-back-classics
http://www.cnettv.com/9742-1_53-29328.html
- Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated organization/department:
Kenji Hisatsune has overseen dramatic success in the wireless and arcade
divisions since becoming COO of Namco America nine years ago. Hisatsune
established the wireless content division in 2001, leading the division to an
annual growth rate of 400 percent.
|
