Arcade system Namco Warp & Warp Developer Namco Platform Arcade game | Initial release date 1978 Designer Toru Iwatani Publishers Namco, Gremlin Industries | |
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Release date(s) JP: October 1978
NA: 1978 Genre(s) Pinball,
Breakout clone Mode(s) Up to 2 players, alternating turns Cabinet Upright, cabaret, and cocktail CPU 1x Intel 8080 @ 2.048 MHz Similar Toru Iwatani games, Breakout clones, Other games | ||
Gee Bee (ジービー, Jī Bī) is Namco's first internally designed arcade game, released in 1978, and licensed to Gremlin Industries for US manufacture and distribution. It was designed by Tōru Iwatani, who later went on to create Pac-Man, and Libble Rabble. When it was released in the United States by Gremlin Industries, they replaced the "NAMCO" lettering on the light-up bumpers with their distinctive "G" logo.
This is a combination of a pinball-style game with that of a ball-and-paddle game where the player bounces a ball into blocks. The goal of the game is to keep the ball from falling off the bottom of the screen for as long as possible and get the high score. Two "replays" (extra credits) will also be awarded at preset point values, depending on how the cabinet is set.
There were two sequels, Bomb Bee and Cutie Q, which were also designed by Iwatani and released in the following year. The second of these was also the first game from Namco to award an extra life at a preset point value, instead of a credit.
