Bandai Namco’s “Mr. Dotman” Hiroshi Ono Has Passed Away

Hiroshi Ono, the legendary pixel artist responsible for creating the in-game visuals for Bandai Namco’s arcade classics like Pac-Man, Xevious, Galaga, and Dig Dug, has passed away. He was 64.

Ono passed away on 16 October due to a long-standing illness. The artist is legendary with his Namco works from 1979 to 2013, with his many artworks, logo designs, and cabinet illustrations defining the aesthetics of Namco/Bandai Namco’s legacy machines.

Basically, he made Pac-Man and Dig Dug stand out and influence many in the golden age of arcade gaming. There were a ton of arcade machines out there in that era, so making artwork and displays that stood out was a heckuva tough job.

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RIP, Mr. Ono. Thank you for your massive contribution to video game culture and history.