<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Toru	O
Iwatani	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
creator	O
of	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
and	O
Pole	B-Application
Position	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gee	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
video	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
designed	O
in-house	O
by	O
Namco	O
–	O
prior	O
to	O
this	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
had	O
manufactured	O
arcade	O
electro-mechanical	O
games	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Periscope	O
and	O
F-1	B-Application
)	O
and	O
published	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
video	O
games	O
by	O
Atari	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
(	O
notably	O
Breakout	B-Application
)	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Iwatani	O
originally	O
wanted	O
to	O
produce	O
pinball	B-Application
machines	O
for	O
the	O
company	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
higher-ups	O
at	O
Namco	O
disapproved	O
of	O
the	O
idea	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
compromise	O
,	O
Iwatani	O
instead	O
made	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
with	O
pinball-elements	O
,	O
combined	O
with	O
mechanics	O
established	O
in	O
Breakout	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gee	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
was	O
the	O
eighth	O
highest-grossing	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1978	I-Application
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
and	O
sold	O
10,000	O
units	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
sequels	O
were	O
produced	O
in	O
1979	O
,	O
Bomb	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
and	O
Cutie	B-Application
Q	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gee	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
is	O
a	O
block	B-Application
breaker	I-Application
arcade	O
game	O
intermixed	O
with	O
elements	O
of	O
a	O
pinball	B-Application
table	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
uses	O
a	O
rotary	O
dial	O
to	O
control	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
paddles	O
on-screen	O
,	O
the	O
objective	O
being	O
to	O
score	O
as	O
many	O
points	O
as	O
possible	O
by	O
deflecting	O
a	O
ball	O
towards	O
objects	O
placed	O
on	O
the	O
board	O
–	O
these	O
include	O
Breakout-like	O
brick	O
formations	O
,	O
pop	O
bumpers	O
that	O
award	O
ten	O
points	O
each	O
when	O
hit	O
,	O
and	O
spinners	O
that	O
slow	O
down	O
the	O
ball	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gee	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Toru	O
Iwatani	O
and	O
was	O
Namco	O
's	O
first	O
video	O
game	O
produced	O
in-house	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
began	O
their	O
insertion	O
into	O
game	O
development	O
in	O
July	O
1976	O
,	O
when	O
Shigeichi	O
Ishimura	O
,	O
a	O
Namco	O
electro-mechanical	O
game	O
designer	O
,	O
proposed	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
creating	O
a	O
video	O
arcade	O
game	O
utilizing	O
a	O
CPU	B-Device
,	O
with	O
information	O
accumulated	O
from	O
his	O
work	O
on	O
electro-mechanical	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Iwatani	O
had	O
wanted	O
to	O
create	O
pinball	B-Application
machines	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
video	O
games	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
Namco	O
higher-ups	O
disapproved	O
of	O
his	O
idea	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
compromise	O
of	O
sorts	O
,	O
Iwatani	O
was	O
allowed	O
to	O
instead	O
create	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
pinball	B-Application
,	O
akin	O
to	O
Atari	O
's	O
Video	B-Application
Pinball	I-Application
dedicated	O
console	O
,	O
intermixed	O
with	O
the	O
gameplay	O
elements	O
established	O
in	O
Breakout	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gee	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
was	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
in	O
October	O
1978	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Gee	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
was	O
not	O
as	O
successful	O
as	O
Namco	O
hoped	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
coin	O
drop	O
earnings	O
per	O
unit	O
falling	O
below	O
expectations	O
and	O
due	O
to	O
competition	O
from	O
Taito	O
's	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
Gee	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
was	O
the	O
eighth	O
highest-earning	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1978	I-Application
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
and	O
helped	O
establish	O
Namco	O
as	O
a	O
prime	O
video	O
game	O
developer	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
them	O
producing	O
their	O
own	O
arcade	O
games	O
alongside	O
publishing	O
those	O
from	O
other	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retro	O
Gamer	O
listed	O
Gee	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
Breakout	B-Application
clones	I-Application
for	O
its	O
notability	O
as	O
Namco	O
's	O
first	O
internally	O
designed	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gee	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
would	O
spawn	O
two	O
sequel	O
titles	O
–	O
Bomb	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
was	O
released	O
a	O
year	O
later	O
in	O
1979	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
second	O
sequel	O
,	O
Cutie	B-Application
Q	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1979	O
–	O
this	O
one	O
was	O
not	O
developed	O
by	O
Iwatani	O
,	O
but	O
rather	O
Shigeru	O
Yokoyama	O
,	O
who	O
would	O
later	O
create	O
Galaga	B-Application
,	O
although	O
Iwatani	O
designed	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
the	O
sprites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cutie	B-Application
Q	I-Application
is	O
notable	O
for	O
featuring	O
"	O
cute	O
"	O
characters	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
become	O
a	O
key	O
inspiration	O
for	O
character	O
design	O
in	O
Iwatani	O
's	O
next	O
work	O
,	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
,	O
released	O
a	O
year	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
Bomb	B-Application
Bee	I-Application
and	O
Cutie	B-Application
Q	I-Application
were	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	O
in	O
1996	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
version	O
of	O
Namco	O
Museum	O
Vol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
international	O
versions	O
replaced	O
both	O
games	O
with	O
Super	B-Application
Pac-Man	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cutie	B-Application
Q	I-Application
was	O
also	O
ported	O
over	O
to	O
the	O
Wii	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Namco	B-Application
Museum	I-Application
Remix	I-Application
in	O
2007	O
and	O
its	O
2010	O
update	O
Namco	B-Application
Museum	I-Application
Megamix	I-Application
.	O
</s>
