The team was allowed to set their own deadlines, due to Namco's then-laidback corporate structure. Feedback on the project was given by Nakamura and other employees, including "Pac-Man" creator Toru Iwatani. Despite the game's immense popularity around the company, early location tests failed to meet expectations due to players being able to progress a long way with only one coin, thus generating low income. Although Yokoyama stated that the game's popularity could still generate income, Namco executives instructed the team to increase the difficulty level. "Galaga" was released in Japan in September 1981. It was released in North America by Midway Games in October of that year.