Pitch In, an electro-mechanical softball simulator from 1980, was a considerable success in Japan.[1] It published Galaga, the follow-up to Galaxian, in 1981 to critical acclaim, usurping its predecessor in popularity with its fast-paced action and power-ups.[34] 1982 saw the release of Pole Position, a racing game that is the first to use a real racetrack (the Fuji Speedway) and helped laydown the foundations for the racing genre.[35] It released Dig Dug the same year, a maze chaser that allowed players to create their own mazes.[36] Namco's biggest post-Pac-Man success was the vertical-scrolling shooter Xevious in 1983, designed by new-hire Masanobu Endō.[37][38] Xevious's early usage of pre-rendered visuals,[39] boss fights, and a cohesive world made it an astounding success in Japan,[37][38] recording record-breaking sales figures that hadn't been seen since Space Invaders.[40] The game's success led to merchandise, tournament play, and the first video game soundtrack album.[41][42] The same year, Namco released Mappy, an early side-scrolling platformer,[43] and the Pole Position sequel Pole Position II.[44] Endō went on to design The Tower of Druaga a year later, a maze game that helped establish the concept for the action role-playing game.[45] Druaga's design influenced games such as Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda, and helped popularize the idea of note sharing among players.[46][47] 1984 also saw the release of Pac-Land, a Pac-Man-themed platform game that paved the way for similar games such as Super Mario Bros.,[48] and Gaplus, a moderately successful update to Galaga.[49] The success of Namco's arcade games prompted it to launch its own print publication, Namco Community Magazine NG, to allow its fans to connect with developers.[50]