Japan Catches Pac-Man Fever – Today in History – May 21st, 1980
Where were you today in 1980? Myself, I was probably fumbling around the backyard and trying to learn to tie my own shoes. I was four years old. I would not find out about Pac-Man for a few more years when I was exposed to it on the Atari 2600. It would be several years after this that I find an arcade that had a Pac-Man machine in it (I grew up in backwoods Arkansas around this time). Namco knew they had a hit on their hands with this game, I just don’t think they knew how big of a hit they had. I guess it is possible that there are retro gaming fans out there that have not played Pac-Man yet.
When Namco released Pac-Man it was a major departure over the other games available in arcades at the time. Space Invaders and Asteroids were kings of the arcade in mid-1980 and there were no signs they were willing to relent that spot. Pac-Man not only had to worry about the ghosts in the game but the competition that was entrenched with gamers. It was going to be a challenge to get potential players to part with their money for a go at this new arcade machine. Part with their money they did. Willingly.
Pac-Man and the related characters has appeared in nearly as many games as Mario and his friends. That is an accomplishment as not many company mascots have that kind of staying power with fans. It all started with the maze game that required you to eat all of the white dots on the screen while avoiding the multi colored enemies. There was a period of time, after ingesting the larger white dots you can turn the tables on those mean ghosts.
Pac-Man has appeared in Kart games on Android and iPhone, puzzle and action games on the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis and more over the years. Bandai Namco has kept the characters alive and well with updates to the original formula such as Pac-Man 256 and even simple ports of the original arcade game.
Want more Pac-Man but not sure what is out there? Check out Ebay for some options. Your purchase does help us keep RGM with fresh content.
This article was originally published on Retro Gaming Magazine, a gaming website I own.
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Actually I wasn't born yet! Hahaha but after a year I made the grand entrance..aheem..
Anyway, I loooooooooove this game! Pac-man will always be my all time favorite game when I was younger. Playing it was one of our family bonding. It was enjoyable and fun game!
It is a timeless classic, that is for sure. Have you checked out those mini arcade units yet? They start at about $300 but if you catch a sale you can pick one up for less than $100. While I am a fan of the various games included on these units, I just don't have space to put one up so I am relegated to smaller options such as 3DS, Plug and Plays, etc.