![]() Pac-Man fever swept the country, including in the form of a song – novelty duo Buckner and Garcia wrote a single inspired by the game that cracked the Billboard Top Ten. In 1982, it was estimated that 30 million Americans spent $8 million a week playing the game, and it had generated approximately $2.5 billion by the 1990s. In its first year in America, Pac-Man made over $1 billion in quarters. They expected that a racing game called Rally-X would be the most popular of the year, but they were wrong – it was an overnight hit, quickly surpassing Asteroids in revenue. When it came to America the same year, the difficulty and pace of the game was increased, but investors saw little merit. Pac-Man was released in Japanese arcades in 1980, receiving a particularly lukewarm response. It was simple to grasp and easy to play, and it proved irresistible to gamers. The game continues on a loop until Pac-Man has lost all of his (usually three) lives. Bonus objects in the form of fruit and other objects can be eaten to earn additional points. If Pac-Man eats a power pellet, all the ghosts turn dark-blue and can be eaten for a limited period. There are four different coloured ghosts on-screen – Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde – and you lose a life if you collide with one. In case you’re unfamiliar with the game, Pac-Man saw you move the eponymous hero around a maze, earning points for eating dots. In its first year in America, Pac-Man made over $1 billion in quarters His original name was Puck-Man, but this was changed in America because of the potential for vandalism. As for his name, it was derived from the Japanese ‘puck-puck’, an onomatopoeic expression for eating (and the sound the character makes). His yellow circular design was easy to animate and instantly iconic – indeed, according to the May 2008 report by the Davie Brown Celebrity Index, Pac-Man was recognised by 94% of US consumers. In a eureka moment, the shape of what is now Pac-Man flashed through my mind,” Mr Iwatani said. “I had ordered a round pizza, and it was missing a piece. The game was pushed on the strength of its main character, with Pac-Man plastered all over the arcade machine.Īs Pac-Man is a game about eating, it’s wonderfully ironic that the character’s design emerged from a piece of food. Games had very little in the way of characters in the early 80s, typically putting you in control of a generic spaceship, and Pac-Man changed all of that. The shoot-em-ups ruled the arcades, and Pac-Man was a conscious choice to do something innovative, in part to attract what was perceived as the missing market of females. It’s time to delve into the rich history of Pac-Man and explore how he reshaped society’s attitude to gaming.Īccording to Japanese game designer Toru Iwatani, Pac-Man was conceived as an antidote to the overwhelming number of games at the time with violent themes, like Space Invaders and Galaxian. Characters like Mario and Pikachu are now cultural mainstays, but this wouldn’t have been possible without the influence of the first gaming icon. The game remains one of the highest-grossing and best-selling games, generating more than $14 billion in revenue ( as of 2016 ) and 43 million units in sales combined, and has an enduring commercial and cultural legacy, commonly listed as one of the greatest video games of all time.Whether you’re a gamer or not, there are certain games you’ll just know. The character of Pac-Man has become the official mascot of Bandai Namco Entertainment. Pac-Man was a widespread critical and commercial success, leading to several sequels, merchandise, and two television series, as well as a hit single by Buckner & Garcia. The original Japanese title of Puck Man was derived from the Japanese phrase "Paku paku taberu" which refers to gobbling something up the title was changed to Pac-Man for the North American release. The in-game characters were made to be cute and colorful to appeal to younger players. Although the inspiration for the Pac-Man character was the image of a pizza with a slice removed, Iwatani has said he also rounded out the Japanese character for mouth, kuchi ( Japanese : 口). Iwatani wanted to create a game that could appeal to women as well as men, because most video games of the time had themes of war or sports. Game development began in early 1979, directed by Toru Iwatani with a nine-man team. Single-player, multiplayer (alternating turns)
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