On May 22, Namco Bandai's Pac-Man will turn 30 years old. The game was originally released in Japan on that date in 1980--but not in the United States until October of the same year. And though video games have come a very long way since then, Pac-Man is still considered one of the most influential games of all time, and is the most recognized video game character in history.
This is the official countdown timer on Namco's official Pac-Man site. Note the modern, 3D Pac-Man.
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Namco Bandai
30th anniversary logo
The official Pac-Man 30th anniversary logo, created by Namco Bandai to celebrate three decades of Pac-Man.
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Google
Google Pac-Man Doodle
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man, Google on Friday unveiled its official Pac-Man "doodle," or home page logo. It is the first-ever truly interactive Google Doodle, and allows users access to a fully-playable version of Pac-Man, directly through their browser.
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Google
In play
A screenshot of a game of Pac-Man being played live on the Google home page.
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Namco Bandai
Puck-Man
When it was first released, Pac-Man was known as Puck-Man because of the eating sound for "chomp" in Japan, which is "paku-paku." But because of the potential for the "P" in "Puck-Man" to chip off and look like an "F," "Puck-Man" was rejected in the United States and renamed "Pac-Man."
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Namco Bandai
Puck-Man leaflet
A reproduction of an original Puck-Man leaflet from Japan.
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Namco Bandai
Pac-Man on PC
For most people who came of age in the 1980s, this screenshot brings back visceral memories of long childhood days spent playing Pac-Man. This is a screenshot of the game from a PC version.
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Namco Bandai
Arcade Pac-Man
How many billions of quarters were stuffed into Pac-Man arcade games like this one?
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Namco Bandai
Ms. Pac-Man
In 1981, Namco Bandai released Ms. Pac-Man, a very similar version of the game, except that the Pac-Man character now featured a bow. The game was such a hit that it out-sold Pac-Man.
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Namco Bandai
Super Pac-Man
In 1982, Namco Bandai released Super Pac-Man as a Japanese sequel to the original game.
That same year, an American Pac-Man cartoon that ran in ABC's prime-time schedule was released by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It had viewer ratings as high as 56 percent. Also that year, the song "Pac-Man Fever" from Buckner and Garcia came out and made it to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
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Namco Bandai
Pac and Pal
In 1983, Namco Bandai came out with its latest Pac-Man sequel, Pac and Pal.
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Namco Bandai
Pac Land
In 1984, Namco Bandai released Pac Land, the first side-scrolling game in the Pac-Man franchise.
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Namco Bandai
Pacmania
In 1987, Pacmania was released. It was the first game since the original Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man to have dot-eating be an important part of the game play.
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Namco Bandai
Pac-Man on iPhone
Nearly 30 years after its original release, Pac-Man is going strong. There are now iPhone and iPad versions of the game. This is a screenshot from the iPhone version of Pac-Man Remix.
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Pac-Man on the run
Pac-Man art is also popular. This is "Pac-Man on the run," which depicts the game's ghosts running for their lives after Pac-Man has "chomped down a power pellet."
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Mitsuru Sugaya/Namco Bandai
Mitsuru Sugaya's Pac-Man
Namco Bandai has released a series of artists' renditions of scenes from Pac-Man. This one is by cartoonist and novelist Mitsuru Sugaya, the creator of the cartoon "Game Center Arashi (eng: Game Arcade, Arashi)." The piece shows Arashi controlling Pac-Man and chasing down some ghosts. "Game Center Arashi" is a hit Japanese cartoon about a Arashi Ishino, a young boy obsessed with video games.
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Namco Bandai
Pac-Man plus hat
Not surprisingly, there are all kinds of Pac-Man items for sale on Namco Bandai's Web site. This is a plush Pac-Man hat.
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Katsuya Terada/Namco Bandai
Katsuya Terada's Pac-Man
Another piece in Namco's series of artist renderings of Pac-Man is this one by Katsuya Terada. Terada is known in many fields, including cartoons, games, illustrations, animation, and the design of movie characters.
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Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.