With its deceptively simple maze-chase gameplay and colourful ghost enemies, Pac-Man captivated an entire generation and permanently transformed the entertainment landscape.
"Pac-Man is the most enduring and recognisable icon in gaming history. It's the character that has been around the longest. Everyone knows its shape, it has appeared in over 200 games," said Jose Carlos Tapia, Marketing Director at Bandai Namco, the company behind the iconic title.
From the moment it debuted in arcades, Pac-Man became an unprecedented success.
The game set two Guinness World Records: one for the most arcade machines sold, about 300,000 in the first seven years, and another for the highest arcade revenue.
For the uninitiated, Pac-Man known as "ghost-eater" is a yellow circle that must eat all the dots in a maze while being chased by four uniquely-behaved ghosts.
Along the way, Pac-Man can eat fruit for bonus points or grab power pellets that make the ghosts temporarily vulnerable.
The character was born from the imagination of Japanese game designer Toru Iwatani, who wanted to create a game based on eating.
Initially called Puck-Man (inspired by the Japanese onomatopoeia "paku-paku", the sound of munching), the name was later changed to Pac-Man for Western audiences.
"Iwatani had the concept and elements like fruit already in mind, but not the character. One day while eating pizza, he noticed a missing slice and instantly envisioned a character shaped like that, simple, friendly, and food-related," Tapia said.
Far from fading into nostalgia, Pac-Man continues to evolve. In July, the character will co-star in a new title called Shadow Labyrinth, and his signature "cameos" in hit games like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. will keep him relevant for new generations.
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