P
Pac-Man
Identification Video game and character
Date Released as an arcade game in the United
States in 1980
Initially a coin-operated video arcade game,Pac-Man
broke the usually violent mold of arcade games, appealing
to dedicated and casual gamers alike. The game grew into a
licensing franchise, as other games, merchandise, and even
a television cartoon series featuring its title character ap-
peared during the early 1980’s.
Pac-Manwas a U.S. variation on a Japanese video
game calledPuck-Man. It became a classic by stress-
ing nonviolent action, humor, and the “personality”
of its main character, a bright yellow, dot-gobbling
circle. After it was released in the United States in
1980,Pac-Manquickly became extremely popular.
In a triumph of merchandising, the property ex-
panded to include dozens of licensed spin-off, non-
video games. The originalPuck-
Manwas developed by Toru Iwa-
tani for the Japanese firm Namco
and released in Japan in 1979.
The game was then licensed and
distributed in the United States by
Bally’s Midway division.
In the game, Pac-Man had an
insatiable hunger for dots and a
fear of ghosts, the onscreen ene-
mies Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and
Clyde. Players controlled Pac-Man,
navigating a maze while munching
dots and avoiding ghosts. Pac-Man
could also swallow power pills—
which would temporarily enable
him to eat the ghosts—and fruits,
which were worth bonus points.
When all the dots and power pills
were consumed, the player would
progress to the next, more diffi-
cult, level. At the timePac-Man
was introduced, most other arcade games involved
either killing enemies or destroying objects with
weapons—usually in outer space.Pac-Manwas
largely nonviolent. Even when the title character ate
a ghost, the ghost was not destroyed. Instead, its
impervious eyes would float back home, where it
would then regrow its body. By inventing a new
model for video games,Pac-Manwas able to appeal
to both women and men, growing the arcade-game
market.
Pac-Mansold more than 350,000 arcade units in
the 1980’s, dethroning leading games of the era,
such asSpace InvadersandAsteroids. It was able to en-
dure through an industry slump in the middle of the
decade. As the best-known arcade game,Pac-Man
was ported to many other video-game platforms, in-
cluding home game consoles, handheld games, and
personal computers.Pac-Manalso spawned sequels,
such asMs. Pac-Man,Pac-Man Plus, andBaby Pac-
Man. While most were not successful,Ms. Pac-ManPac-Manvideo game. (Ullstein Bild)