Yes Pac-Man looks and is simple but rules our hearts. It’s been 30 years since Japanese company called Namco introduced the arcade classic Pac-Man — a game that became a rage across the globe in the 1980s and helped open new markets for videogames.
The game was released in May of 1980 and it was originally titled Puck Man because the character does look more like a hockey puck. The name was changed to Pac Man when Namco decided to launch the game in the US that year itself.
According to Guinness World Records Gamer Edition the game is now the most recognizable videogame character. Around 94% of American consumers know the Pac Man. It defeated Mario of Super Mario Bros., which has 93% recognition.
Creator Toru Iwatani described the Pac-Man as the first cute game.” In an interview posted on Namco’s PacMan.com, Iwatani said, “Before Pac-Man was released, most games were aggressive, where you did things like shoot aliens. At the time when Pac-Man was released, the image of the game arcade was that it was a dark and scary place, and it’s a place for only guys. However, we knew that there would be no future in arcades unless girls and couples would come in as well.”
Internet giant Google is celebrating Pac-Man’s birthday by putting a version of the game on its home page. The game is also available for smart phones. Interested customers can play the Pac-Man games by paying $3.99 for a sale version of the iPhone game and $6.99 in the Android store.
