The History of PAC-Man
Pac-man is one of the most iconic games of the 1980s, and new versions of the original game continue to be very popular today. Game play is based on a small round yellow character that traverses a maze while eating pellets and attempting to avoid ghosts that can kill it. The history of Pac-man largely mirrors the history of the gaming industry itself.
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Creation
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Pac-man was created by Toru Iwatani, a Japanese programmer working for Namco. The Pac-man shape was formed by taking the Japanese kanji symbol for mouth, which resembles a rounded square, and giving it a mouth to consume the pellets. The name itself comes from the Japanese phrase "pakku pakku taberu." "Pakku pakku" in Japanese is a sound indicating opening and closing your mouth quickly.
Development
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The development phase of Pac-man lasted about 18 months, as Iwatani, assisted by other Namco programmers, worked out the details of maze generation and ghost movement. Fruit was added to give a random element to the game that would encourage players to take risks and not simply follow a set pattern. Each of these details came together in the first Japanese release of the game, named Puck-Man, on May 22, 1980.
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Success
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The Japanese release met with only a lukewarm reception as shooting games such as Galaxian and Space Invaders were very popular at the time. The game was brought to America by Midway in 1981 and quickly rose in popularity and sales, overtaking even Space Invaders, which had been unrivaled until that point. The name Puck-Man was changed to Pac-man to avoid possible confusion with an English expletive.
Competitions
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With the increased visibility and popularity of the game came local and national competitions. These were held early on at parlors or arcades worldwide. In 1999, Twin Galaxies recorded the first perfect game of Pac-man, played by Billy Mitchell, a feat that has been matched only four times on Twin Galaxies' scoreboard. The year 2007 saw the first Pac-man World Championship in New York City as part of a promotion for the new Pac-man Championship Edition for the Xbox 360.
Legacy
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Pac-man continues to be one of the most popular games of all time. It has spawned more than 30 sequels and spin-off games and seen versions on every major console release since the Atari 2600. The Guinness Book of World Records has eight entries including Billy Mitchell's first win and the award for Largest Pac-Man Game played in New York using real people and cellular phones. Pac-man continues to be a major part of video game history.
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