Pac-Man Appreciation
Pac-Man was a video game character conceptualized in the the late 1970s by game developer Toru Iwatani. A portion of Pac-Man's design inspiration came from the sight of a pizza missing a slice.
Pac-Man Basics...
The video game involves a yellow circular character with a rapidly opening and closing mouth, as the player guides it through a maze, eating pellets and avoiding the four colored ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) that wander around. Four larger "Power Pellets," sometimes called "Energizers" or "Power Pills" exist in the four corners of the maze. When eaten, the four ghosts flash blue, and Pac-Man is able to eat them - turning them into a pair of wandering eyes that make their way back to the center square, and re-form into ghosts. The maze can be exited on the left or right side, resulting in Pac-Man (or a ghost)'s re-entry to the opposite side. Bonus point fruit items appear on occasion, and add significantly to the player's score once eaten. A level is complete when all of the dots on the screen are completely eaten.The video game was later ported to home console, PC, and portable systems from Atari, to Nintendo, and Sega. It also had several variants, such as Ms. Pac-Man and Super Pac-Man.
Pac-Man not only became an iconic video game, but also a staple in 1980s retro-cultural history. The franchise spawned hundreds of merchandising opportunities, and endless "clone" version games that were popularized both in shareware and on the internet.
Watch footage of the Pac-Man arcade game
Pac-Man: the 80s Cartoon and More
Hanna-Barbera released an animated series for Pac-Man in 1982 as a part of ABC's Saturday morning cartoon lineup. Featuring Pac-Man, Mrs. Pepper Pac-Man and Baby-Pac, the setting takes place in Pac-Land, an area inhabiting a forest full of trees that sprout power pellets. The family was constantly pestered by an evildoer named Mezmeron, who was the "boss" of the ghosts: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde and female ghost Sue (who was actually a new ghost, featured in the Ms. Pac-Man game). In each episode, the ghosts attempted to steal energizer pellets from Pac-Land, but failed, thanks to Pac-Man.The cartoon series inspired a marketing blitz across a whole line of TV commercials: most notably, that of the Chef Boyardee line of canned pasta, and General Mills' marshmallow Pac-Man cereal.
:: Watch the intro to the 1982 Pac-Man cartoon
:: Watch the closing credits of the 1982 Pac-Man cartoon
:: Watch an Arby's commercial for Pac-Man glasses, from 1980
:: Watch the 1985 commercial for Pac-Man Cereal
:: Watch the original 1987 Chef Boyardee commercial with Pac-Man
Pac-Man variants: Ms. Pac-Man
Pac-man's "better half" gets her own arcade game: Ms. Pac-Man, which was arguably as popular as the original series that spun it off. Very similar in nature to Pac-Man, this game featured 6 different layouts for levels. Additionally, ghosts behaved more randomly than they did in Pac-Man, and bonus point fruit moved around the playing field, rather than sitting still in a given spot.Aside from these aesthetics, Ms. Pac-Man has a distinct pink bow, lipstick, and a Marilyn Monroe-style mole. Just like her counterpart, Ms. Pac-Man had a breakfast cereal, as well.
:: Watch the original 1982 commercial for the Ms. Pac-Man game
Pac-Man variants: Super Pac-Man
In Super Pac-Man, gameplay was much different than in the other series. Rather than having to eat a field of dots, Super Pac-Man required you to 'unlock' wall segments with keys, and eat the fruit or objects within the walls to complete the level. Beyond your standard Power pellet, were special Super pellets which would vastly increase Pac-Man's size as he became Super Pac-Man. In this mode, he was invulnerable to ghosts and did not need keys to enter locked areas.The arcade console for Super Pac-Man also included a big "SUPER" button. When pressed, Super Pac-Man experienced a significant speed boost.
Pac-Man variants: Pac-Mania
In 1987, Namco released this brand new twist on the Pac-Man franchise; a "2.5D" arcade version of the game, with an interesting isometric rendering of the game field and characters. In Pac-Mania, the rules were basically the same: eat all of the pellets, avoid the ghosts, eat an Energizer to vanquish the ghosts...plus, the addition of the "jump" ability.The game field was vastly larger, as your character was centered on the screen, and it was sometimes unclear as to where the remaining pellets were located without a little exploration. A handful of interesting stages were included - one of which appeared to be constructed of Legos. Two new ghosts were introduced, which would also jump if Pac-Man attempted to jump over them, resulting in a lost life.
Plug & Play Pac-man on your TV set!
Jakks / Namco Arcade Classics Plug and Play TV Games
Plays: Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Rally-X, and Bosconian
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Jakks Atari Classics 10 In 1 TV Games
Plays: Gravitar, Asteroids, Real Sports Volleyball, Centipede, Adventure, Pong, Missile Command, Breakout, Yars' Revenge and Circus Atari
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Jakks Ms. Pac-Man TV Game
Plays: Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Pole Position, Mappy and Xevious
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Amazon Price: $19.79 (as of 07/25/2008)
List Price: $19.99
Activision 10 in 1 TV
Plays: Pitfall, Atlantis, River Raid, Spider Fighter, Crackpots, Freeway, Tennis, Boxing, Ice Hockey, and Grand Prix
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Jakks Super Pac-Man TV Game
Plays: Super Pac-Man, Original Pac-Man, plus four additional Pac-M
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Amazon Price: $34.99 (as of 07/25/2008)
List Price: $19.99
Pac-Man Arcade Game Consoles
Pac-Man 25th Anniversary Arcade Game
A special 25th anniversary edition, this beloved arcade game machine features three games in one: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga. This authentic arcade game machine delivers fun straight from the 80s! It work just like those you used to play decades ago, except you don't have to pump it full of quarters!
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Ms. Pac Man Upright Arcade Game
Pac-Man's better half gets her very own arcade game: experience it with this Ms. Pac Man Upright Arcade Game. In this gem from the golden age of arcade games, Ms. Pac Man gobbles up dots in a maze while avoiding the ghosts that patrol the many corridors and alleys. This essential cabinet for any arcade game fan features all of the original hardware and programming, for a true classic arcade experience in your game room or den.
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Pac-Man T-shirts
Pac-Man - Retro Ringer Ladies T-Shirt
This pretty cool black t-shirt features a classic Pac-Man arcade marquee design centered on the chest, with red short-sleeve rims and collar.
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Pac-Man - Logo Ringer T-Shirt
Classic and simple - this white ringer with black collars displays the first Pac-Man and Ghost cartoon concepts, with the game logo above it.
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Pac-Man Fever T-shirt
Go retro with this vintage Pac-Man shirt; yellow on brown. Displays a distressed "Pac-Man Fever" with a Pac-Man logo.
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Vintage Pac-Man Ghost T-shirt
This black t-shirt features a distressed Pac-Man blue ghost on the chest.
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Pac-Man Back in the Day Hooded Sweatshirt
This brown hoodie features a classic Pac-Man and Ghost design, with the subtitle "Back in the Day..."
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Pac-Man Apparel
PAC-MAN CHASING GHOSTS BELT
It doesn't get more retro than this: this officially licenced, 100% rayon Pac-Man belt adjusts via the center clip and features a marquee of ghosts and pellets.
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Namco Pac-Man Ghost Belt Buckle 86-106
This officially licenced Pac-Man metal belt buckle resembles the popular "scared ghost" icon.
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Rare Pac-Man Interchangeable Buckle For Seatbelt Belts!
Modeled after seatbelts from the 80s, this interchangeable belt can be used in any car and features a retro Pac-Man design, stating "push my button."
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New Guestbook
there was a pacman game that use to jump over bliny pinky ect that is the name of that game . and can we download that on the computer or buy it .can you please email me back thank you
Posted July 22, 2008
Vintage Pac-Man Memorabilia
Check out what's ending today on eBay: original Pac-Man collectibles...all of that stuff you didn't need back then, but wish you hadn't thrown away!
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