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Pac-Man poster / Sorry, we don't have accessible text for this image :( / Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Pac-Man

Pac-Man is an action arcade game released in 1980. Regarded as a classic of the medium, it is one of the highest-grossing video games of all time.

Screenshots and images

Company and staff credits

Publisher (North America)
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Midway Games, Inc.
Developer (Arcade; Japan)
Logo of Namco Limited / This image is derived from a logo uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. / Image credit: Namco Limited Namco Limited
Publisher (Japan)
Logo of Namco Limited / This image is derived from a logo uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. / Image credit: Namco Limited Namco Limited
Designer
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Toru Iwatani
Programmer
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Shigeo Funaki
Composer
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Toshio Kai

Platform comparison

Platform Released Interfaces Target FPS Video Sound
Arcade 22 May 1980
Japan
- 60 - -
MiniArcade 1982
North America
- - - -
GB - - - - -
MS-DOS - - - - -
iOS - - - - -
Atari 2600 - - - - -
Game Gear - - - - -
Wii - - - - -
Wii U - - - - -
Commodore 64 - - - - -
Atari 5200 - - - - -
Android - - - - -
Neo Geo Pocket - - - - -
NES - - - - -
VIC-20 - - - - -
Apple II - - - - -
GB Color - - - - -

Game details

Release dates
  • 22 May 1980:
    • Arcade (Japan)
  • 26 October 1980:
    • Arcade (North America)
  • 1982:
    • MiniArcade (North America)
Also known as
  • パックマン (official; Japanese)
  • Puck Man (official; Japan)
Genres

Publishing

Name inspiration

Creator Toru Iwatani has stated two inspirations for the game's original title, Pakkuman (パックマン). Firstly, Iwatani has said the "Pakku" is inspired by the Japanese onomatopoeic phrase paku-paku taberu, which imitates a chomping sound. Second, Iwatani has said "Pakku" represents the English work "puck", since Pac-Man looks like a hockey puck. The game's original Western title was Puck Man.

Fear of vandalism

The arcade game's North American licensee Midway changed its title from 'Puck Man' to 'Pac-Man', because they believed graffiti vandals would change the 'P' to and 'F'.

Sales

Sales success

Is one of the most successful games of all time, selling more than 350,000 arcade cabinets and generating US $1 billion in sales within 18 months of release. Its total gross consumer revenue was estimated at US $2.5 billion by the arcade esports organization Twin Galaxies in the late 1990s.

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