VIDEO GAMES
JUNE 1, 2021
the birth of pac-Man video games
The birth of Pac-Man video game started a new genre in video games whereas the earlier ones were all about shooting aliens.
Pac-Man video game was created by a young designer named Toru Iwatani from Japan. He wanted to make something completely different. In the late 1970’s the arcade games filled with violent games about killing aliens inspired by the success of Space Invaders when he started working the project. At the time he was working for Namco, a Japanese games company.
As the lead designer, Iwatani hoped that Namco could market an arcade game that would appeal to females by paying careful attention to themes, design and colors. The game concept was therefore inspired by food and eating and did not emphasize violence. This concept was opposed to the shooting of aliens and monsters that prevailed in most arcade games of the time.
The game finally released in Japan on May 21, 1980 called Pac-Man and by October in the same year was released in the United States. The hungry little yellow critter gained popularity in a short time, turning women and children into gamers and changed the industry forever. More than 100.000 consoles sold in the United States, making it the most successful arcade game in history.
The idea of the Pac-Man character came up when Iwatani was eating a pizza during his lunch break. He was dead hungry that day and ordered an entire pizza.
While eating he was struck by sudden inspiration when he saw the pie’s wedge shaped void resembled a hungry mouth. A creature that open its mouth widely to eat. Iwatani derived its name from “paku paku”, a Japanese slang, describes the snapping of a mouth open and shut while eating.
With innovative and attractive design, Pac-Man had a greater impact on popular culture than any other video game. Guides to play Pac-Man emerged on best-seller lists in America, followed by popular songs, magazine articles, a cartoon television series and surely merchandise. In 1982, there was even a song by Buckner and Garcia titled “Pac-Man Fever,” which went on to become a Top 10 radio hit.
Countless versions and imitations of the game for every electronic gaming platform were released from other companies after the big success of Pac Man worldwide. Within a year and a half after the initial release, Namco sold 350.000 Pac-Man cabinets, equal to 2.4 billion in sales today.
In North America the licensing and distribution deal was held by Bally Midway, an American company that manufactured pinball machines and arcade games. By 1982, Americans spent around $8 million US, quarter by quarter each week to play Pac-Man.
When the 1990’s era drew to a close, Pac-Man sales surpassed $2.5 billion US, making it the highest grossing video game in history. The birth of Pac-Man video game is one of the most important milestone in gaming industry.
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