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You are at:Home»INSTANT REPLAY»Another Notch in the Belt: Pac-Man Makes Hall of Fame

Another Notch in the Belt: Pac-Man Makes Hall of Fame

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By Matt Harding on June 14, 2023 INSTANT REPLAY

Arguably the most famous video game ever, Namco’s Pac-Man was inducted into the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame’s inaugural group. According to Guinness World Records, the machine was the “most successful coin-operated game of all-time.”

A game-changer for the industry, Pac-Man (originally called Puck Man in Japan) came out in 1980 and spawned uber-successful sequels like Ms. Pac-Man. Prior to its release, all video games were block breakers or space shooters and appealed mostly to male players. Pac-Man was designed to widen gaming’s appeal to women.

Games also did not have “characters” to play, but Pac-Man gave the industry its first video game “mascot.” It was the first video game that told a story, paving the way for so many future games.

Pac-Man and the ghosts appealed to males and females of all ages and truly sparked an interest in coin-operated games that went way beyond all predecessors. That love continues today, more than four decades later where surveys show 97% character recognition for all Americans over 7 years old.

The game and character were designed by Toru Iwatani and his team of seven Namco employees. We all know and love Iwatani’s iconic character design, inspired by a pizza missing a single slice. Pac-Man is also the only video game character to be recognized by Variety magazine in its list of the “Top 100 Icons of the 20th Century.”

Amusement Industry Hall of Fame Pac-Man
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