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Bandai Namco is celebrating the birth of one of the most iconic mascots of gaming today—the illustrious Pac-Man! The company has released the following video stinger alongside a press release to get fans prepped for a year of celebrating:
Here’s a bit of what Bandai Namco has to say about the upcoming festivities:
Leading interactive entertainment company BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. today celebrates PAC-MAN’s 40th birthday with upcoming activities and partnerships to commemorate this milestone with fans around the world. The video game and pop culture icon steps into his 40s more relevant than ever as he stars in a bevy of new video game offerings, product partnerships, and brand collaborations.
Born on May 22, 1980, PAC-MAN immediately rose to stardom, first in video game arcades, then on the pop culture stage with hit song “PAC-MAN Fever” and through an array of branding and entertainment appearances throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. With a brand recognition rate of 90% around the world, PAC-MAN’s image and brand continues to be one of the most recognized on the planet.
The press release goes on to highlight a number of games, merchandise, and other things pertaining to this year of Pac-Man. Here’s a rundown of what we know so far, with a focus on material that will likely be of the most interest to you, dear readers:
- Twitch will be getting a four-player competitive Pac-Man game called Pac-Man Live Studio. It’ll even let players make custom mazes.
- A Tastemakers 40th Anniversary Arcade 1UP machine will debut in 2020, followed by 40th Anniversary Counter-cade, Party Cade, and Head-to-Head.
- Unannounced games are on the way, too.
- A new 40th anniversary history book about Pac-Man.
- Numskull Quarter Arcade, with a special version limited to 256 units signed by Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani.
Some other stuff is mentioned, including an AI experiment and even music devoted to the beloved character. It seems likely that consoles will get something Pac-Man related down the road, but in the interim these are some cool goodies that will be worth keeping an eye open for. We’ll continue to update about Pac-Man’s fortieth as we learn more. In the meantime, tell us what you all think about the character down in the comments and on social media!
Source: Bandai Namco Press Release
