Pac-Man
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Google celebrates Pac-Man's 30th anniversary with playable logo
A playable ... logo? That's exactly what web giant Google has today, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man's Japanese release. The doodle (Google's term for its event and holiday-specific logos) is accessible on its main page and is a full 255-level game complete with a 256th level "kill screen," just like the original coin-op. The interactive doodle -- a first for Google -- is the brainchild of senior user experience designer Marcin Wichary, whose earliest exposure to Pac-Man came at age five while traveling across his native Poland with his father, a game technician, to repair arcade machines. Wichary worked with Google doodler (yes, it's a real job) Ryan Germick to create the finished design. So, for today at least, you can tell your boss: "I may be browsing the web and playing a game, but I'm also being part of something historic." Note: Joystiq assumes no responsibility for any repercussions that result from playing Google's Pac-Man doodle at work.
Pac-Man Reborn explores Pac evolution on mobile and Twitter
Namco Bandai teased the "next evolution" of Pac-Man earlier this month; now we think we have a pretty good idea of what game the publisher was talking about, if not exactly how the game works. The Japanese side of the company has announced Pac-Man Reborn, a mobile game based on the idea of building and evolving the ultimate Pac creature. Players create their own Pac-Man thing in different colors, using parts like antlers and kebabs, then pit them against their friends, with the winner spawning a new Pac-Man thing. And somehow, this crazy mobile / iPhone game will interact with Twitter. We expect to find out more about this game -- like how to play it and what Namco is talking about -- during the E3 Pac-Man party. A beta will be released in Japan tomorrow, marking the 30th anniversary of the original game. [Via Siliconera]
Pac-Man's 'next evolution' to amaze us at E3
Namco just sent press invitations out for a Pac-Man 30th Anniversary event to be held during E3. The event promises not only to celebrate the long history of the ghost-eating sphere man, but also to reveal "the future of the franchise." That almost certainly refers to the new multiplayer arcade game Pac-Man Battle Royale, but Namco indicated that it will have even more new Pac-Man games for us to gobble up, possibly while saying "waka waka waka." The invitation notes that "unreleased titles on console, mobile, arcade, and more" will be on display. Perhaps this will be the venue for the official reveal of Pac-Man Rally Kart. Whatever the specific games, it seems that no platform is safe from Pac-Man this year.
Pac-Man Battle Royale: competitive Pac-Man for omnivores
As advertised, Namco Bandai brought a prototype of its new Pac-Man Battle Royale to the 2010 Amusement Expo. Arcade Heroes captured some off-screen footage of the multiplayer arcade title (posted after the break), revealing a cross between the GameCube's Pac-Man Vs. and the XBLA hit Pac-Man: Championship Edition. Instead of putting certain players in the roles of ghosts as Pac-Man Vs. did, however, Battle Royale takes the direct approach and pits four cannibalistic Pac-Men against each other, as they compete to eat the most dots, ghosts and even each other. The game would be totally brutal if the cocktail-style cabinet didn't make it all appear so classy. Hopefully, Namco Bandai will use that cabinet for the final version of the game, due for a September release, as well. [Via GameSetWatch]
Namco teases 'Pac-Man Battle Royale' arcade game
Namco Bandai has taken a very tentative first step toward providing a solution to the puzzle of what Pac-Man Battle Royale is. In a teaser video, the company revealed an arcade game with multiple Pac-Mans (Pac-Men?). A faint image behind the "Sneak Peek at Amusement Expo 2010" caption suggests a multiplayer game with up to four players sharing a big maze. A reinvented arcade game would be the perfect way to mark the 30th anniversary of the original. We'll have to wait, then, until the expo (March 10-12) to see more; but, in the meantime, we can watch the teaser over and over again and dream of the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii-ization of Pac-Man and dream of a mythical world where we'll get to play an arcade game. Join us in this reverie after the break.
Namco registers Japanese trademark for 'Pac-Man Kart Rally'
Pac-Man World Rally for PS2 Namco Bandai has registered trademarks in Japan for Pac-Man Kart Rally -- and Pac-Man Rally Kart. It just couldn't decide! Siliconera notes that the previous Pac-Man kart racer, Pac-Man World Rally (not Rally World) was never released in Japan, so if this one is intended for Japan, it'll be the nation's first Pac-Man vs. ghosts racer. As for what Namco Bandai will use this trademark for, we have no real information. It makes sense for Namco Bandai to be thinking of releasing new Pac games on the 30th anniversary of the arcade original. Were we to guess, we would point out that there have been a lot of iPhone games out of Namco lately, and Konami recently put a mascot kart racer on the platform.
'Pac-Man: Battle Royale' trademarked
With Pac-Man Championship Edition having just come out on the iPhone (and being, pretty much, Pac-Man Championship Edition), we're in a pro-Pac-Man frame of mind. So when we saw this European trademark for a game called Pac-Man: Battle Royale, we thought "Another Pac-Man game!" instead of "... another Pac-Man game?" Adding further excitement was another trademark for "Drill Till You Drop," which sounds a lot like a Mr. Driller spinoff (and maintains the spelling error found in the title for the Dead Rising game on Wii). Now, all we know is that these trademarks are for games. They could very well be lame arcade redemption games, or Flash games, or any number of completely underwhelming things. But Battle Royale could also be -- though it probably won't, since this is too exciting -- something like a multiplayer take on Championship Edition. [Image: The Arcade Flyer Archive]
Pac-Man CE now on iPhone, starting at $3
click for Super Pac-Man sizeNamco Bandai has just released its fourth Pac-Man game to the iPhone/iPod Touch App Store -- but it's Pac-Man Championship Edition, so it's somewhat more interesting than the usual lineup of classic ports that flood every platform. And it's only $3! The iPhone version of the revamped XBLA hit includes a time-limited Championship Mode with 5 courses, and a Mission Mode with 20 missions. DLC expands this to 15 Championship courses and 120 missions, and adds a third Challenge Mode. If you're interested in trying it out, we suggest picking it up with the kind of haste reserved for running from ghosts -- the $3 starting price is a limited-time sale. Might as well save your money for the DLC you know you'll be dipping into. Pac-Man Championship Edition ($2.99): %Gallery-80013% [Via AppShopper]
Vacuuming made fun when Pac-Man meets Roomba
Who knew the robotic vacuum Roomba could do so much? In addition to automatically cleaning floors and killing kittens, the Roomba vacuum can also be used to play an elaborate version of Pac-Man. Developed by Jack Elston, Cory Dixon and Maciej Stachura, Roomba Pac-Man is meant to demonstrate the team's "Unmanned Aerial System software suite." It also effectively demonstrates that the three might have just a little too much free time on their hands. This is definitely an ingenious take on the classic arcade game. How often can you play a game that makes your room cleaner? Until Activision releases Broom Hero, the answer is "not very." [Via Engadget]
Autonomous Roombas do Pac-Man right (video)
We've seen mixtures of Roomba and Pac-Man before, but nothing like this. A team of developers have hacked five floor-cleaning bots to create a sort of OCD version of the game, with the Pac-Man bot sucking up little white rectangles whilst being chased by robot incarnations of Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde. But, when the Pac-Man vacuum finds a power pellet those ghostly rovers turn blue and start fleeing. The tech is supposed to be a demonstration of the developers' Unmanned Aerial System suite, designed for guidance of airborne vehicles, but we're too busy geeking out to care about potential real-world applications of this tech. Video below.
New Pac-Man world champion crowned by Twin Galaxies
Here's a fun fact: World records for Pac-Man runs aren't calculated by score -- the highest possible score you can earn on the game before encountering the kill screen has been reached a number of times before. Instead, the record is calculated based on how quickly one can achieve a perfect score -- a record that was recently smashed by David Race, who reached the kill screen with the max score in 3 hours, 41 minutes and 22 seconds.Race's time beat previous record holder Chris Ayra by 42 seconds -- who, in turn, had previously beaten King of Kong's bearded antagonist, Billy Mitchell's fastest time. We smell the makings of a sequel for the aforementioned, critically acclaimed 2007 documentary. The Mack of Pac, perhaps? [Via Kotaku]
Namco Bandai's new iTunes sounds will eat up your money
Do you like the sound of Pac-Man eating a ghost? Do you like it enough to pay a dollar for it? Namco Bandai announced a new iTunes music label called Namco Sounds, which will add remastered game soundtracks on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month.The inaugural offerings include a Soul Calibur sampler, called SoulCalibur Suite: The Resonance of Souls and Swords, and sound effect collections from Pac-Man and Xevious. A $3 charge for each "album" isn't terrible -- it's equal to the cost of buying each of the Calibur tracks individually, and it's a fairly small price to pay for the full set of in-game sounds for the other games.Due to the nature of iTunes, however, individual tracks from the sound collections are spectacular ripoffs. Each sound effect, purchased separately, is 99 cents. We don't need "Special Flag: Get" or the incredibly irritating Xevious theme that badly. Do we?
Pac-Man Championship Edition following the dots to iPhone
Should Pac-Man Remix fail to provide enough remixed Pac-Man for you and your iPhone, Namco Bandai is preparing another version. We think you'll be delighted to hear about this new Pac-Man even if you just bought Pac-Man Remix: Namco Bandai is working on an iPhone version of Pac-Man Championship Edition, the excellent Xbox Live Arcade Pac-Man game created by Toru Iwatani himself. If you were about to buy Remix, then ... don't. According to The Feed, the iPhone version of the modernized maze game will be out later this year. We aren't thrilled with the idea of playing the high-speed Championship Edition with fake buttons or tilt controls, but we're excited enough about the game to give it a try. At least it makes more sense than Tekken.
Namco's iPhone division considering... Tekken?
Actually, I'd play that. Namco recently announced that they were forming an Apple Games division to head up game development for Apple platforms like the iPhone, and in this interview, a producer for them who used to work for Apple says that they're excited to work on bringing great games to the handheld device. Like, for example, Pac-man, Galaga, and... Soulcaliber and Tekken. You heard that right -- fighting games haven't exactly made a splash on the iPhone, as they're primarily a button-based genre, and the iPhone, of course, has no buttons.But that won't stop Namco's guy from putting the old head gears into motion: "It's just the controls that are a challenge. We are thinking about that." Think away, crazy man -- I'd love to pull out Yoshimitsu for a few rounds while waiting at a bus stop. Obviously, the easiest way to try and port these would be to put overlaid buttons on the screen, but that doesn't leave a lot of room for the fighting (and not having the tactile feedback would probably be a problem as well). Maybe some gesture-based accelerometer movement? Sky's the limit, right?. Your call, Namco -- can't wait to see what you come up with.[via Joystiq]
Pac-Man: Remix coming to iPhone soon
Namco has announced that a new version of Pac-Man, titled Pac-Man: Remix, will be coming to iPhone. Due to Apple's silly non-disclosure policies, the fact that we know the game is coming means that it's coming soon. Basically, it's Pac-Man, but this time there's a little more to it (though, little you haven't seen before). The eponymous yellow sphere can jump over ghosts and walls and there will be boss battles and power-ups, too.Pac-Man: Remix will set you back $5.99 which, if you ask us, is a little steep for another Pac-Man title. There are plenty other, cheaper, iPhone games to spend that money on. Still, we thought you'd want to know that it's coming, just in case there are any die hard Pac-Man fans in the Joystiq audience.
Namco Museum Essentials coming to PlayStation Home in July
Japan's Namco Museum Essentials is crossing the pond to America's PlayStation Network this July. The downloadable app will serve as a hub for various Namco arcade games, such as Pac-man, Galaga, Dig Dug, Dragon Spirit, Xevious, and a new 1080p "re-envisioned" Xevious: Resurrection. In addition to the standard gamut of features (trophies, leaderboards), players will be able to unlock PlayStation Home rewards to proudly display in their virtual apartments.Namco Bandai will also be launching a new destination within PlayStation Home simultaneously with the release of Museum Essentials. It will serve as the hub for all of Namco Bandai's upcoming downloadable games and will include a virtual arcade featuring a trial version of Museum Essentials. In addition to the free demo, PlayStation Home items can be unlocked for those who visit the space. All in all, it looks as though Home fans (casual and hardcore) will have a lot to look forward to.%Gallery-66211%
Ms. Pac-Man shoes, Space Invaders soap, not news
When video games collide with do-it-yourself know-how and just a little bit of magic, wonderful things happen. Case in point, just look at those Ms. Pac-Man shoes and Space Invaders soaps (which we have arranged in a single image for dramatic effect). With shoes like that, just walking becomes a game -- which it normally isn't, despite what Nintendo tells you -- as Pinky and Ms. Pac-Man engage in a cat-and-mouse chase all day long.And then, when the long day is done and it's time to get clean, you'll have to defend yourself from a squadron of soapy space invaders. What better way to stave off the glycerine-infused hordes than to slowly melt them away until you have to snuff them out in the shower drain? Such is the fate of all soaps, but especially invading soaps from space.Incidentally, if you want a pair of Ms. Pac-Man shoes of your own, the creators, Em & Sprout, have a few left in stock. There are a handful of Space Invaders soaps left too -- from the same company that brought us these -- so get a move on if you want some. Otherwise you'll have to hope they get restocked, or we suppose you could live without them.[Via Wonderland]Source: Em & Sprout - Ms Pac-Man Mary JanesSource: Digital Soaps - Space Invaders soap set
'Pac-Man' enzyme may eat away at Alzheimer's
Video games may hold the cure to the memory-plaguing Alzheimer's disease. It won't be Brain Age to the rescue, though. Classic 80s arcade icon Pac-Man holds a key in defeating the untreatable disease.Researchers from Florida's Mayo Clinic have figured out a way to break down amyloid proteins associated with Alzheimer's. An insulin-degrading enzyme nicknamed "Pac-Man" works very much like the classic video game character by opening and closing, "gobbling up" amyloid proteins. Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, called this new finding "fascinating," but noted that "the work is at very early stages in the laboratory."We're all for naming potentially life-saving treatments after video game characters. Imagine the Katamari cure for cancer, or the Yoshi cure for the common cold. We're pretty sure even anti-game lobbyists would have to approve of our hobby then, right?[Thanks, Andrew! (No, I'm not thanking myself.)] [Image Source]
Jenny McCarthy has been gaming longer than you
When she's not busy appearing in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 or starring in commercials for amazing PS1 games, Jenny McCarthy is a gaming mom. Speaking to WhatTheyPlay this week, McCarthy says she started playing Pac-Man at the age of eight. "I even made my own Atari glove because I had blisters all over my hand from playing Pac-Man," she notes, saying her own mom bought her the game with an Atari 2600 as a reward for getting a vaccination shot.While she claims she fell out of gaming because of "cheerleading and boys," gaming also apparently helped to keep her marriage to Double Dragon film star [actor] John Asher alive. "That's all we basically did; we just played video games. That saved our marriage -- playing video games." Her current significant other, Jim Carrey, reportedly has a Wii, though McCarthy says she's doing less gaming and more writing these days (having penned "six books in four years"). "I can't compete with these kids now. They've grown up with this kind of technology ... I'm like the brains behind the guy who's using the controller."
Discounted Doom, Pac-Man CE top Amazon XBLA Store
The benefits of Amazon.com's new Xbox Live Arcade Store continue to reveal themselves, as the two bestselling titles are Doom ($2.97) and Pac-Man C.E. ($4.97), both currently featured with discounted prices -- and both no-brainers for anyone who has previously passed on these two gems. Clearly, the Amazon option provides the possibility of more of these sweet discounts, in addition to perks like offering exact purchasing of games (instead of buying Microsoft Points in bulk), bonus money through participating credit cards, and potential sales tax dodging. But, a word to the wise: Check Amazon's prices against those listed on Xbox.com (80 Points = $1.00) before you buy, because some stated "discounts" are simply misleading. Currently, at #6 on Amazon's XBLA bestseller list is the original Geometry Wars, which claims to be priced at a 50 percent discount -- wrong! Five dollars is the actual price of the game on Xbox Marketplace, and the presumed "broader" demographic now shopping for XBLA games on Amazon should be careful, as one would be better served to double down and purchase the superior sequel (#16 on the list) for ten. Alas, we're preaching to the choir here -- you, dear reader, already know this. (Whaddya gonna do, ya know?) Just take note of the real discounts, as they're good ones, and forget about those "others" being misled by the fake ones. [Thanks, Chad]
