Pac-Man
1980 · Maze · Arcade
Overview
Pac-Man is the iconic 1980 arcade game by Namco in which a yellow disc-shaped character navigates a maze, eating dots while being chased by four differently-behaved ghosts: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. Power pellets temporarily reverse the roles, letting Pac-Man chase and eat the ghosts for bonus points. Designer Toru Iwatani created it specifically to appeal to women and couples who were absent from the then male-dominated arcades. Pac-Man became the best-selling arcade game in history and one of the most recognizable characters in popular culture, spawning a Saturday morning cartoon, a number-one pop hit, and over 100 licensed products.
Deep Dive
Toru Iwatani drew inspiration for Pac-Man from the image of a pizza with one slice removed. He spent 17 months designing the game at Namco, carefully programming each ghost with a distinct personality and hunting algorithm. Blinky chases Pac-Man directly, Pinky targets four spaces ahead of him, Inky uses a complex formula involving both Pac-Man's and Blinky's positions, and Clyde alternates between chasing and retreating. These behaviors create emergent gameplay that skilled players can exploit through pattern memorization. The game grossed over a billion dollars in quarters in North America in its first year. It remains one of the highest-grossing and most-played entertainment products of all time, with the perfect arcade game lasting achieved by Billy Mitchell in 1999.
