Students
Why did Pac-Man make that onomatopoeic “pacu-pacu” sound?
Who remembers Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde? Maybe you don’t remember them by name, but they are the blinking ghosts in Pac-Man. 
I thought back to the arcade game that stood out to me the most as a kid and came up with Pac-Man. I spent countless hours chasing dots as a child. I looked forward to going to Round Table Pizza because they were one of the few establishments that housed the sit-down model of Pac-Man.
On May 22, 1980, Namco introduced the world to one of the most popular arcade games. Japanese game designer Toru Iwatani game up with the idea for a game called “Puck-Man” which was first released in Japan. The game manufacturer Midway bought the United States rights for the game the same year, but because they feared that kids might deface a Puck-Man cabinet by changing the P to an F, the United States released the game as Pac-Man.
Pac-man became an iconic social phenomenon during the 1980s, and I can’t imagine anyone who couldn’t recognize Pac-Man if shown in a line-up. Almost 30 years later my husband and I were shopping for Christmas gifts and came across a Pac-Man game that you connect to your television through video inputs. I’ve introduced my nieces, five and seven, to the game that was a mainstay in my house for many years, and they don’t seem to like the game as much. The concept of a joy-stick was semi-foreign to them, and they are also used to more fast-moving, developed characters. The dotted maze just doesn’t excite them. 
Iwatani created a few other games for Namco, but none had the level of success that Pac-Man did and he ended up leaving Namco in March 2007 to become a full-time lecturer at Tokyo Polytechnic University where he teaches character design studies.
September 28th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Yeah it actually is kind of sad when kids today don’t appreciate these classic games! For me growing up, these old games were pretty much in the realm of amazing, unbelievable, AWESOME. Wish kids today could also see them as such, but when the competition today has far better graphics, sound, story, etc, etc haha, I guess we’ll be the only ones to have a soft spot for them.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Thanks for sharing. The branding change information was very interesting and well funny to think kids might deface the game. Its also interesting how today’s kids don’t seem as interested in Pac-Man and games of the like but technology has come a long way. Think Pong Tennis and WII tennis. Thanks again for sharing.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
If you’re going to be a one-hit wonder in gaming, Pac Man is a heckuva hit.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
I recently discovered a local bar & grill has a Pac-Man set-up. My friends and I could not put it down. Glad to hear I’m not the only one who still appreciates this classic.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I still have Ms. Pac-Man for old school NES. We are in the process of teaching our stepson how to play it. I know special effects are great nowadays, but in my mind you can’t beat this classic.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:12 am
Teresa, I have the same fond memories of my “Pac-Man” experience. My brother and I would ride our bikes to Round Table Pizza (in La Mesa) for hours of video game adventure. Other great NAMCO games that bring back memories include Galaxian, Dig-Dug, Galaga, and Pole Position to name a few. Great bit of history about Midway changing the original name of the game in fear that American kids would deface the brand. Funny! Even though I enjoyed many hours of these “old school” games as a kid, they are almost boring compared to the games of today.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
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September 30th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I too have great memories of going to places like Round Table and getting to play the sit-down Pac-Man game. There is actually a restaurant in Long Beach near CSULB that still has one….Hof’s Hut on Bellflower Blvd just south of the 405. I think that games like this will always be fun for kids (and adults) as long as they are still made available. There is something so fun about trying to ‘outwit’ those darn ghosts and figuring out when to eat the power dots (don’t know what they are actually called).
September 30th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
First if all, I LOVE that word: “onomatopoeic”. I seriously had to scroll up about three times to make sure I spelled it right. I agree with Namco when they decided to name the game Pac-Man versus Puck-Man. My brain thought of the possible manipulation of the name before you listed it later in your blog. I am wondering how long after the publication of Pac-Man did Mrs. Pac-Man come out? I’m surprised this game hasn’t evolved as much as Super Mario.
October 1st, 2009 at 5:21 pm
A couple things:
1) This might apply to only those readers between the ages of 25-35, but does anyone remember the Pac-Man cartoon ? Pac-Man, his wife Pepper, Pac-baby, the dog chomp-chomp….if you do you’ll probably get a big kick out of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3n22GQMgcU
2) It seems like the sit down Pac-Man game was exclusive to just pizza joints back in the day. Round Table, Pizza Hut, Jerry’s…
If anyone is looking for one these days though, check out the back room at The Casbah (concert venue, San Diego).
3) Every time I play that game, I am torn between two strategies – do I ignore the ghosts and play strictly for the highest level, OR, do I throw caution to the wind and attempt to eat all the ghosts multiple times before clearing the board, clearly a riskier, but more point laden strategy. Always a dilemma for me….
October 5th, 2009 at 12:52 am
I loved Pac-Man, so much so that I even owned the Atari version of the game (anyone who has ever played it would understand – vertical tunnels? Really Atari, really?).
Anyway, I agree with a couple of the other posts about how the games of today seem to leave these old ones in the dust. But if you ever happen to find a machine when you have someone to play against – that’s still great fun! My wife and I still get uber-competitive whenever we see a Ms. Pac-Man machine! I have to admit that if you play by yourself it can get pretty boring, especially if you own a PS, Wii or Xbox. Still, nostalgia counts for a lot!
Thanks for the great post!
October 5th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
What an awesome game. It was simple but challenging. It made you want to ge those ghosts every time! But as others have said these games having fallen to more rich media and very violent games.
October 5th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
PAC man is one of those games you never forget. I never really thought of Pac Man as making a “pacu pacu” sound! It is kind of amazing when you think of how far video games have come. Amazing.
October 12th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
It’s Wokka Wokka Wokka.
And I loved Ms.PacMan. One summer that was THE game I played “down the shore” in New Jersey.
Just saw a Ms.PacMan table at Woodstock’s Pizza in Santa Cruz yesterday. I should have played it.