is a video game series and

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

developed, published and owned by

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...

, a video game publisher that was previously known as

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

. Entries have been developed by a wide array of other video game companies, including

Midway Games Midway Games Inc. (formerly Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known simply as Midway) was an American video game company that existed from 1958 to 2010. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (franchise), Ra ...

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

and Mass Media, Inc., and was created by Toru Iwatani. The first entry in the series was released in arcades in 1980 by Namco, and published by Midway Games in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Most ''Pac-Man'' games are maze chase games, but it has also delved into other genres, such as

platformers A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

, and

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

. Several games in the series were released for a multitude of home consoles and are included in many Bandai Namco video game compilations. ''Pac-Man'' is one of the longest-running, best-selling, and highest-grossing video game franchises in history, and the game has seen regular releases for over 40 years, has sold nearly 48 million copies across all of the platforms, and has grossed over US$14 billion, most of which has been from the original arcade game. The character of

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

is the official mascot of Bandai Namco, and is one of the most recognizable video game characters in history. The franchise has been seen as important and influential, and is often used as a representation for 1980s

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

and video games as a whole.

Video games

Arcade video games

Home console, handheld console, and PC games

Compilations

Games made primarily for mobile platforms

Also having been released as iOS applications are ports of the original ''

'', '' Ms. Pac-Man'', ''

Pac-Mania is a 1987 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In the game, the player controls Pac-Man as he must eat all of the dots while avoiding the colored ghosts that chase him in the maze. Eating large flashing "Power Pellet ...

'', and ''

Pac-Man Championship Edition is a 2007 maze video game developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360. It has since been released on several other platforms, including iOS, Android (operating system), Android, and the PlayStation Portable as a PSP mini title ...

'' (all of these except for ''Pac-Mania'' have also been released on Android). Emulated versions of the original ''Pac-Man'' and ''

Pac-Land is a 1984 platform video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It was distributed in North America by Bally Midway, and in Europe by Atari Games. Controlling Pac-Man, the player must make it to the end of each stage to return a ...

'' are included in the defunct '' Namco Arcade'' application for iOS and Android. There was also a Pac-Man themed Twitter application for iOS devices, the ''Pac-Man Live Wallpaper'' application for iOS and Android devices, the ''Pac-Man Watch Face'' for

Android Wear Wear OS, formerly Android Wear, is a closed-source Android distribution designed for smartwatches and other wearable computers, developed by Google. Wear OS is designed to pair with mobile phones running Android ( version 6.0 "Marshmallow" or n ...

, and ''Pac-Man Moving Stickers'' for iOS. In July 2015, '' Pac-Man Championship Edition DX'' was released on both

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and Android. Both versions were discontinued in March 2020.

Other titles

Cancelled Pac-Man games

Pac-Man Museum ''Pac-Man Museum'' is a 2014 compilation video game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows, developed by Mine Loader Software and published by Bandai Namco Games under the Namco label. It is a compilation of 9 Pac-Man games, with additional fe ...

'' was released on

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (or XBLA) was a video game Digital distribution in video games, digital distribution service that was available for the Xbox (console), Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. It focused on smaller downloadable games from both major publisher ...

(

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

(

PS3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

) and

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

PC (through

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

); the planned

Nintendo eShop The is a digital distribution service for the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2, and formerly available via the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo eShop served ...

release for Wii U and 3DS was cancelled. ''

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 ''Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2'', also known in Japan as is a 2014 video game for the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, released on October 14, 2014. It is the sequel to ''Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures''. The game rec ...

'' was also originally going to have a Windows version.

Other media

Animated series

Pac-Man (1982-1983)

Pac-Man is an American animated television series produced by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

and it is the first series based on the franchise. It premiered on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and ran for 44 episodes over two seasons from September 25, 1982, to November 5, 1983. It was the first cartoon based on a video game. The series aired on

Saturday Morning in the following formats: * '' The Pac-Man/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show'' (September 25, 1982 – September 3, 1983) * ''The Pac-Man/

Rubik, the Amazing Cube ''Rubik, the Amazing Cube'' is a 1983 half-hour American Saturday morning animated series based on the puzzle created by Ernő Rubik, produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises and broadcast as part of '' The Pac-Man/Rubik, the Amazing Cube Hour'' bl ...

Hour'' (September 10, 1983 – September 1, 1984)

Specials

''Pac-Man Halloween Special'' The Halloween special consisted of two segments from the show, "Pacula" and "Trick or Chomp". The special aired in primetime on

on October 30, 1982. It has been replayed on channels like

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

and

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

during Halloween in later years until 2014. '' Christmas Comes to Pac-Land'' In this Christmas special, Pac-Man and his family help

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

(voiced by

Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He voiced Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''The Transformers (TV series), Transformers'' animated series, later returning to the role in ''Transformers'' media in 2007, sta ...

) after he crash lands in Pac-Land (after the

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

were startled by the floating eyes of the Ghost Monsters after Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Baby chomped them). Mezmeron was the only character from the cartoon that is not in the special (although his lair, which is covered in snow, appears). It was shown every December on the

Christmas Party until 2014.

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (2013-2015)

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, known in Japan as is an animated television series produced by

41 Entertainment 41 Entertainment LLC (41E) is a privately held American animation company that develops, produces, and distributes popular television shows. Allen Bohbot is the founder and managing director of 41E. History Allen Bohbot founded Bohbot Entertain ...

, Arad Productions, a partnership between

Sprite Animation Studios Sprite Animation Studios is an American computer animation studio founded in 2002 by former members of Square USA led by Motonori "Moto" Sakakibara, co-director of Square Pictures and Columbia Pictures’ feature film '' Final Fantasy: The Spiri ...

and

OLM, Inc. , (formerly Oriental Light and Magic), is a Japanese animation studio, animation and film studio headquartered in Setagaya, Tokyo, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, founded on October 3, 1990, by former Gallop (studio), Studio Gallop and OB Planning employe ...

, and Bandai Namco Entertainment for

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

(stereo version), BS11 (stereo version) and

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...

(bilingual version). It is the second animated series to be based upon the game franchise, following the 1982 TV series. The show aired from June 15, 2013, to May 25, 2015, running for three seasons and 52 episodes.

Film

Various attempts for a feature film based on Pac-Man have been planned since the peak of the original game's popularity. Following the release of ''Ms. Pac-Man'', a feature film was being developed, but never reached an agreement. In 2008, a live-action film based on the series was in development at Crystal Sky. In 2022, plans for a live-action ''Pac-Man'' film were revived at Wayfarer Studios, based on an idea by Chuck Williams.

Attractions

The kid's area of the park originally opened in 1983 as Pac-Man Land. Today the park is called Bugs Bunny Boomtown since 2014. Due to the appearance of

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

characters since 1985. The attractions are now based on Looney Tunes characters.

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, Japan, Video games, Animation, Anime and manga, Television, 1980s, 1990s

*List