The old school arcade mascot Pac-Man celebrates its 41st birthday by partnering with the NBA in a brand new special event for mobile phones. Bandai Namco and the National Basketball Association (NBA) are partnering on this landmark occasion to celebrate the anniversary of the Japanese arcade title on May 22nd.
Pac-Man is synonymous with video game culture and was one of the most successful arcade games of the 1980s. The original maze action arcade cabinet contained the yellow puck that ate dots in a top-down maze, plus fruit and large dots for extra dots, while being chased by four colored ghosts named Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde . While the game is pretty simple, Pac-Man was a widespread critical and commercial hit that outlasted many of the arcade classics of the same period. By 2016, the franchise had sales of more than $ 14 billion and combined sales of over $ 43 million. It’s no wonder that now, a little over 40 years after its release, the yellow puck is still at the forefront of the gaming industry.
In honor of the icon’s anniversary, the PAC-MAN Mobile game. The collaboration was announced on both NBA‘s official Twitter account and from Bandai Namco on twitter. Fans who log into the mobile app can take part in a special NBA-themed anniversary event that includes 20 new levels dedicated to teams in the NBA playoffs and play-in tournament. In addition to the crossover content, Bandai offers Namco Pac-Man Themed goods for a 30% discount on the usual price. This includes t-shirts, pop characters, puzzles and a mystery box from the 40th anniversary event that is returning. There’s even a quarter-size arcade cabinet that plays the original PAC-MAN Arcade edition from 1980.
This isn’t the only recognition the popular video game icon has recently received. Last month, Nintendo announced a brand new one Pac-Man Title in the form of Pac-Man 99, a peculiar battle royale game for the Nintendo Switch. This title follows a proud tradition of unconventional battle royales based on vintage video games that appear on the platform. Tetris 99 and the timed availability of Super Mario 35 Set the stage for gaming icons to see new life on the Switch in a large-scale multiplayer arena.
That’s unbelievable Pac-Man is 41 years old. Games have come a long way since the old arcade cabinets, but legends like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Street fighter still live to this day. Nostalgia is a powerful force in the video game industry, and as old as such games get, today’s developers are unlikely to ever forget their humble roots.
Those: Twitter / NBA, Twitter / Bandai Namco
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