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Pac-Man hits 40

October 23, 2020

by Angharad Rhiannon

Introduced in 1980 by Bandai Namco, Pac-Man is now 40. And from AR pins to retro gaming competitions and even full-sized real-life game boards, everyone’s getting in on the act.

Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe has announced that Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle is arriving exclusively on Google’s cloud gaming service Stadia from November 17th 2020. Players will compete against 63 others across an interconnected grid of classic Pac-Man mazes to become the last Pac-Man standing.

Meanwhile, London-based retro-game streaming service Antstream Arcade has announced a partnership with Pac-Man Guinness World Record holder Billy Mitchell and UK Pac-Man champion Jon Stoodley that will see players challenge Mitchell and Stoodley to claim a spot on Antstream’s global leaderboard. Running from October 23rd to October 30th, players participating in the Galaxian challenge will have one life, with power pills lasting just 1 second, Pac-Man at 90 per cent speed and ghosts at 110 per cent speed!

AR collectible pin company Pinfinity is launching a Pac-Man pin in December 2020. Launched earlier in 2020, Pinfinity brings fandoms to life through high quality enamel pins that are augmented with animation, sound and interactive experiences when buyers download the free Pinfinity app and scan their pin.

The company’s Pinfinity+ monthly subscription service is focusing first on gaming (Pinfinity+ Gaming), and  has previously released pins featuring properties from Hasbro, Henson Studios and Capcom, such as Transformers, Fraggle Rock and Street Fighter. The Pac-Man pin will be available to Pinfinity+ Gaming subscribers and will trigger nostalgic music and custom animation, as well as unlock downloadable content.

Steamforged Games is partnering with Bandai Namco Entertainment to launch Pac-Man: The Card Game. The company says the game will see players gobble up fruit and Pac-Dot cards for points, while avoiding ghosts Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. The game will be distributed in the UK and Ireland by John Adams Leisure and will hit stores in November 2020. Co-founder and creative lead Mat Hart said: “We’re stoked to be collaborating with our partner Bandai Namco on another household IP. The game will be a brand new experience that feels authentically like the Pac-Man we all know and love, with art inspired by the retro arcade classic.”

This year also marks 95 years that Caterpillar has been manufacturing construction, agriculture and mining equipment and to celebrate it has featured Pac-Man as the ninth instalment of its popular YouTube Trial Series. For the video, Caterpillar built a life sized Pac-Man gameboard at its Edwards Demonstration and Learning Centre in Peoria, IL, and challenged customers, skilled equipment operators and professionals gamers to guide a Caterpillar 236D3 around the board using a remote control.

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