It's Pac-Man's 25th birthday

June 16, 2005 11:19 AM

It's Pac-Man's 25th birthday and it's quite clear that some obsessed fans out there are much happier about it than other extremely obsessed pac-players. Maybe that guy needs to unwind for a bit?
posted by kingmissile (12 comments total)

I am a proud owner of the Pac-Man Christmas Album. Happy Birthday, you round yellow bastard.
posted by jonmc at 11:25 AM on June 16, 2005

You say extremely obsessed, and I think of this guy.
posted by Cyrano at 12:12 PM on June 16, 2005

I've got a pocket full of quarters and I'm headin' to the AR-CADE!
posted by keswick at 12:13 PM on June 16, 2005

I remember Pac Man being the first game that "kept going" beyond where people could realistically play. Anyone remember the famous "split screens" you could find if you got high enough?

And then there was the infamous Atari 2600 Pac Man fiasco. There was so much hype that they produced more cartridges than actual console units that could play them. And oh yeah, the port sucked.
posted by mkultra at 12:13 PM on June 16, 2005

MM that was a good bannana. I even ate the skin! I don't care!
posted by ackeber at 12:42 PM on June 16, 2005

Puck-Man, as it was originally called, was born. Because of obvious similarities to a certain four-letter profanity, "Puck" became "Pac" when it debuted in the U.S. in 1980.

No, no, no! 'Pac' comes from paku paku, the onomatopaeic Japanese term relating to the sound of eating. Not so much 'wocka wocka wocka' as 'paku paku paku'.
posted by RokkitNite at 12:57 PM on June 16, 2005

No, RokkitNite, the original Japanese version was Puckman.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=P&game_id=9149


Midway, the US liscensee of the game, changed the name to avoid people scratching out part of the "P" to spell "Fuck-man".
posted by cosmicbandito at 1:03 PM on June 16, 2005

“It was unbelievable,” says Gary Vincent, Funspot Operations Manager. “Mitchell purposefully arrived on July 1st -- Canada’s Day -- and won the title in time for the Fourth of July. He even wore a red, white and blue, Star-Star Spangled Banner tie to emphasize the patriotic sentiments behind his efforts.”

Mitchell, who refused to eat until he beat the Canadians for the world record, went hungry for nearly two full days. “I had to be first,” Mitchell explains. “Its like Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. No matter how many people accomplish the feat afterwards, it will always be Armstrong who will be remembered for doing it first. And, best of all, it was an American.”

Wow, what a dick.

I wish I'd been there to accidentally (ahem) trip over the plug just before he won. Watch him turn red, white and blue.
posted by stinkycheese at 1:07 PM on June 16, 2005

Man, that Flash video on your third link is BAAAAAAAD. Not the animation so much as the video itself. I can't believe someone took so much time working on that POS. Oh well, I guess everyone has their obsessions - some more than others.

And, oh yeah - happy birthday to Pac Man.
posted by shoppingforsanity at 1:40 PM on June 16, 2005

Related comic from Spamusement, who draws cartoons from actual spam subject lines: Ms. Pac-Man is back!
posted by arielmeadow at 3:55 PM on June 16, 2005

posted by WaterSprite at 6:26 PM on June 16, 2005

No, RokkitNite, the original Japanese version was Puckman.

Okay, I officially suck. Let the weeabooing commence.
posted by RokkitNite at 12:39 PM on June 17, 2005