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Pacman 30th Anniversary And Doodle Of Google

Pacman 30th Anniversary

On May 21, 2010, Pacman celebrated its 30th anniversary. The game was first released by BNADAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. in 1980. On the 30-year anniversary, google gave tribute to this classic game by putting a doodle on its web page. 

In this article, we will tell you about the story of how this 40-year-old game set forth the standard of the games we have today and how Google recognized this arcade title and dedicated a doodle on its homepage.

 

Pac-Man Doodle

 

Pacman

Originally called Puck Man in Japan, Pacman is a classic maze arcade game released by BANDAI NAMCO, first in Japan and then in the United States. The game was designed by Japanese video game designer Toru Iwatani.

In the game, you play as a yellow Pac that has to wander around the maze to earn points while defending himself from the ghost enemies. You are alone, but there are multiple enemies wandering through the same maze. As the game goes by, they get quicker and smarter. Only quick thinkers and strategists win the game.

At the corner of the screen, there are flashy wafers. When eaten by your character, the ghosts following you turn blue and avoid you. Why do they avoid you? Because you can eat the ghosts while they are white for bonus points.

According to Atari Inc, the game took six months to develop. For a game as simple as that, one would think that it should be programmed in a month but considering it was 1980, it is still a miracle how we developed a game so successful that it was one of the most successful games ever made.

Pacman was released for the Atari 2600; since then, it has sold over 8 million copies. On April 3, 1982, Atari celebrated “National Pac-Man Day” and produced over 1 million copies to meet the exceeding demand.

 

Pacman’s Success

When the game was announced for Atari 2600, there were already 3-4 million pre-orders for the game. Within the first month of release, more than one million copies were shipped. In 1982, there were around 7.2 million copies sold, making it the best-selling video game of the year 1982. The game was then released for Atari VCS and increased its sales to over 12 million copies sold.

According to Wikipedia’s Best Selling Video Games of All Time, Pacman comes 13th on the list with over 42 million copies sold combined (Data from 2016). The first on the list is Minecraft, with selling a whopping 238 million copies to date.

Who Was This Game For? Aka Target Audience

In the 1970s-80s, most games were about wars and sports. The team behind this game wanted to bring this title so that women would also play this game. According to stats, there weren’t many women gamers back then. 

The game development began in 1979 with a nine-man team. The team was led by Toru Iwatani, the mind behind Pacman design. Originally, the title character was supposed to be a pizza slice, and the ghosts were cute and colorful characters. Iwatani wanted not only women but also children to play this game.

The Legacy

Even though the game has tasted great success, critics have attacked it several times. Despite the interesting gameplay, it was heavily criticized for not having good graphics and soundtracks.

Celebrating its success, Pacman has been one of the most the games of all time and won the following awards:

  • Best Commercial Arcade Game from Arcade Awards (1981)
  • Best Videogame from Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA)
  • Greatest Video Game by Dixons (2001)
  • Most Popular Game by Killer List of Videogames

How Google Celebrated Pacman’s 30th Anniversary

Out of all the tech giants in the world, Google knows how to give tribute to a cult classic, and this time, too, the mighty search engine hasn’t failed. 

Google celebrated Pacman’s 30th Anniversary, putting the game directly on its homepage on May 21, 2010. On Google’s Doodle Archive, Google doodler Ryan Germick and Senior Developer and UX Designer Marcin Wichary share the story of how Pacman influenced the world of 8-bit gaming. 

According to Wichary, the game was perfect for the Google homepage. In 2010, when they celebrated Pacman’s 30th anniversary, they intended to put the game only for 48 hours. But now, the game has been embedded completely into Google. What you need to do is Search for “Pacman,” “Pacman Doogle,” or “Pacman 30th anniversary”, and the game will pop right up. Click the “Play” button and go back to relive 20th-century gaming. 

 

Conclusion

Even though the game is old, we cannot ignore its significance and the impact it had on 8-bit gaming. The game has been showing great numbers from the start and made a fortune for the publishers. Now, it is known as a legendary cult classic among gamers. 

As much as the community paid tribute in its own way, Google’s way of celebrating the game’s 30th anniversary has been the most unique. They put it on their homepage!

Now, whenever you search for a game on Google, the first result will always be the game, and you’ll be able to play right away.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

When was the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man?

Pacman celebrated its 30th anniversary on May 21, 2010. Google put its doodle on the homepage.

How do you cheat on Pac-Man Google?


Here’s the list of cheats:

  1. Z + X for next level
  2. Z + C for committing suicide
  3. Z + G to enable God Mode

We’ve tried these, but they don’t always work. 

What anniversary is Pacman?

The game was released on May 21, 1980. So, Pac-man celebrated its 42nd anniversary on May 21, 2022.

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