Pac-Man (character)

For other uses, see Pac-Man (disambiguation).
Pac-Man
Pac-Man character
Pac-Man as depicted in his in-game design (left) from Pac-Man (1980) and his alternate design from early Japanese materials (right), as seen in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014)
First appearancePac-Man (1980)
Created byToru Iwatani
Designed byToru Iwatani
Tadashi Yamashita
Voiced by
Various

Pac-Man[a] is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the video game franchise of the same name. Created by Toru Iwatani, he first appeared in the arcade game Pac-Man (1980), and has since appeared in more than 30 licensed sequels and spin-offs for multiple platforms,[5] and spawning mass amounts of merchandise in his image, including two television series and a hit single by Buckner & Garcia.[6] He is the official mascot of Bandai Namco Entertainment.[7] Pac-Man's most common antagonists are the Ghost Gang — Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde that are determined to defeat him to accomplish their goals, which change throughout the series. Pac-Man also has a voracious appetite, being able to consume vast amounts of food in a short timespan, and can eat his enemies by consuming large "Power Pellets".

The idea of Pac-Man was taken from both the image of a pizza with a slice removed and from rounding out the Japanese symbol 口 (kuchi, lit. "mouth"). The character was made to be cute and colorful to appeal to younger players, particularly women. In Japan, he was titled "Puckman" for his hockey puck-like shape, which was changed in international releases to prevent defacement of the arcade cabinets by changing the P into an F to form an expletive.

Pac-Man has the highest-brand awareness of any video game character in North America, becoming an icon in video games and pop culture. He is credited as the first video game mascot character and the first to receive merchandise. He also appears as a playable guest character in some other games, most notably in the Super Smash Bros. series (specifically in the fourth and fifth installments) and in the Ridge Racer series.

  1. ^ "This forgotten 1983 vinyl made Mario history, but it could never be created today". Digital Trends. July 24, 2023. Archived from the original on September 17, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Pac-Man Voices". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  3. ^ Monkey Bar Games. Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. Namco Bandai Games. Scene: Ending credits, 10:19 in, English Voice Talent.
  4. ^ "Pac-Man Voice - Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  5. ^ "The Legacy of Pac-Man". Archived from the original on 1998-01-21.
  6. ^ "The Pac-Page (including database of Pac-Man merchandise and TV show reference)". Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  7. ^ Goldberg, Marty (2002-01-31). "Pac-Man: The Phenomenon - Part 1". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2006-07-31.


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