It’s that time of the year again when we celebrate the birthday of a video game icon. This year marks the 42nd year of the Pac-Man game. There will be a celebration with a new theme song and even a new video game.
As a bit of history, Pac-Man was first released in Japan back in July 1980 and then worldwide by December of the same year. However, it was on May 22, 1980, when location testing was first done for the game, then called Puck Man.
New Collection
What’s happening for this year’s birthday then? Let's start with the Pac-Man Museum+ which launches this Friday, May 27. Players are invited to discover, or in some cases revisit, 14 titles of the Pac-Man series. This is good news for those looking for some of the titles that may not have been available for years now.
For those who are curious, the collection has the original Pac-Man and these games:
- Super Pac-Man
- Pac & Pal
- Pac-Land
- Pac-Mania
- Pac-Attack
- Pac-In-Time
- Pac-Man Arrangement Arcade ver.
- Pac-Man Arrangement CS ver.
- Pac-Man Championship Edition
- PAC Motos
- Pac’n Roll Remix
- Pac-Man Battle Royale
- Pac-Man 256
This collection is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. It’s also compatible with both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game is going to be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch as well.
New Music
This being a birthday celebration, there should be some entertainment and music right? Not to worry since Bandai Namco has you covered. A new theme song has been released titled “We are Pac-Man,” written by Yoshihito Yano of Bandai Namco Studios Inc. and Kazuhito Udetsu of Bandai Namco Entertainment and performed by Kaho Kidoguchi.
You can watch the music video below:
Sweepstakes
As part of the celebration, Bandai Namco Entertainment America launched the Pac-Man Birthday Sweepstakes, which already started and is set to end on May 27. Five lucky participants get the chance to win the ultimate Pac-Man prize package containing:
- One (1) Arcade1UP Pac-Man Legacy Edition arcade machine
- One (1) Proplica WAKA WAKA Pac-Man collectible toy
- One (1) Pac-Man Tamagotchi electronic device
- One (1) Nanoblock Pac-Man translucent limited version collector set
- One (1) Pac-Man x ZOJIRUSHI stainless mug bundle set
- One (1) Patch Collection x Pac-MAN collector patch
- One (1) Physical copy of the Pac-Man Museum+ video game
- One (1) Pac-Man x Orlinski collectible figurine set
You can learn more about the Birthday Sweepstakes here.
What are you waiting for? Join the celebration now!
