Pac-Man, originally called Puck Man in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating large flashing dots called "Power Pellets" causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points.
Namco Limited was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955 which operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. They were one of the most influential figures in the worldwide coin-op and arcade game industry; Namco produced several multi-million-selling game franchises, such as Pac-Man, Galaxian, Tekken, Tales, Ridge Racer, and Ace Combat. In 2006, Namco merged with Bandai to form what is now named Bandai Namco Holdings; the standalone Namco brand continues to be used for video arcade and other entertainment products by the group's Bandai Namco Amusements division.
Ms. Pac-Man is a 1982 maze arcade video game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is a spin-off sequel to Pac-Man (1980) and the first entry in the series to not be made by Namco. Controlling the title character, Pac-Man's wife, the player is tasked with eating all of the pellets in an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating the larger "power pellets" lets the player eat the ghosts, who turn blue and flee.
Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to Galaxian (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a starship, the player is tasked with destroying the Galaga forces in each stage while avoiding enemies and projectiles. Some enemies can capture a player's ship via a tractor beam, which can be rescued to transform the player into a "dual fighter" with additional firepower.
Dig Dug is a maze arcade video game released by Namco in 1982. It was distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player digs underground tunnels to attack enemies in each level, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rocks.
Pac-Land is a 1984 side-scrolling arcade platform game developed and released by Namco. It was distributed in North America by Bally Midway, and in Europe by Atari Games. Controlling Pac-Man, the player must make it to the end of each stage to return a lost fairy back to its home in Fairyland. Pac-Man will need to avoid obstacles, such as falling logs and water-spewing fire hydrants, alongside his enemies, the Ghost Gang. Eating large flashing Power Pellets will cause the ghosts to turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for points.
Masaya Nakamura was a Japanese businessman and the founder of Namco. He was the company's president up until 2002, where he took a ceremonial role in its management. Following the formation of Bandai Namco Holdings, Nakamura would retain an honorary position in the video game division, Bandai Namco Entertainment.
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade is a video game compilation developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360. It was released in North America in 2008 and in Europe and Japan in 2009. Part of its Namco Museum series, Virtual Arcade includes 34 titles; nine of these are Namco Bandai-published Xbox Live Arcade games, and the rest are arcade games that are only accessible through the disc. Players can access the Xbox Live Arcade games through their dashboard if the disc is in the console.
Namco Generations was a brand name created by Namco Bandai Games for modernized remakes of their older video games. It was introduced in 2010 in conjunction with Pac-Man Championship Edition DX for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Galaga Legions DX was the second game to use the brand, being released in 2011. Two other games were in production under the Namco Generations label, a Metro-Cross sequel named Aero-Cross and a remaster of Dancing Eyes, both of which were cancelled.
Bandai Namco Studios Inc., is a Japanese video game developer headquartered in Kōtō, Tokyo and created in 2012, with divisions in Singapore and Malaysia. Bandai Namco Studios is a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Entertainment, which itself is part of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. The company works under its parent company as a keiretsu; Bandai Namco Studios creates video games for home, arcade and mobile platforms, while Bandai Namco Entertainment handles the managing, marketing and publishing of these products.
Crossy Road is an action game released on 20 November 2014. It was developed and published by Australian video game developer Hipster Whale. The name and concept of the game play on the riddle joke "Why did the chicken cross the road?" It has been described as endless runner version of the 1981 video game Frogger. After June 2017, the publisher for the Android version of Crossy Road was changed from yodo1 back to Hipster Whale.
Enterrium is a contemporary American restaurant and video arcade located at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois. The restaurant and entertainment destination was originally inspired by Pac-Man and the name refers to the famous kill screen, which occurs when the player reaches the 256th level of the original Pac-Man game, meaning "the next level of dining and entertainment". It was owned by Bandai Namco Entertainment from 2015 to 2021, which also owns all Pac-Man-related intellectual property. The restaurant celebrated its soft opening on March 2, 2015, and its grand opening in April 2015.
Pac-Man 256 is an endless runner video game developed by Hipster Whale and 3 Sprockets and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game is part of the Pac-Man series and is inspired by the original Pac-Man game's infamous Level 256 glitch, as well as Hipster Whale's own game Crossy Road, which previously featured a Pac-Man mode. The game was originally released as a free-to-play title for iOS and Android on August 20, 2015. In June 21, 2016, Bandai Namco Studios Vancouver released a version of the game for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, featuring additional features like multiplayer for up to 4 players, a new power-up, and no longer having to wait a certain amount of time to get power-ups, and instead having to eat a number of Pac-Dots.
The Arcade Game Series is a line of downloadable Namco arcade games by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. They were all released on April 20, 2016.
Shooty Skies is an arcade shooting game created by Hipster Whale and Mighty Games for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux. It was released on iOS on September 30, 2015, and on Android on November 6, 2015; it was later released on Windows, macOS, and Linux on March 6, 2018.
The Pac-Man 40th Anniversary was a celebration of the Pac-Man series of video games since the release of the arcade cabinet Pac-Man on May 22, 1980. Bandai Namco celebrated the anniversary through business ventures with video games, events, clothing and other forms of merchandise. The anniversary took place throughout 2020, and ended in early 2021.
Pac-Man Museum+ is a 2022 compilation video game developed by Now Production and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Being a sequel to the 2014 compilation title Pac-Man Museum, Pac-Man Museum+ includes 14 games from the Pac-Man series, with additional features such as missions and online leaderboards.
