Ghost-Wary, dot eating Pac-Man turns 25 today

AP ^ | June 14, 2005 | Matt Slagle

[Labyrinthos]

Pinky is obviously gay. Boycott the game!

[Rebelbase]

The article is off by a couple of years. I remember playing pacman when I was in high school and I graduated in '78.

[Andonius_99]

Oh, man...I used to love that game! When Atari re-released the 2600, I was the first on my street to get it and, man, did I enjoy Kung-Fu Master. Kung-Fu Master and Keystone Capers were the two I really liked...

[Lockbar]

And just to think, it all started with this:

[krb]

this:

Was my game.

[Constitution Day]

Wow! I loved Zaxxon.

In about '81 or '82, I had a Pac-Man wristwatch.
I used to play it in class all the time.

[martin_fierro]

Found a place where you can play Zaxxon online.

(the controls are a bit of a pain)

You can also DL old arcade gaems there.

[martin_fierro]

gaems=games

[Constitution Day]

Cool!
I'll check that out.

You could also buy your very own Zaxxon on eBay:

VINTAGE ARCADE "ZAXXON" VIDEO GAME NEAR MINT!

[Cincinatus]

Pitfall was great! Activision got more out of the old Atari than I thought was possible!

This one was my favorite:

[dread78645]

The article is off by a couple of years. I remember playing pacman when I was in high school and I graduated in '78.

I wondered about that, but a copy of the orignal Midway schematic (page 4) shows a date of Oct 9 1980.

[Rebelbase]

IIRC, it was Nathan's Famous arcade, the hotdog folks.

Maybe a bootleg machine in the late 70's?

[Brett66]

I loved XCOM. I tracked down a Win95 compatible version of it on the internet and built a system from old computer parts so I could still play it.

[whd23]

I loved XCOM. I tracked down a Win95 compatible version of it on the internet and built a system from old computer parts so I could still play it.

Yeah, I tried to fire it up on a "modern" PC. The new PC was too fast! Trying to scroll around resulted in moving directly to the edges of the map.

With my super-soldiers, I loved it when the aliens attacked my base. I would kick their tails so hard! How about those advanced grenade launchers that you should shoot around corners with? I'd level the towns under attack to get the aliens. Now I want to load it on a PC!

[AppyPappy]

We've come a long way

[dread78645]

Maybe a bootleg machine in the late 70's?

Maybe, just maybe, it was imported from Japan before before the US rights were sold?

I read that Namco sued Bally (the other US licensee) for making machines with modified artwork of the images (one of them was Ms. PacMan). So this guy wasn't shy of the courtroom.

[whd23]

Here's a site (in french) making it available for download as abandonware.

[Fresh Wind]

Video games are lame. They're cold, dead, and impersonal.

There's nothing better than a well tuned pinball machine for a great time. You become one with the machine, you can feel its organs pulsating. You stimulate the machine, and it stimulates you. It's almost like, well, you know what I mean.

[Fresh Wind]

[Phantom Lord]

My wife's friends husband has tunred his garage into an arcade. He has pac-man, Ms Pac-man, star wars, tron, burger time, Tapper, Punchout, centipede, and about 15 more I can't remember. Paninted the walls, floor, and ceiling black and installed blacklights. It truly is like an 80's arcade you would find in the mall.

Myself, I have always wanted a Tempest game.