Pac Man turns 30

 Pac Man celebrated its 30th anniversary this Saturday.


The invention of Toru Iwatani, a game designer for Namco, set out to design a woman friendly game in response to the shoot up games that dominated the market back then (and still do). By creating a cute cast of characters and a design sensibility that appealed to wider audiences, Iwatani broadened the appeal and marketability of games, creating what some call the first “casual game.”

Here's an interesting bit of Pac Man trivia, its original name was "Puck-Man" but was changed because company officials feared American kids would swap the "P" with an "F". Good call, I certainly would have.