Is Pac-Man still Relevant?
Developer: Namco Bandai
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Format: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and 3DS
Release Date: Fall 2014
If there is one name you can associate with Namco as a gaming company, it is undeniably Pac-Man.
It feels as though the little yellow glutton has been around for as long as video games have existed. He has definitely made his mark on the world as a geek chic icon. Why, just today I was walking past an arcade and noticed an animated Pac-Man welcome sign in the window. In a world where everyone is playing the latest ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘Grand Theft Auto’, Pac-Man is still more of a gaming icon than ever before.
Pac-Man, in essence, is video-games.
And does Namco know this? You bet.
While The Witcher III: Wild Hunt might be their ace in the hole, it’s obvious that Pac-Man is Namco’s most cherished franchise. When they talk about this new Pac-Man game and his place in the current gaming landscape, there is a very obvious love for the character, which goes beyond a mere business relationship.
This feeling is at its most tangible in a video Namco show us, where they pulled a marketing stunt in 2013.
For ‘fun’, they decided to project Pac-Man’s enormous image on the side of a building in the middle of the night.
The fact that it was the Sega building may have upset a few certain executives…
But just how relevant is Pac-Man today, really?
At the moment, the Pac-Man icon is representative, not just of video-games, but RETRO games specifically. If you need any proof of this, just watch out for any hipsters with Pac-Man hoodies/converse/caps.
Pac-Man is an emblem of a simpler, video-gaming time, when arcades were packed with kids with fistfuls of coins, and multiplayer games meant a bunch of kids grouping around one TV rather than linking up via the Internet, and insulting each others mothers. Pac-Man reminds us of when games were just games, and not a medium that tries to ape movies, with all their political controversies and shenanigans.
As such, the most successful Pac-Man campaigns tend to revolve around the original game, and bringing that simple concept to new heights and different mediums. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX was released in 2010 on a variety of platforms and received universally positive reviews and a number of awards, including IGN’s Most Addictive Game of 2010.
And of course, I’m sure everyone remembers when Pac-Man dominated the Google logo, AND IT WAS THE BEST THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!
This was such a successful and well-received campaign that Google left it up for 48 hours, whereas novelty Google logos were normally left up for only 24 hours.
Another staggeringly impressive campaign that Pac-Man was involved in was when Namco installed the game onto the side of the Millenium Mills builing, in London. By hooking a computer up to the lighting system, the Namco team were able to create a fully playable Pac-Man game on the side of the eight-story building. The control panel was located on the other side of the river, which created an incredible sense of scale and what was undoubtedly the most epic Pac-Man experience of the decade.
This stunt found Pac-Man entering the Guinness Book of Records for the eighth time, winning the title of ‘largest architectural project on the side of building’. (Other titles include ‘Most successful coin-operated game’ and ‘Most recognizable video-game character’)
With all of this appreciation towards the retro icon, one has to wonder if it is a good idea to “introduce Pac-Man to a new generation”, as Namco put it. Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 is the latest iteration of the character, and it ties in with the new TV series, aired by Disney.
The game features Pac-Man fighting with a group of friends to stop ghosts from invading his home of Pacopolis. Like the previous game, this is essentially a platforming romp and it introduces some new power-ups, including Magnet powers, Fire-breath and a Chameleon power-up.
It makes sense to keep Pac-Man alive as he is such a revered figure in gaming, but it is important that his roots are not forgotten. This is a crime that some might accuse Sega of, with regards to their own gaming icon, Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic was an icon of retro gaming for quite some time as well, but recently there has been a strong focus on ‘evolving’ the character, to give him more and more ‘attitude’. This has resulted in a Sonic who is being constantly re-branded, and feels completely different and separate from his original incarnation.
As if to highlight this point, Sega released Sonic Generations in 2011, a game that saw the modern Sonic teaming up with his retro self. In doing this, Sega acknowledged that Sonic is very much two figures, the retro icon and the ever-evolving character. The problem is that they consider these figures to be equal.
Or worse, they may even see the modern iteration as a more significant figure in gaming. Considering the mixed to negative reception most of Sonic’s modern 3D games have received, this can have a very damaging effect on the mascot’s image.
The worst instance of this was 2006’s Sonic the Hedgehog, which shares the title of the original Sega Master System game. It received very poor reviews and is often very difficult to dispel from critics minds when reviewing modern Sonic titles.
This is something that Namco need to be aware of when they attempt to ‘evolve’ Pac-Man. The first attempt to do so actually occurred in their very first numbered sequel, Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures.
This game gave Pac-Man arms, legs, eyes and a personality. It shirked the simple gameplay of the original and attempted to turn Pac-Man into a platforming mascot.
It received mixed to positive reviews upon release but has largely been forgotten about. Which, as it happens, is probably ideal.
A lot of Pac-Man’s games are quite forgettable, featuring enjoyable gameplay, yet bland adventures. Very few of their games have been outright ‘bad’. There was a trilogy of 3D Pac-Man games called Pac-Man World, all of which were perfectly enjoyable, simply not revolutionary. And this is exactly what Namco should be striving for, as the people who buy these games are undoubtedly going to be younger gamers.
By focusing on a younger demographic with these games, Namco is introducing Pac-Man to a completely new generation.
Younger gamers will quickly come to know the original Pac-Man (a game that is all too easy to leave lying around as an Easter egg), without him being overshadowed by the modern representations. Which, lest we forget, can still be perfectly enjoyable.
Namco knows that Pac-Man’s roots are important, and they are actually handling their mascot with great reverence and care.
He isn’t being forced down our throats, like some other ageing gaming icons.
Instead, they just throw in a gentle reminder, every now and then, that the world’s most recognizable video-game character is still around.
Who would win in a Smash Bros. fight, I wonder?
Super Mario or Pac-Man?…
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 is set for release in Fall 2014
Check out the trailer below
