Pac-Man (パックマン, Pakkuman^?) is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the U.S. by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980.^[1][2] Immensely popular in the United States from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is universally considered as one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games, and an icon of the 1980s popular culture. Upon its release, the game—and, subsequently, its derivatives—became a social phenomenon^[6] that sold a bevy of merchandise and also inspired, among other things, an animated television series and a top-ten hit single.^[7]

When Pac-Man was released, the most popular arcade video games were space shooters, in particular Space Invaders and Asteroids. The most visible minority were sports games that were mostly derivative of Pong. Pac-Man succeeded by creating a new genre and appealing to both genders.^[8] Pac-Man is often credited with being a landmark in video game history, and is among the most famous arcade games of all time.^[9] The character also appears in more than 30 officially licensed game spin-offs,^[10] as well as in numerous unauthorized clones and bootlegs.^[11] According to the Davie-Brown Index, Pac-Man has the highest brand awareness of any video game character among American consumers, recognized by 94 percent of them.^[12]

Pac-Man (conosciuto in Giappone con il nome di Puckman (パックマン, Puckman^?)) è un videogioco ideato da Tohru Iwatani programmatore della Namco e pubblicato per la prima volta dalla Midway Games nel 1980 nel formato arcade da sala. Acquisì subito grande popolarità e negli anni successivi, sotto l’etichetta “Namco”, sono state via via pubblicate varie versioni per la quasi totalità delle console e dei computer, conservando fino a oggi la sua fama di classico dei videogiochi. Per molti anni, Pac-Man è stato la mascotte della Namco.

Pac-Man ist ein Arcade-Spiel und Videospiel, das am 22. Mai 1980 von Namco in Japan als „Puck Man“ veröffentlicht wurde. Der Name leitet sich von der japanischen Lautmalerei paku paku für „essen“ (vergleichbar etwa mit „happa-happa“ im Deutschen) und der Puck-förmigen Gestalt der Hauptfigur her; zudem bedeutet puck auf Englisch auch „Kobold“. Es wurde vom Spieledesigner Toru Iwatani entworfen. Erst 1981 erschien das Spiel von Midway lizenziert als Pac-Man in den USA, da die Aufschrift „Puck Man“ auf dem Automaten leicht in „Fuck Man“ abgewandelt werden konnte. Spielerisch blieb es unverändert, außer dass die vier Monster im Spiel nicht mehr Akabei, Pinky, Aosuke und Guzuta hießen, sondern Blinky, Pinky, Inky und Clyde.

source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man

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