Pac-Man turns 45: Bandai Namco’s planning a year-long party and a... cookbook

At some point prior to 22 May 1980, a game designer called Tōru Iwatani decided it might be quite fun to play as a big yellow head in a maze, intermittently running away from, and then towards, some ghosts. He was right, of course, and over the last 45 years Pac-Man has occupied a unique position in gaming. It’s transcended the medium.

So to mark the occasion of ol’ Paccers' 45th birthday, Bandai Namco’s launching a year-long celebration of various activities, all of which make us feel frighteningly old.

The ‘45 years of imPACt’ celebration (Namco’s pun, not ours) kicks off with this glossy, expensive-looking trailer charting Mr. Man’s journey from arcades to the earliest home consoles to, well, everywhere.

Following that, there’ll be multiple partnership activities in gaming, food, lifestyle and more to celebrate the game’s place in our cultural fabric. Waka-waka, indeed.

On the gaming side, a new 2D platformer called Shadow Labyrinth is in the works which promises a fresh twist on the old formula, along with a Roblox collab called Pac-Man Simulator.

In more leftfield territory, Mexico’s Club América will be releasing special themed shirts and stadium events to mark the occasion, and there’s a Pac-Man cookbook in the pipeline too. Yes, correct. A Pac-Man cookbook. A cookbook that is somehow also about Pac-Man.