by Bridget N. Watts

Created on: August 07, 2008   Last Updated: December 08, 2008

Pac Man is the most popular video game of all time and most people would consider it a classic. This arcade game was developed by Namco in 1980 and was first released in Japan where it was not a big success, to put it mildly. As soon as it was released in the United States, it became a huge hit both in the United States and in the rest of the world. It inspired not only the sale of many of the Pac Man games, as well as many different spin-off games, but also lots of other merchandise was developed including t-shirts, caps, bags, as well as an animated television series, music and even Pac Man pasta.

Up until the release of Pac Man, arcade video games had mainly consisted of so-called space shooters like Space Invaders or Asteroids. Pac Man opened up the door to a completely new and different kind of video game genre that happened to appeal to both males and females. Because of Pac Man many game designers realized that there was no need to be so conservative when designing new games, and it inspired them to come up with many different genres of games. They started making games that were more diverse, and for the first time they dared to use humor in their game play. In addition, they started to focus on games that would appeal to a wider audience than just teenage boys.

The widespread appeal is a major part of Pac Man's popularity. Unlike many other video games from the 1980's, as well as many of the more recent ones, Pac Man appeals to men and women of all ages. Another reason why this video game is so popular is that it is a very simple game that anyone can play, yet at the same time it is not overly simple nor does it get boring easily.

Pac Man has been able to stand the test of time, unlike many other eighties video games like Space Invaders. Hardly anyone plays those kind of games anymore, because they have become very dated and compared to today's standards they are considered to be very boring. This cannot be said for Pac Man, which remains as popular as it was back in the 1980's.

Even though these days you can buy many games that are far more sophisticated and of better quality than Pac Man, it is the simplicity of the game as well as its addictive components that makes people love it until this day. It is a game that does not require a great deal of skill, yet it is difficult enough that it needs your full attention. Pac Man has been imitated in a number of different ways, but no game has been able to truly improve on the original. Pac Man is the most popular video game of all time simply because it is the best game of all time.

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