Global parties mark 35th birthday of Pac-Man

MANILA -- The classic video game Pac-Man celebrated its 35th birthday in style around the world last May 22.

With the character coming to the big screen this summer in Sony Pictures’ “Pixels,” the studio joined in to celebrate with a global birthday party -- from being launched to outer space, breaking a Guinness World Record for largest human image of the iconic game character, to a special greeting by tennis superstar Serena Williams from the French Open.

Watch the highlights of the celebration:



“Pixels” is set for release in Philippine theaters nationwide on August 26.

In “Pixels,” intergalactic aliens discover video feeds of classic arcade games and misinterpret them as a declaration of war. They attack the Earth, using the video games as the models for their assaults. The US president then calls on his old-school arcade friends to save the world from being destroyed by Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Centipede, and Space Invaders.

In Tokyo – the city of Pac-Man’s birth – audiences joined in the fun by successfully breaking the Guinness World Records title for the largest human image of Pac-Man on May 21. At the event at Tokyo Tower, actor Shingo Yanagisawa and popular comedian and social media sensation Naomi Watanabe joined hundreds of moviegoers to create the largest Pac-Man ever created by human beings.

In Chicago, professor Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man, and Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. was at Level 257, a brand new dining and entertainment facility created by Namco USA Inc. inspired by Pac-Man.

A special 1980s-style event included gaming industry VIPs, free game play including a chance to play the fabled 255th and 256th levels of Pac-Man, Pac-Man’s official 35th birthday cake, live performances of the 1982 hit song “Pac-Man Fever” by the original artist, Jerry Buckner of Buckner & Garcia and a personal appearance by Pac-Man himself!

In the UK, Pac-Man celebrated his birthday with a special thrill – he was launched into space. Pac-Man’s journey was captured by a special GoPro camera unit and shared on his birthday.

Finally, from Paris at the French Open, Serena Williams, who has a cameo role in Pixels, had a special birthday greeting for her co-star.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Now you can play Pac-Man on Google Maps

MANILA - It's April Fool's Day, and leave it to Google to pull an April Fool's prank on netizens once again.

Google Maps has released on Wednesday a new feature that allows you to turn any place in the world into a game of Pac-Man.

All you have to do is go to Google Maps, choose a location (preferably those with a lot of streets), click the Pac-Man icon on the bottom left of your screen, and watch it turn into the classic arcade game complete with nostalgic music and colorful ghosts.

The feature is also available on mobile but you will need to download the official app, and will need to figure out some clues as to which streets can be turned into the pixelated classic.

For the full list and tips on which places are the best ones to play the game, head on over to Google's support page.

Pac-Man is an arcade game developed by Namco back in 1980. The goal of the game is to navigate the iconic yellow character through a maze, helping him gobble up all the available "pellets" on-screen, and set a high score.

This is not the first time Google has released a unique feature on April Fool's Day. Last year, the web giant's April Fool's Day prank allowed users to catch various Pokemon all over the world using its Google Maps app.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com