Reception and legacy
Since the release of Pac-Man in 1980, the character of Pac-Man has become a social phenomenon[8] as well as a video game and pop culture icon.[43][44][45] He has also been noted to be one of the first video game characters ever created.[46] The character has been included on several lists for the greatest, most iconic, or most influential video game characters of all time. These lists include those from the staff teams of The Independent,[47] Tom's Guide,[48] Time,[49] HobbyConsolas,[50] Empire,[51] GamesRadar+,[52] and reader polls from the Guinness World Records and BAFTA, which had over 13,000 and 4,000 voters respectively.[53][54] According to the Davie-Brown Index (DBI), Pac-Man has the highest brand awareness of any video game character among American consumers, recognized by 94 percent of them, with Mario being in second place at 93 percent.[45][55][56]
Several journalists have pointed out a distinctive lack of characterization with Pac-Man beyond his simple design, though still being popular nonetheless.[43][51][48] Alex Wade wrote that Pac-Man in his original form is "instantly recognizable to gamers and non-gamers", despite being no more than what he viewed as a superficial character, "effectively no more than an automaton" that relied completely on the player for actions and featured no other unique characteristics.[43] James Newman was indifferent, and wrote that the popularity of the character could have been despite his simple design, or because of his simple design.[45] The Independent 's James McMahon described the popularity of Pac-Man's basic design to as "remarkable."[51] Empire 's Willow Green wrote that Pac-Man was the "definitive symbol" of the video game medium, comparable in levels of widespread cultural recognition as Darth Vader from Star Wars,[51]
GamingBolt 's Ravi Sinha criticized Pac-Man's appearance in Pac-Land, which strayed away from the simple design depicted in the original arcade and added elements to the character that Sinha viewed negatively, stating that "of all the characters that needed a redesign, Pac-Man should not have even been considered."[57] Similarly, when writing about the character in a ranking of fighters present in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek wrote that Pac-Man was not a character that needed anything beyond his original design, and that he was not supposed to be an "actual character." He described any attempts to make Pac-Man anything more than that design, from both a design and story perspective, to "too strange to exist" and that the character "breaks reality."[58]
In an entry from the 2017 publication 100 Greatest Video Game Characters, Jessica A. Robinson explained that Pac-Man changed how the video game industry designed characters, and how he differentiated from characters created prior such as those from Space Invaders, which were typically just images of spaceships or paddles. She stated that, while player identification with those characters was possible, Pac-Man and his easily recognizable design was a "different experience," writing that "players wanted to proceed to the next level and earn a high score, while Pac-Man himself wanted to survive his encounters with the ghosts." As characters such as Ms. Pac-Man were introduced later on, Robinson noted this to anthropomorphize the character further for players. Pac-Man's easily recognizable design, as well as the ability for the player to identify with him, led many game developers from that point on to create their own characters that would be easily recognizable.[56]
Jaakko Suominen and Saara Ala-Luopa wrote that Pac-Man was a "root icon" in video games alongside the enemies from Space Invaders, as well as a leading example of the "retro-gaming economy," which revolves around nostalgia from those who were either around to experience the time period, as well as those who simply enjoy the products and themes of the time period (an idea they referred to as "armchair nostalgia"). They highlighted this with the numerous pieces of official and unofficial merchandise of the character's original design, as well as graffiti designs of the character present throughout the world and "adaptations" of the Pac-Man game that were posted onto YouTube, typically demonstrating Pac-Man and the Ghosts chasing each-other in bizarre locations such as a golf course. They also believed that videos and adaptations depicting Pac-Man as a figure were more popular than those that demonstrated him as a playable character.[59] Retro Gamer staff regarded him as one of the greatest video game icons, finding him among the most recognizable due to how simplistic his design was and being an early example of a visually identifiable protagonist.[60]
The term "Pac-Man defense" in mergers and acquisitions refers to a hostile takeover target that attempts to reverse the situation and take over its would-be acquirer instead, a reference to the power pellets present in the Pac-Man game.[61] Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao was nicknamed "Pac-Man", as was American football player Adam Jones.[62] The character is also the unofficial namesake of a region in the Cassiopeia constellation, specifically NGC 281, due to similarities between the region and the design of the character.[43]
