6 June 2007
Ferry

Pac-Man Championship Edition hits Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday with 26 new mazes from creator Toru Iwatani

From today, June 6th at 9AM GMT (2AM PDT), you can play Namco Bandai’s Pac-Man Championship Edition on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360.

Pac-Man Championship Edition will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points (that’s $10 / €9.60 / £6.80) and is rated E for Everyone.

Take a look at this gameplay video that shows off the new look, new features, and new Championship Mode:

The year was 1981: Big hair, leg warmers and high-waisted jeans were popular fashions, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” hit cinemas, and everyone was saving up their money to play the latest video games. Also that year, a new video game by game designer Toru Iwatani at NAMCO LTD. (currently NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.) hit arcades around the world and would soon become a pop-culture phenomenon and one of the most beloved games of all time. That game was “Pac-Man”.

Microsoft and Namco Bandai Games unveiled the “Pac-Man Championship Edition” at the Pac-Man World Championships. The remake features the first new Pac-Man mazes in more than 26 years, available only on the Xbox 360.

The “Pac-Man Championship Edition” is the same beloved “Pac-Man” game played in arcades of the ’80s but is updated with new features that former “Pac-Man” fanatics and new generations of fans alike will love. It includes new mazes that dynamically change shape during gameplay, six new timed game modes, new soundtracks and high-definition (HD) graphics.

Who won the Pac-Man World Championship?

Yesterday, Mexico’s Carlos Daniel cdborrego Borrego beat out Robert vibemaster79 Glashuettner from Austria to claim the title of Pac-Man World Champion. The two players, who were among the first people in the world to play Iwati-san’s first new Pac-Man maps in 26 years, played one five-minute round of the new game mode created just for this competition: Championship Mode. — The action was fast, the pressure was on. Carlos lost a life with 7 seconds on the clock but had pulled far enough ahead of Robert that he was still able to win the championship and the grand prize. Mr. Iwatani himself stepped onstage to present Carlos with the custom one-of-a-kind Pac-Man themed Xbox 360. — At the end Pac-Man’s father said this was his last creation and thus Toru Iwatani revealed he’ll be retiring. As far as we know he now teacher young game designers in Japan.

Game details include the following:

* Classic 2-D “Pac-Man” presentation with a new, modern look in HD at 720p.

* Xbox LIVE leaderboards, Achievements and Gamerscore.

* Six new, timed game modes:

- The Championship Mode. This is the main game mode designed by NAMCO BANDAI Games and Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani specifically for the championship round of the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship. This mode – as well as all others within the “Pac-Man Championship Edition” – features redesigned mazes with wide maze walls and a widescreen configuration to better enable high-speed game play. Timed limit of five minutes.

- Challenge Mode 1 (Patience and Reward Course). This mode is an evolution of the Championship Mode. Patience mazes strategically offer fewer Power Pellets and Reward mazes provide a large number of Power Pellets – providing unique challenges and rewards for the player. Timed limit of 10 minutes.

- Challenge Mode 2 (The Darkness Course). In this mode, only the area directly around Pac-Man and the Ghosts is visible and the maze walls are completely hidden. Timed limit of 10 minutes.

- Extra Mode 1 (The Freeway Course). An extremely high-speed mode for advanced players, this mode features warp-speed Pac-Man and Ghosts and plenty of tunnels. Timed limit of five minutes.

- Extra Mode 2 (The Manhattan Course). A mode inspired by the streets of Manhattan — the home for the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship. Timed limit of five minutes.

- Extra Mode 3 (The Overall Course). A mix of all other modes resulting in extreme mazes for the most devout Pac-Man fans. Timed limit of 10 minutes.

Since launching in 1980 in Japan and in 1981 around the world, “Pac-Man,” its host of ghosts and its famous “wakka wakka wakka” sound have become global pop-culture icons. This arcade game played an instrumental role in establishing the video game industry in the 1980s, while the launch of Xbox LIVE in 2002 was a key factor behind the rapid growth in popularity of online gaming. Today, Xbox LIVE Arcade is the premier online destination for digitally distributed HD games offering fans around the globe a great opportunity to connect, compete, and enjoy the fun.

“‘Pac-Man’ was the game that ignited the world’s passion for video games, with every member of the family hooked on avoiding Clyde and eating up all the Power Pellets,” said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “It is a tremendous honor that NAMCO BANDAI and Toru Iwatani are going to use the power of the Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE Arcade platform to deliver the next evolution of ‘Pac-Man’ to the world.”

Meanwhile, Pac-Man is bothering Peter Moore (the Xbox 360 division boss) and trying to pick up Ms. Pac-Man with his car.

You can check out Microsoft’s Pac-Man World Championship coverage with lots of video interviews over at Xbox.com.

7 June 2007 14:52
Jigsaw hc

$10 is way to much for this.

19 June 2007 07:01
supadupagama

Yeah Peter Moore was sick of it too