Well, that famous creature is PAC-MAN, and he turned 35 years old on 22 May! Doesn't that one feel nostalgic (and old)?
PAC-MAN is a classic when it comes to arcade video games. It is the #1 arcade game in the world, and on his birthday, fans in various cities will be celebrating it in true PAC-MAN fashion.
In his birthplace Japan, over 350 participants wearing yellow raincoats gathered at Tokyo Tower to attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the Largest Human Image of PAC-MAN. And they succeeded! The image of PAC-MAN was 10.5 metres in size. Check out the NHK news article and video of the feat here. Celebrities like actor Shingo Yanagisawa and creator Professor Toru Iwantani also joined in the festivities.
Red Dot Diva managed to find this image of the Human PAC-MAN on Twitter, posted by Guinness World Records.(Also, click this link to read the accompanying article.)
#Pacman is 35: Get lost in this maze of pellet munching world records! http://t.co/HZToaKNRlI pic.twitter.com/IEbhSroFpD
— GuinnessWorldRecords (@GWR) May 22, 2015
Over in Chicago, there will be a rousing 1980's-style party at Level 257, a new dining and entertainment venue inspired by PAC-MAN that is created by Namco USA Inc. The event will begin at 7 PM till midnight and creator Professor Toru Iwantani will be in attendance together with gaming industry VIPs. There will be free game play including a chance for guests to play the 255th and 256th levels of PAC-MAN (actually, the game is deemed unplayable at Level 255). Jerry Buckner of Buckner & Garcia will be at the event as well, all set to perform the 1982 hit song “PAC-MAN Fever”.
The birthday party spills over to the next day, where there will be celebrity discussion panels, photo opportunities, and hardcore PAC-MAN gamers can even play against legendary player Billy Mitchell, who was the first person to ever achieve a “perfect score” on the arcade game.
In the UK, PAC-MAN was launched into space for his birthday stunt! His special journey was captured by special GoPro camera unit and this is the video feed:
At the French Open in Paris, top female tennis player Serena Williams, will have a special greeting for PAC-MAN . Serena has a cameo role in the upcoming movie, "Pixels".
Fans in Singapore can tune in to Channel 5, The 5 Show on May 25 where there will be having a special guest. A live-sized 3D PAC-MAN will be making his first local appearance! There will also be a feature on how PAC-MAN's birthday has been celebrated around the world.
If you are not aware yet, PAC-MAN and his other arcade game pals will be starring in the Sony Pictures movie "Pixels"! The movie is directed by Chris Columbus with screenplay by Tim Herlihy and Timothy Dowling.
In the movie, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, and Peter Dinklage star as friends who have played arcade games regularly when they were kids in the 1980's. Then, some major intergalactic miscommunication happened. Aliens from another world thought that the classic video game feeds they have been receiving are actually a declaration of war, and decided to attack Earth using the these video games avatars.
Red Dot Diva is not quite sure if one's childhood will be damaged if PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong, and Space Invaders were to appear to be the bad guys. Will the arcade game busters be able to save the day? Find out when "Pixels" is set for release in theaters nationwide on 13 August 2015.
Meanwhile, chew up some "Pixels" while watching the trailer here:
In conjunction with the release of "Pixels", Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc, is preparing to launch the Pixels Defense mobile game that will feature PAC-MAN and other video game characters from the movie. More updates of this new game will be available at the "Pixels" Facebook page, so keep your eye on newsy stuff over there!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAC-MAN!
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