![]() ![]() “I wanted to change that by introducing game machines in which cute characters appeared with simpler controls that would not be intimidating to female customers and couples to try out … and couples visiting arcades would increase.” 35 years later, Iwatani sees the game as plausibly feminist “This perception was similar in Japan,” says Iwatani. “The image of arcades was that they were darkly lit and their restrooms were dirty.” Iwatani wanted to make arcades into date hangouts “In the late 1970s, there were a lot of games in arcades which featured killing aliens or other enemies that mostly appealed to boys to play,” explains Iwatani. That’s why I went with this idea.” At the time, arcades were basically boys clubs “I realized that although keywords such as ‘fashion’ and ‘love’ would appeal more to women, my opinion is that the word ‘eat’ is universally appealing and would attract their attention as well. “While thinking about the word ‘eat’ when taking a piece of pizza, I saw that the rest of pizza looked like a character, and that’s how Pac-Man’s iconic shape was created,” says Iwatani. It’s a long-told tale, but in case you haven’t heard it, Iwatani says his inspiration for the Pac-Man character came from one of the most popular dishes in the world. We caught up with Pac-Man‘s Japanese creator, Toru Iwatani, who reminded us of what inspired the character, then told us how he feels about the game today. ![]() Today marks the 35th anniversary of Pac-Man‘s arrival in Japan on May 22, 1980, an arcade game whose eponymous character remains the most recognizable in the annals of gaming. ![]() Who would’ve thought 35 years on that we’d still be raving about a banana-colored, dot-noshing disc with a love/hate ghost fixation and a more-than-mild fruit fetish? He’s made billions off slot-fed quarters, starred in 15 mobile games since 2008, featured in that goofy Bud Light commercial at this year’s Super Bowl, and even appeared his own Google Doodle. ![]()
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