Is It Really 40 Years,

since Pac-Man gobbled its way across a screen?

as it happens yes, image credit: Flickr user ~ tOkKa the game has just turned 40 years old, so the Smithsonian magazine brings us a comprehensive history of the game itself, plus an analysis of why it became so instantly popular, here are some neat tidbits about the game's juggernaut journey,

one artifact in the museum’s collection provides some insight into the messy reality behind the big business of Pac-Man. A 1982 Bally Midway advertisement shows Pac-Man in the center of a boxing ring, surrounded by Pac-People who gaze up at him. “Don’t Trifle With a Heavyweight,” the headline warns. The text below reveals that Bally Midway aggressively pursued companies that attempted to sell unlicensed Pac-Man merchandise, those youngsters at GCC went on to sell another game to Bally called Ms. Pac-Man, which is just one of the twists and turns in the history of Pac-Man you'll learn at Smithsonian, as it happens an interesting read, I guess the modern equivalent would be a game like Candy Crush?