NAMCO BANDAI Games’ Pac-Man® Championship Edition™ Nominated For 2008 Game DeveloperS Choice Award
The Next Generation of Pac-Man Wins Over Fans and Prestigious Industry Peers Alike
SANTA CLARA, CALIF., (February 7, 2008) – NAMCO BANDAI Games today announced that Pac-Man Championship Edition, now available on Xbox Live® Arcade for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, has been nominated for “Best Downloadable Game” by the eighth annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The award is one of the most prestigious honors in the industry as nominees are both chosen and voted on by fellow game developers. The “Best Downloadable Game” category recognizes the overall best game released on console or PC platforms, specifically and solely for digital download.
“A Game Developers Choice Award nomination for Pac-Man Championship Edition is an honor and testament to NAMCO BANDAI Games’ ingenuity and success in enhancing a classic arcade game for the Xbox Live Arcade community,” said Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “Pac-Man has been a pop culture icon for more than two decades and we are thrilled to bring the fun and amusement of the franchise to the next generation of gamers.”
Pac-Man Championship Edition was created specially for the first-ever Xbox 360™ PAC-MAN World Championship held in New York City in 2007. The game brings players back to those classic days of pizza parlors and arcades with the first brand new mazes released in more than 26 years. Try the Darkness Course where maze walls are invisible except for those directly around Pac-Man and the ghosts or the Freeway Course where everything moves at twice the normal speed of the game. Pac-Man Championship Edition also features enhanced environments where the traditional Pac-Man look has been completely updated with a new, modern high-definition appearance and soundtrack.
Since its April 2007 release, Pac-Man Championship Edition has successfully launched the famed arcade game into the new millennium and onto the Xbox 360. Additionally, Pac-Man Championship Edition has received numerous industry accolades as one of 2007’s best downloadable games from MTV.com, G4’s X-PLAY, Next-Gen.biz and Gamasutra.com.
About Pac-Man
As the story goes, one day in 1979, Namco developer Toru Iwatani removed a single slice of pizza and, after looking down upon the rest of the pie, saw what was to become one of the most popular characters in gaming history. The release of Pac-Man to arcades a year later (1980) lead to the beginning of “Pac-Mania,” in which over the next few years would yield everything from character-based board games and breakfast cereal to a top 40 song and popular Saturday-morning cartoon. NAMCO BANDAI Games estimates that the original Pac-Man arcade title has been played more than ten billion times in its 27-year history.
PAC-MAN® & © 1980-2007 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. PAC-MAN® Championship Edition™ & © 2007 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
About NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., is a leading interactive entertainment software publisher and developer based in Santa Clara, CA. The company is a part of the NAMCO BANDAI group of companies known for creating and publishing many of the industry's top video game franchises including the PAC-MAN®, SOULCALIBUR®, Naruto™ and Tekken® brands. For more information about NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., and our products log onto www.namcobandaigames.com.
Press Release © 2008 NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
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