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"Pac-Man," the classic arcade game, is getting a violent new twist. While Pac-Man the brand, the character, has been popular for over 40 years, the actual games are a different story. NPR's Vincent Acovino has more on this dark reboot and what it says about the future of one of gaming's oldest franchises.
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VINCENT ACOVINO, BYLINE: This is the Pac-Man you're used to hearing, a little yellow ball in a maze chomping on dots, running away from ghosts. And this is "Shadow Labyrinth"...
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ACOVINO: ...An action adventure game with a gritty sci-fi setting. Players take control of a character called Swordsman No. 8 and is accompanied by Puck, a character that looks a lot like the Pac-Man we're familiar with, that is until about 10 minutes in, when Puck becomes a monster. The yellow glow and the cute demeanor disappear, and it eats the corpse of a fallen enemy.
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NAO UDAGAWA: (Through interpreter) "Shadow Labyrinth" is kind of a reinterpretation, a reconstruction of Pac-Man that was made for the modern gaming audience.
ACOVINO: That's Nao Udagawa, president and CEO of Bandai Namco. She also holds the title of chief Pac-Man officer, which I'm assured is a real corporate designation and one that gets at just how important this franchise still is to the company. Bandai Namco says Pac-Man is still a global, recognizable gaming brand.
TIM LAPETINO: So when my kids were younger, I went to a career day, and I had asked a question. I said, who knows video games? Who knows Pac-Man? And a whole room full of 5-year-olds raised their hand, and I was baffled by that. I was like, how do all these kids still know about Pac-Man?
ACOVINO: Tim Lapetino is the creative director of Atari and writer of a whole book about the history of Pac-Man. In it, he asks this question - what made Pac-Man such a big deal? And why do people still remember it, even all these years later?
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LAPETINO: The arcades of that era were very much filled with shooters, and so "Pac-Man" really stood out from that.
ACOVINO: It was a game with bright colors and vibrant sounds. It wasn't violent. And because of that, its appeal was broad.
CARLY KOCUREK: I didn't understand why we thought these were, like, for men or for boys in a particular way. Like, I thought that was super, super weird.
ACOVINO: Carly Kocurek is a researcher and the author of the book "Coin-Operated Americans." She points to the simple and iconic design of the Pac-Man character itself that allows Pac-Man to become something bigger than video games, a universal symbol. Original creator Toru Iwatani said in one interview that the design was inspired by a piece of pizza with a slice removed.
KOCUREK: The shape is so iconic, and it's so simple that it's easy to evoke in, like, lots and lots of different kinds of places.
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KOCUREK: There's a novelty hit song called "Pac-Man Fever." There's Pac-Man sheets. There's Pac-Man pajamas. There's Pac-Man everything. And the game really represents a moment of deliberately trying to appeal to a broader audience.
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BUCKNER AND GARCIA: (Singing) 'Cause I got Pac-Man fever, Pac-Man...
ACOVINO: Pac-Man transcended video games, and the many corporate tie-ins, toys and other merchandising are all proof of that. But in 2025, people don't line up to play Pac-Man games the way they used to. Games like "Elden Ring" or "Dragon Ball" are the big sellers in the Bandai Namco portfolio. And at a time where big companies are struggling with rising costs and longer development times, Udagawa says she recognizes the importance of growing a franchise this well-known.
UDAGAWA: (Through interpreter) As we understand that the game is seen as this very creative, risky reinterpretation of Pac-Man, we don't consider "Shadow Labyrinth" a risky title. It was what we wanted to do.
ACOVINO: "Shadow Labyrinth" aims to be a kind of bridge between the nostalgic appeal of the familiar dot-eating avatar and the changing demands of a new generation of players. Vincent Acovino. NPR News.
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BUCKNER AND GARCIA: (Singing) I've got all the patterns down, up until... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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