Pac-Man Fever Begins

October 10, 1980

Namco officially transfers rights to Midway for distribution of the games Pac-Mac and Rally-X in North America. While the exact date that Pac-Man started shipping to arcades in North America is currently unknown, most sources cite October of 1980. The Japanese release under the name “Puck-Man” had occurred in May of 1980, however this date is important because the game’s popularity didn’t fully take off until being released in the United States. Pac-Man will become the first true mega-hit video game in history, sparking “Pac-Man Fever” and catapulting the video game industry into mainstream culture.