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The world’s largest Pac-Man arcade game has a 108-inch screen and the price of a Harley

Posted on by darion

Namco World The Greatest Pac-Man Arcade Game
 6 photos

Photo: The Pinball Company

We don’t usually write about toys and gadgets for the simple reason that they’re not necessarily what interests us. But every now and then something so incredibly wonderful comes along in this area that we can’t help but talk about it. Like this giant Pac-Man arcade game. Not only giant, but the largest in the world, it seems.

No matter where or when you were born, it’s quite possible that you know what Pac-Man is. Officially invented in the early 1980s by the now-defunct Japanese company Namco, the maze game was a favorite pastime for generations of young people who went out to play video games every night.

The game is as simple as it is addictive: a yellow circle with a mouth must be guided through a closed maze to eat all the dots contained therein. This would be quite simple if not for the four multi-colored ghosts named Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde, who are hunting Pac-Man himself.

This simple gameplay was an incredible success. There are many who consider Pac-Man the most influential video game ever made, not only for what it meant to generations of people, but also for what it brought to the industry: things like the idea of ​​power-ups (power pellets, to be precise), the use of a primitive, deterministic AI to control ghosts, or the use of cinematics.

Since its inception, Pac-Man has moved from arcade centers to computer screens, then consoles, and now mobile devices. But if you really want to experience the greatness of Pac-Man as it was originally intended, you should go for an arcade setup. And if money is no object, this thing might be for you.

Enter Namco World’s Largest Pac-Man Arcade Game, as The Pinball Company describes it. At first glance, it looks no different from any other arcade system of its type. And then you read the specs.

Namco World The Biggest Pac-Man Arcade Game

Photo: The Pinball Company

Just consider the dimensions. The arcade is 69 inches (1.52 meters) wide, 120 inches (3 meters) deep, and 105 inches (2.66 meters) high. And if you put that thing on a scale, it would weigh 678 pounds (307 kg). That’s heavier than many motorcycles in use today!

A large part of the system’s size is the screen. The device plays out Pac-Man’s adventures on a massive 108-inch (2.74 meters, or 9 feet) LED display, so you won’t miss a single dot or any ghost that might sneak up on you.

It’s not just the design of the console that’s impressive, but also the game itself, as it features a number of improvements that have never been seen in any Pac-Man game before.

The first and perhaps most important change is that the game can be played by two people at the same time, in cooperative mode. To ensure there is no confusion as to who controls what with the pair of four-way joysticks, player 1 will control the yellow Pac-Man, while player 2 will control the green one.

You know how it is when you lose all your lives, the game ends and you have to start over? This is no longer the case here, as they have added a “continue” feature. You will have to buy a “continue”, but at least it will allow you to go back to where you were before you died the last time.

When it comes to making sure you get all the points for breaking records, there’s a new leaderboard. It allows for more and longer names to be displayed. Additionally, at the end of each level, there’s a bragging screen that shows the name of the player who ate the most dots.

Namco World The Biggest Pac-Man Arcade Game

Photo: The Pinball Company

Like many things sold by The Pinball Company, World’s Largest Pac-Man (that’s the official name of the set) is aimed at companies that still make money from arcade games. As such, the system is set up to display ads via a USB drive inserted directly into the system, allows control over the player’s number of lives, and is being updated to allow for more games to be offered.

In fact, World’s Greatest Pac-Man doesn’t just bring Pac-Man into the fray, but also features another video game legend, Galaga.

There are probably some of you who would like to have this thing decorate the game room in your home. However, to make it happen, you will have to empty your bank account significantly.

Remember earlier when I said that the machine weighs more than most motorcycles available today? Well, it’s priced like many of them: Pinball Company is asking $13,999 for it. That’s more than Harley-Davidson is asking for two Nightster models!