Pac-Man Director Interview

The coin-op version of Pac-Man was released in 1980, and became a worldwide phenomenon. Now it's coming to Xbox Live Arcade, so you won't need a pocketful of quarters to get your old-school fix. In anticipation of the game's release, we sat down with Tohru Takahashi, the Director of Namco Bandai Games Inc., for some more details about this classic arcade game on Xbox 360™.

Xbox.com: Although it's a classic, there are many new players out there on Xbox Live® who have never played Pac-Man. How would you describe it to someone who had never played it?

Ready to start eating.

Tohru Takahashi: Pac-Man is a very fun and easy to play game. The objective of the game is to guide Pac-Man through the mazes while eating up all the Pac-Dots. You can also defeat the ghosts by eating Power Pellets. For those who have never played Pac-Man, please experience the game on Xbox 360!

Xbox.com: Pac-Man has been hugely popular over the years. What do you feel makes the game so timeless that it's worth bringing it to Xbox 360?

Takahashi: The theme of Pac-Man is based on one of our most basic desires, "eating." Watching Pac-Man eat the Pac-Dots scattered around the maze is like watching the energy of life itself. The yummy looking fruits that appear as bonus items and the cute and colorful ghosts that block the way are what made Pac-Man so accessible and popular to a wide range of audiences, including female players.

A lot of consideration went into
coming up with the achievements,
so that you will be able to unlock everything
but still find them challenging.

The simple and deep gameplay is also one of Pac-Man's appealing points. You don't have to run away all the time, you can also predict the movement of the four ghosts (each ghost moves in a different way) and eat a Power Pellet at just the right time to eat up all the ghosts in succession! The feeling of tension, exhilaration, and accomplishment when eating the ghosts is great. These are some of the points that make Pac-Man a timeless puzzle action game that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Xbox.com: Have you made any additions or alterations to the original game?

Takahashi: The main additions are Xbox 360 achievements. For example, you are rewarded with an achievement for eating four ghosts with one Power Pellet. Achievements provide new gameplay elements to Pac-Man. Up until now, you could only show you skills off to your friends, but with the achievements, you can now show your skills off to the world. We think the achievements system is revolutionary!

Many new features have been added for Xbox 360.

In the arcade version of Pac-Man, you had to restart the game from scratch once the game was over. We felt that this was too harsh on beginners, so we decided to include a continue option in the Xbox 360 version. This option allows you to restart from any of the levels you have completed, making it possible for anyone to proceed to the later stages. However, continuing will reset the player's score.

Xbox.com: How many achievements does the game have? How many gamer points will players be able to earn?

Tohru Takahashi: There are 12 achievements and 200 gamer points. A lot of consideration went into coming up with the achievements, so that you will be able to unlock everything but still find them challenging.

Xbox.com: How many levels does the game have?

Takahashi: There are 255 stages.

Xbox.com: Have the graphics been enhanced for Xbox 360?

Takahashi: The game menus and option screens have been re-designed to be displayed in high definition, so that you can enjoy the world of Pac-Man even more.

Xbox.com: Have you changed the music and sounds in any way?

Takahashi: The background music and sounds in the game are exactly the same as the original, which is what makes it so special. The archive data stored away within the company has been adopted.

Xbox.com: Have you created gamer icons or themes for download?

Takahashi: Players who purchase and download the full version of the game will receive given gamer icons.

Xbox.com: We're really excited about Pac-Man coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us!