Pac-Man Celebrates His 40th Anniversary With A Special Sale On The Switch eShop

Pac-Man World for Switch anyone?

I've been on a Pac-Man binge lately for reasons unrelated to this anniversary and after playing for days, I came to appreciate the innovations it brought to the industry.
Cutscenes, combos, and power-ups all introduced, or at least popularized, in one game.

@h15c0r3r I've been playing the Famicom version on Wii U recently.

The thing that intrigues me the most is all the weird, little things you can find.

Hohoho 40 years old and still the same curvy yellow b*stard. Look at those curves, that shine, how sexy can one sprite be? Doesn’t look a day over 35 and I’d sure dump some quarters in his coin-slot

I hope they release a Museum 2 or DLC.

Even at full price, this is a better deal than individual Arcade Archive prices.

Namco stupidly confuses people by having two versions of Namco Museum on the e-shop at two different prices.

@h15c0r3r me too! Was your cabinet in Davy Ross’ Star Bar too?! Lol sorry you’ve just brought back a very old memory for me lol.

There are 13 good Pac-Man games:

Pac-Man (Arcade, Switch, GBA, NES)
Ms Pac-Man (Arcade)
Pac-Man Arrangement (Arcade, GBA)
Ms Pac-Man Maze Madness (N64, PS1)
Pac-Man World (PS1)
Pac-Man World 2 (Game Cube)
Pac-Man World 3 (Game Cube, PSP)
Pac-Man World Rally (Game Cube, PSP)
Pac-Man & The Ghostly Adventures (3DS)
Pac-Man & The Ghostly Adventures 2 (3DS)
Pac 'n Roll (DS)
Pac-Man Championship Edition (PSP)
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 (Switch)

Slightly off topic but I’ve noticed that games on eshop Go on sale quite often (going off the amount they’re advertised on here) I was wondering. Do first party Nintendo games ever drop on there? As I’m considering going All digital

@Juga
Namco is run by a bunch of tight-fisted fools. They probably thought they could later sell us a second volume containing Ms Pac-Man, Galaxian and others. Then they saw that no one was buying volume one and now they probably don't know what to do. I wanted a Namco Museum on Switch, but I didn't buy this one because of its glaring omissions. It's frustrating to me, because Ms Pac-Man is better than Pac-Man and Galaxian is better than Galaga and Galaga 1988. All the games I've mentioned here were included on the PSP Namco Museum, so Namco is just imposing a Switch tax on people. I'm not paying that tax.

@WesEds rarely, and typically only as part of a major seasonal sale or event. 33% off is about a big a discount as you'll see for a major first party game.

I sold all my physical games and managed to convert to all digital with almost no financial penalty, but it did take a while to wait for some games to be discounted and a couple required the game vouchers to manage it (Zelda BoTW and Smash Bros is a great combo with the vouchers).

@WesEds

Hi. Nintendo games do drop prices occasionally by about 30% so down to around £33 I think but not sure on other currencies

@nessisonett First person I've heard make Pac-Man sound like it's NSFW

Pac-Man Championship Editions are my favourite games from Namco in recent years. Here's hoping that Pac-Man stays relevant for the next 40 years too!

PMCE2P is brilliant highly recommend it for score chasers, a lesson on how to modify and adapt classic arcade title.

@TheWingedAvenger @Juga Ms. Pac man is missing because of legal issues. Mrs. Pac man is an officially licensed reskin of the clone game Crazy Otto (I think that's the one, I'm not entirely sure). Namco had the rights without a hitch for many years, until Atgames made an unlicensed, yet commercially sold Ms. Pac-Man mini cabinet, which caused the original creators of Crazy Otto, who still technically held the rights, to be more hesitent with Namco, causing the lack of Ms. Pac-Man in the Namco Museum for Switch.

I've been waiting for a proper Namco compilation on modern consoles since Museum 50th Anniversary on PS2/XBox/GameCube and Museum Remix on XBox 360. It's been ages since any such collection they've released has included genuine classics like Pole Position, Xevious, or even Ms. Pac-Man. I'm sitting out the one currently on Switch because if we don't vote with our wallets and let companies know how important specific things are to us, they'll continue to churn out lesser efforts while expecting gamers to just keep buying what they're given.

@TheWingedAvenger
Pac-Man World and Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness were also ported on GBA. Obviously, the PS1 versions still are the best way to experience them.

@Elvie
Pac-Man World 2 and Ms Pac-Man 64 were my jam! I would totally buy those games again, really fun games. I played them again a few years ago and they were still pretty fun.

Was only a couple of weeks ago Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 was given away for free on all other formats. Switch owners didn't get a look in.

@alexybubble
Your theory about Ms Pac-Man doesn't hold water. Why isn't Galaxian on the Switch Namco Museum? The PSP version had twice the games. It even had the excellent Bosconian and Rally-X. The Switch version is a half collection which was supposed to have a volume 2 including the obvious classics that were held back from volume one. They're just trying to milk Switch fans as much as they can. It backfired, though, because the collection is always 50% off. Even at that price, it isn't worth it.

@CooperFrank
I agree. Pac-Man World and Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness are beautiful on the PS1. I was never a fan of the GBA's graphics, which seemed sloppy to me.

@TheWingedAvenger PAC 'N ROLL says hi, both the DS original and the Wii version of NAMCOMUSEUM, which let you play the levels with motion controls and in higher resolution.

@TheWingedAvenger pac Man Vs. was tight

It's a shame Championship Edition 1 DX wasn't ported to Switch. Totally superior to its sequel

Bamco: Please re-release Namco Classic Collection Volume 1 & 2 on the Switch.

My favorite game of recent years is Pacman 256.

It's an absolute blast in multiplayer.

Even tho I already had PCE2 from a previous sale, I found the Museum Pac for 15 bucks at my local store. Looking forward to revisiting Dig-Dug and classic Pac-Man.

@sleepinglion isn’t it part of the retail release of Namco museum?

Edit: wait no, it’s 2 Plus

@KayFiOS
I missed Pac n Roll, and from the CGRUndertow review I just watched, it seems great. I'll go ahead and add this to the list.

Would have been a good moment to release the original Pac-Man CE on Switch, really got quite addicted to setting new high scores on that 1. I played 2 only a little bit but it didn’t click with me that same way.

@Roam85
Pac-Man Vs is a good game, but you need a second player and I don't know anyone who likes classic games.

Random Fact: Rubbing your finger inside your ear makes the PAC-MAN sound. 😆

@AtlanteanMan I bought the Namco Museum Arcade Pac on eBay for Pacman C.E. 2 Plus and even though it I haven't played this version in a while, the DS version blows it out of the water.

It had an awesome intro, tons of arcade flyer and artwork scans, and tips and maps to help you on each game.

This version on Switch has none of that and it's almost just a menu screen to play old Namco games. Pacman C.E. 2 Plus is all it has going for it.

@TheWingedAvenger Yes, Bandai Namco has been slacking on their efforts for Namco Museum when it comes to classics like Bosconian but the lack of Ms. Pac-Man isn't a theory.

B.N. does own the rights to her but they had to pay expensive royalties whenever she got used so to avoid the royalty payments, they stopped using her regularly.

@TheWingedAvenger @Elvie actually, if I remember correctly, Ms Pac-Man is now co-owned by AtGames (the guys that make the cheap plug and plays everyone hates). Basically they swooped in and bought the rights from the previous co-owner before Bandai Namco could get full ownership of the software.

So rumor says now both are in a permanent stalemate, where they need permission from (and give royalties to) the other company to make new rereleases of Ms Pac-Man.

It was bad before, but Ms Pac-Man could be fully dead now.

@Eel I don't think, legally speaking, someone owns a I.P. if they have royalties, although, practically speaking, they do have control over it where it could been seen as co-ownership.

The creators of Ms. Pac-Man, and now Atgames, can't use her in any work of theirs but Bandai Namco can.

B.N. has been suing Atgames for making a half-scale arcade cabinet without their permission, the same they used to persuade the creators to transfer their royalties over.

It's honestly a shame that a iconic character like her is getting phased out. She would have been perfect in Pac-Man C.E. 2 Plus where the players have to perform the "kiss" mechanic to proceed.

So is Arcade Pac essentially Museum combined with Championship 2? Just trying to figure out what to buy.

@Apportal_SMM2 No it doesn't, and now my ear hurts! I hate you!

@Eel @Elvie
Luckily, we can always play the original arcade version of Ms Pac-Man on the PSP and on the NES Classic Mini (after a slight modification). So Bandai-Namco and AtGames can argue all they want.

@TheWingedAvenger Xbox one, steam, and PS4 have an excellent standalone version of Ms Pac-Man too!

(Which I believe is on sale right now, too)

@DrDaisy ... I-I didn’t think you would actually do it though?

they should bring pac-man museum for the switch. i have it for steam.

Big deal most have that game already I mean is That the best Namco can do to celebrate Pac man’s 40th?? How bout a Collection cart? With:
Pac Man World 1,2,3
Pac Man Rally
Pac Mania
Super Pac Man
Ms Pac Man
Pac Man Plus
Jr PacMan
Pac Man 2 (Genesis/Snes Cart)
Ms Pac Man Maze Madness
And a few others for example...can all be nicely tucked inside one switch Card!

Even though Namco games go on sale every few weeks, this one never goes on sale. If you're interested in it, buy it now.

Championship Edition was recently free on xbox1 and it's great.

@FineLerv Yes.

Pac-Man, Pac-Man V.S., Rolling Thunder 1& 2, Splatterhouse, Tank Force, Galaga, Dig Dug, and The Tower Of Druaga with Pac-Man C.E. 2 and P.C.E. 2 Plus.

It's not the worst compilation game but it's underwhelming compared to the previous Namco Museums that actually felt like virtual museums with facts, trivia, hints, and extra content.

@Elvie Thanks, Elvie. I do enjoy all those extra bells and whistles, but I'm a sucker for these compilations - especially when they are on sale! Gonna have to grab the complete package.