Pac-Man will be celebrating his 40th Anniversary in 2020, and publisher Bandai Namco wants to start getting fans involved now.
Way back in Pac-Man’s heyday, Buckner & Garcia borrowed a few blips and boops from the beloved mascot to rule the music charts with “Pac-Man Fever.” Well put on your dancing shoes, because Bandai Namco has commissioned a new theme song for Pac-Man from Japanese techno artist Ken Ishii. Known as “Join the Pac,” it combines some of Pac-Man’s signature sounds with a nice techno beat, and you can even check out a music video for the song embedded above.
Bandai Namco is also planning to host a series of “engaging events around the globe” in honor of Pac-Man’s anniversary, and you can keep track of all the big news at PacMan.com:
Born on May 22, 1980, Pac-Man immediately rose to meteoric popularity, first in video game arcades, then through an array of branding and entertainment appearances. With a brand recognition rate of 90% around the world, Pac-Man’s image is one of the most recognized on the planet and is as strong as ever as he enters his 40th year of entertaining fans of all ages.
The last time Pac-Man celebrated a milestone anniversary, Bandai Namco released Pac-Man 256 in 2015 for mobile devices… and it was awesome (or righteous or bodacious or any other synonym for “good” you want to pull out of your 80s dictionary). So let’s hope we’re in for another surprising new game launch in 2020, though nothing has been officially announced as of now.
