Pac-Man, the arcade classic, turns 30
A rotund, voracious figure follows a trail through a maze. As he rounds a corner, he is confronted by ghostlike monsters attempting to wipe him out. He turns and flees, but soon discovers an additional source of power that briefly turns him from hunted into hunter.
This simple premise gave birth to Pac-Man, the most successful coin-operated video game in history.
The pop-culture sensation, released in Japan 30 years ago this week, created millions of glazed-eye addicts and spawned more than 400 products, including a cartoon, a breakfast cereal and a hit song.
Many credit Pac-Man, an iconic symbol of the '80s, with expanding video gaming to a wider audience.
