Editing Pac-Man (section)

===Impact===
[[File:Carrers guarnits Gràcia 2012 - Plaça Rovira, Recreatius Rovira 02.JPG|thumb|''Pac-Man'' characters as street decorations in [[Barcelona]], Spain]]
''Pac-Man'' is considered by many to be one of the most influential video games of all time.<ref name="1up_influential" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Jeffrey L. |at=1. Pac-Man (1980) |url=https://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,3253,l%253D251652%2526a%253D251651%2526po%253D10,00.asp?p=n |title=The 10 Most Influential Video Games of All Time |work=[[PC Magazine]] |access-date=April 19, 2012 |date=June 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411203009/http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0%2C3253%2Cl%3D251652%26a%3D251651%26po%3D10%2C00.asp?p=n |archive-date=April 11, 2012}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110902230443/http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article2455080.ece The ten most influential video games ever], ''[[The Times]]'', September 20, 2007</ref> The game established the [[List of maze chase games|maze chase game]] genre,<ref name="1up_influential" /> was the first video game to make use of [[power-up]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3151392 |title=Playing With Power: Great Ideas That Have Changed Gaming have from 1UP.com |work=1Up.com |access-date=November 4, 2015 |archive-date=November 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112211813/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3151392 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the individual ghosts have deterministic [[Artificial intelligence (video games)|artificial intelligence]] (AI) that reacts to player actions.<ref name="consalvo">{{cite book |last=Consalvo |first=Mia |year=2016 |title=Atari to Zelda: Japan's Videogames in Global Contexts |pages=193–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tH3TCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA193 |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |isbn=978-0262034395}}</ref> ''Pac-Man'' is considered one of the first video games to have demonstrated the potential of [[player character]]s in the medium;<ref name="1up_influential"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=DeMaria|first1=Rusel|last2=Wilson|first2=Johnny L.|title=High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games|date=2003|publisher=McGraw-Hill/Osborne|location=New York|isbn=0-07-223172-6|page=62|edition=2}}</ref> its title character was the first original gaming [[mascot]], it increased the appeal of video games with [[Women and video games|female audiences]], and it was gaming's first broad [[licensing]] success.<ref name="1up_influential">{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3122102 |title=The Essential 50 Part 10 -- Pac-Man from 1UP.com |work=1Up.com |access-date=November 4, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003105413/http://www.1up.com/features/essential-50-pac-man |archive-date=2015-10-03}}</ref> It is often cited as the first game with [[cutscene]]s (in the form of brief comical interludes about [[Pac-Man (character)|Pac-Man]] and [[Blinky (Pac-Man)|Blinky]] chasing each other),<ref name="gamesradarimportant">{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-important-evolutions/ |title=Gaming's most important evolutions |date=October 8, 2010 |work=GamesRadar+ |access-date=November 4, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107072239/http://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-important-evolutions/ |archive-date=November 7, 2013}}</ref>{{rp|2}} though actually ''[[Space Invaders Part II]]'' employed a similar style of between-level intermissions in 1979.<ref>{{cite web |title=Space Invaders Part II |url=https://www.arcade-history.com/?n=space-invaders-part-ii&page=detail&id=2543 |website=Arcade History}}</ref>

''Pac-Man'' was a turning point for the [[arcade video game]] industry, which had previously been dominated by space [[shoot 'em up]]s since ''[[Space Invaders]]'' (1978). ''Pac-Man'' popularized a genre of "character-led" [[action game]]s, leading to a wave of character action games involving player characters in 1981, such as [[Nintendo]]'s prototypical [[platform game]] ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]'', [[Konami]]'s ''[[Frogger]]'' and [[Universal Entertainment]]'s ''[[Lady Bug (video game)|Lady Bug]]''.<ref name="DK">{{cite news |title=Donkey Kong |url=https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games80/donkey-kong-4/ |access-date=4 May 2021 |work=[[Retro Gamer]] |publisher=[[Future Publishing Limited]] |date=13 September 2008}}</ref> ''Pac-Man'' was one of the first popular non-shooting action games, defining key elements of the genre such as "parallel visual processing" which requires simultaneously keeping track of multiple entities, including the player's location, the enemies, and the energizers.<ref name="Maynard">{{cite book |last1=Maynard |first1=Ashley E. |last2=Subrahmanyam |first2=Kaveri |last3=Greenfield |first3=Patricia M. |chapter=Technology and the Development of Intelligence: From the Loom to the Computer |editor-last1=Sternberg |editor-first1=Robert J. |editor-last2=Preiss |editor-first2=David D. |title=Intelligence and Technology: The Impact of Tools on the Nature and Development of Human Abilities |date=13 May 2005 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-136-77805-6 |pages=29–54 (32) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZgVId2jGXIC&pg=PA32}}</ref>

Maze games became popular on home computers after the release of ''Pac-Man''. Some of them appeared before official ports and garnered more attention from consumers, and sometimes lawyers, as a result. These include ''[[Taxman (video game)|Taxman]]'' (1981) and ''[[Snack Attack]]'' (1982) for the Apple II, ''[[Jawbreaker (video game)|Jawbreaker]]'' (1981) for the Atari 8-bit computers, ''[[Scarfman]]'' (1981) for the TRS-80, and ''[[K.C. Munchkin!]]'' (1981) for the Odyssey². Namco produced several other maze games, including ''[[Rally-X]]'' (1980), ''[[Dig Dug]]'' (1982), ''[[Exvania]]'' (1992), and ''[[Tinkle Pit]]'' (1994).{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}} Atari sued [[Philips]] for creating ''K.C. Munchkin'' in the case ''[[Atari, Inc. v. North American Philips Consumer Electronics Corp.]]'', leading to ''Munchkin'' being pulled from store shelves under court order.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|title=CourtVille: Why Unclear Laws Put EA v. Zynga Up for Grabs|language=en-US|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/08/ea-sues-zynga/|access-date=2021-05-30|issn=1059-1028}}</ref> No major competitors emerged to challenge ''Pac-Man'' in the maze subgenre.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Vaidhyanathan|first=Siva|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_2gBwAAQBAJ&q=kc+munchkin&pg=PA169|title=Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity|date=2001-08-01|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-8834-9|language=en}}</ref>

''Pac-Man'' inspired 3D variants of the concept, such as ''[[Monster Maze]]'' (1982),<ref>{{cite web |title=Monster Maze |url=http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-monster-maze_3491.html}}</ref> ''[[Spectre (1982 video game)|Spectre]]'' (1982), and early [[first-person shooter]]s such as ''[[MIDI Maze]]'' (1987; which had similar character designs).<ref name="gamesradarimportant" />{{rp|5}}<ref>{{cite web |title=25 years of Pac-Man |publisher=MeriStation |date=July 4, 2005 |url=http://www.meristation.com/v3/des_articulo.php?pic=DC&id=cw42b7458f0dfc7&idj=&idp=&tipo=art&c=1&pos=7 |access-date=May 6, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929150234/http://www.meristation.com/v3/des_articulo.php?pic=DC&id=cw42b7458f0dfc7&idj=&idp=&tipo=art&c=1&pos=7 |archive-date=September 29, 2011}} ([https://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.meristation.com%2Fv3%2Fdes_articulo.php%3Fpic%3DDC%26id%3Dcw42b7458f0dfc7%26idj%3D%26idp%3D%26tipo%3Dart%26c%3D1%26pos%3D7&sl=es&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8 Translation])</ref> [[John Romero]] credited ''Pac-Man'' as the game that had the biggest influence on his career;<ref>{{cite web |last=Bailey |first=Kat |title=These games inspired Cliff Bleszinski, John Romero, Will Wright, and Sid Meier |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/these-games-inspired-cliff-bleszinski-john-romero-will-wright/ |publisher=Joystiq |access-date=April 2, 2012 |date=March 9, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202004044/http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/09/these-games-inspired-cliff-bleszinski-john-romero-will-wright/ |archive-date=February 2, 2017 }}</ref> ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'' includes a ''Pac-Man'' level from a first-person perspective.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Book of Games: The Ultimate Reference on PC & Video Games |publisher=Book of Games |year=2006 |isbn=82-997378-0-X |page=24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cllMaThkYlIC&pg=PA24 |access-date=May 6, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122175354/https://books.google.com/books?id=cllMaThkYlIC&pg=PA24 |archive-date=November 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Game developer |volume=2 & 5 |publisher=[[Miller Freeman]] |year=1995 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9zg9AQAAIAAJ |access-date=June 6, 2011 |page=62 |quote=If you made it to the secret Pac-Man level in Castle Wolfenstein, you know what I mean (Pac-Man never would have made it as a three-dimensional game). Though it may be less of a visual feast, two dimensions have a well-established place as an electronic gaming format. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122191415/https://books.google.com/books?id=9zg9AQAAIAAJ |archive-date=November 22, 2016}}</ref> Many post-''Pac-Man'' titles include power-ups that briefly turn the tables on the enemy.{{clarify|date=January 2024}} The game's artificial intelligence inspired programmers who later worked for companies like [[Bethesda Softworks|Bethesda]].<ref name="consalvo" />