Electronic handheld games

Electronic handheld games, also referred to as handheld LCD games, are dedicated handheld game systems with built-in games. Many Pac-Man handhelds of this variety have been released, starting as early as 1981.

Overview[]

Originating in the late 1970s, electronic handheld games are often based on primitive, calculator-like technology. They were typically in black-and-white, but were occasionally in color. Some systems from the 2010s onward use more advanced technology, cloning console hardware such as the NES/Famicom or Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

It is difficult to determine which Pac-Man handhelds were licensed/authorized by Namco (or any related parties), especially ones released in the 1980s. This is most apparent with consoles by Epoch, who had a strange mixture of licensed and unlicensed releases. There are also instances where a console was officially licensed in one country, but were seemingly released without license in other territories. Any handhelds where the licensing is unclear are marked as "possibly unlicensed?" in the table(s) below.

Original games[]

Games which were exclusively distributed as proprietary handhelds, and never appeared anywhere else.

Name	Year	Manufacturer	Information
PacMan2/HungryPac	1981	Entex	Also released as a "Select-A-Game" cartridge. Originally produced unofficially, but was briefly granted an official license as part of a court agreement.
Pak Pak Man/Epoch-Man	1981	Epoch	Also released under many alternate names. Some versions appear to be licensed; the North American release was seemingly licensed as part of a court agreement.
Tomy Watchman: Monster Hero	1982	Tomy	A wristwatch with a LCD screen. Was later distributed with official Pac-Man branding (see "Ports" section below).
Programming Digipro Powerman	1982	Tomy	An original maze game where the player must collect monsters and bring them to a home base. The game was originally planned to be released as "Programable Digipro Puck Man" [sic], implying a connection to the Pac-Man series; however, the console ultimately used generic branding.
PakPak Land	1984	Epoch	The same game as Pak Pak Man, but is in a book-shaped plastic case with a storybook inside. Possibly unlicensed?
Pac Pac Doraemon	1989	Epoch	Modified version of Pak Pak Man featuring Doraemon. Possibly unlicensed?
Pac-Junior	1997	Bandai
PACit	1999	Namco/Sega	A game for the Sega Dreamcast VMU, downloadable via the Dreamcast version of Namco Museum.
Li'l Pac-Man	2000	Playskool
Pac-Man Tamagotchi	2020	Bandai
Monopoly Arcade: Pac-Man	2020	Hasbro	A Pac-Man-themed take on Monopoly. While it is mainly just a board game, it comes with a handheld Pac-Man machine, featuring gameplay very similar to Basic Fun's Pac-Man ports.

Ports[]

Conversions of already existing Pac-Man games.

Name	Year	Manufacturer	Information
Pac-Man/Puckman (Tomy LSI Game)	1981	Tomy	Possibly the first handheld released, and the only 1980s model to be released with actual Pac-Man branding in Japan.
Pac-Man/Super Puck Monster	1981	Coleco (US) Gakken (JP)	Tabletop arcade machine. Features three game modes, including a two player co-op mode and an additional game titled "Eat & Run".
Puck Monster/Pac Man	1982	Gakken (JP) Futuretronics (AU) CGL (EU)	Two designs were produced. Some versions are licensed.
Pac-Man Game Watch (version 1)	1982	Nelsonic	A wristwatch with a LCD screen; features a d-pad controller. Gameplay is modeled after the Tomy LSI Game port; an identical port is used in the "Game & Time" handheld.
Pac-Man Game Watch (version 2)	1982	Nelsonic	Two designs were produced. A wristwatch with a LCD screen; features a joystick controller. A modified version of the aforementioned Tomy Watchman: Monster Hero with different graphics. Unlike other ports, Pac-Man has his arms and legs in-game.
Pac-Man (Game & Time)	1982 (?)	Various	Two designs were produced. Gameplay is modeled after the Tomy LSI Game; an identical port is used in the first revision of the Pac-Man Game Watch. Similarly designed to Nintendo's Game & Watch series, with some models labeled "Game & Time" below the joystick. Later reissued with Super Pac-Man branding by Grandstand (despite the game itself being a port of the original Pac-Man).
Ms. Pac-Man	1983	Coleco	Tabletop arcade machine. Like Coleco's Pac-Man tabletop, it features a two player co-op mode.
Pac-Man (Double Wide Screen)	1984	Orlitronic/Tiger	Split across two screens in a clamshell case, similar to some Game & Watch units and the Nintendo DS. Uses artwork from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon.
Pac-Man (Large Screen)	1984	Orlitronic/Tiger	Only features one screen. Uses artwork from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon.
Ms. Pac-Man	1984	Orlitronic/Tiger	Features a unique "shaped" plastic case featuring Ms. Pac-Man laying on a heart.
Pac-Man (MGA, version 1)	1992	MGA	Three designs were produced. A loose adaption of the arcade game.
Ms. Pac-Man (MGA, version 1)	1992	MGA	Three designs were produced. A loose adaption of the arcade game. Unlike other ports, Ms. Pac-Man has her arms and legs in-game.
Pac-Land	1992	Varie/Systema	A rather loose adaption. Pac-Man must walk across platforms in order to reach Ms. Pac-Man. It plays similarly to the Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch.
Pac-Land (Giocatraduci)	1995	Sanyo/Barilla	A cartridge for the Giocatraduci system (which is based on LCD technology). It shares some similarities to the 1992 Pac-Land handheld in gameplay, but it is not identical.
Pac-Man (MGA, version 2)	1995	MGA	A closer adaption of the arcade game compared to MGA's first version. Approx. twelve different designs were produced (from the span of 1995 to 2007), including standard handhelds, keychains, and even a version built into a pen (Pen Arcade).
Ms. Pac-Man (MGA, version 2)	1995	MGA	Practically the same as MGA's second Pac-Man port, but with Ms. Pac-Man's first maze instead. Three designs were produced.
Pac-Man (MGA, Color FX/Color FX2)	1999	MGA	Colorized versions of MGA's second port of Pac-Man. The original Color FX releases are "light sensor"-based consoles manufactured by Hiro; the Color FX2 consoles use standard color screens without a light sensor. Approx. five different designs were produced.
Ms. Pac-Man (MGA, Color FX/Color FX2)	1999	MGA	Colorized versions of MGA's second port of Ms. Pac-Man. The original Color FX releases are "light sensor"-based consoles manufactured by Hiro; the Color FX2 consoles use standard color screens without a light sensor. Two designs were produced.
Pocket Boy Color: Pac-Man	2000	Masudaya Corporation, Epoch	Uses a light sensor to project the screen onto a mirror. The console was manufactured by Hiro and published by Masudaya Corporation in 2000; it was reissued by Epoch in 2007-2008 (?) with an alternate design.
Pac-Man Colour Handheld Game	200?	Zeon Tech	Uses a light sensor to project the screen onto a mirror. Manufactured by Hiro, with identical gameplay to the Pocket Boy Color. An alternate, seemingly unauthorized version was produced (by Zeon Tech themselves) titled "Arcade Classic", which features Pac-Man wearing a cowboy hat.
Arcade Classics: Pac-Man (LCD version)	2016	Basic Fun	Tabletop arcade machine with a monochrome screen. Features the Eat & Run mode from the Pac-Man Coleco tabletop. Two different SKUs were released.
Arcade Classics: Pac-Man (VFD version)	2017	Basic Fun	Colorized version of Basic Fun's Arcade Classics: Pac-Man. Four different versions were released, including "40th Anniversary" and "Collector's Edition" variants.
Arcade Classics: Ms. Pac-Man (VFD version)	2018	Basic Fun	Tabletop arcade machine with a color screen.
Pac-Man Desktop Arcade/Pac-Man Game Keyring	2020	Fizz Creations	Virtually identical in gameplay to the LCD version of Arcade Classics: Pac-Man.

Console clone hardware[]

Handhelds which are based on more standard video game hardware - such as the Atari 2600, Famicom/NES, or Sega Genesis - rather than the crude technology used in the other devices.

Name	Year	Manufacturer	Information
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player (2017)	2017	AtGames	Features 85 built-in games, including Pac-Panic (European version of Pac-Attack).
Atari Flashback Portable (2017)	2017	AtGames	Features 70 built-in games, including Pac-Man 4K (a homebrew Atari 2600 port of Pac-Man).
Tiny Arcade - Pac-Man	2017	World's Smallest
Tiny Arcade - Ms. Pac-Man	2017	World's Smallest
Pac-Man Micro Player	2018	My Arcade	Tabletop arcade machine; based on Famiclone hardware.
Pac-Man Pocket Player	2018	My Arcade	Features Pac-Man, Pac-Attack, and Pac-Mania; based on Sega Genesis clone hardware.
Arcade Classics: Ms. Pac-Man (Sunplus version)	2018	Basic Fun
Tiny Arcade - Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga	2018	World's Smallest	Based on the Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga anniversary machine. The code to unlock Pac-Man is intact, but it unlocks Dig Dug instead.
Ms. Pac-Man Micro Player	2019	My Arcade	Tabletop arcade machine; based on Famiclone hardware.
Ms. Pac-Man Pocket Player	2019	My Arcade	Features Ms. Pac-Man, Mappy, and Sky Kid; based on Famiclone hardware.
Micro Arcade - Pac-Man	2019	World's Smallest
Tiny Arcade - Pac-Man Tabletop Edition	2019	World's Smallest
Stranger Things Palace Arcade	2019	Hasbro	Features 20 built-in games, including Pac-Man, Galaxian, Galaga, and Dig Dug.
Arcade Classics: Pac-Man (Sunplus version)	2019	Basic Fun	A "40th Anniversary" variant was also released.
Atari Retro Handheld Console - Pac-Man Edition	2020	Blaze	Features 60 built-in games, including the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man.
Pac-Man Micro Player - 40th Anniversary Edition	2020	My Arcade	Based on Sega Genesis clone hardware. Compared to the non-40th model, it is gold instead of yellow, and the side artwork is a lenticular print.
Micro Arcade - Ms. Pac-Man	2020	World's Smallest
Pac-Man tilt	2020	World's Smallest	A port of the original Pac-Man controlled by tilting the console itself; not to be confused with the 2011 game.
Tiny Arcade - Hello Kitty ♥ Pac-Man	2020	World's Smallest	Port of the iOS/Android game.
Tiny Arcade - Atari 2600	2021	World's Smallest	Features 10 built-in games, including a port of the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man.
Pac-Man in a Tin	2022	Fizz Creations	Based on Famiclone hardware; uses a VT369-based hack of the Famicom/NES port.
Pac-Man (My Arcade, vertical-resolution version)	2023	My Arcade	Based on Sega Genesis clone hardware. Available in various forms, originally debuting as part of the "Micro Player Pro" and "Pocket Player Pro" lines.
Ms. Pac-Man (My Arcade, vertical-resolution version)	2023	My Arcade	Based on Sega Genesis clone hardware. Available in various forms, originally debuting as part of the "Micro Player Pro" and "Pocket Player Pro" lines.
Pac-Man 45th Anniversary Pocket Player Max	2025	My Arcade	Features Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, and Pac & Pal; uses a mixture of arcade and Sega Genesis emulation.
Pac-Man Handheld	2025	Eldohm, Iconic Arcade	Features Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, and Pac & Pal; uses arcade emulation powered by Daniel Filner's "Moo Emulation".

Trivia[]

Long before the formation of Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bandai released a bootleg Pac-Man handheld titled Packri Monster (cheekily stylized as "PACKri MONster"). Its release led to a lawsuit between Bandai and Bally Midway.
AtGames has released several other Pac-Man handhelds not listed on this page; in reality, these are bootleg products released after their contract with Bandai Namco had been terminated, which AtGames intentionally rushed out amidst their lawsuit with them.
- Unlike the originally-unauthorized "Bandai Namco Arcade Blast!" Plug & Play system, the handheld consoles were not granted license following the Namco-AtGames lawsuit's settlement.
Several promotional variants of handheld Pac-Man games have been released, often as giveaway prizes for their respective promotion. Examples include 7-Eleven/Speedway versions of the Pac-Man Tiny Arcade, and Oreo versions of the Pac-Man Game Keyring and the Pac-Man Nano Player Pro. These releases do not alter the game software compared to their retail equivalent.
A number of Pac-Man handheld games credit a patent number as being licensed by Nintendo. This patent (U.S. No. 4589659) relates to the Game & Watch "Panorama Screen" series, which use a light sensor to project the screen onto a mirror; the same form factor used on the Hiro-manufactured handhelds.
- The Pocket Boy Color version was originally released without patent attribution; a later packaging revision adds a notice crediting Nintendo.

Electronic handheld games

Contents

Overview[]

Original games[]

Ports[]

Console clone hardware[]

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

Original games[]

Pac-Man ports[]

Ms. Pac-Man ports[]

Pac-Land ports[]

Console clone hardware[]