Electronic handheld games

C.e.h — A 1982 Pac-Man handheld game by Halion.

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).
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
Tomy LSI Game Pac-Man/Puckman	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".
Pac-Man	1982	Cresta, Ectron, Halion	Two designs were produced. Gameplay is very similar to the Tomy LSI Game. Similarly designed to Nintendo's Game & Watch series; some models even say "Game & Time" below the joystick.
Puck Monster/Pac Man	1982	Gakken (JP) Futuretronics (AU) CGL (EU)	Two designs were produced. Some versions are licensed.
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 Game Watch (version 1)	198?	Nelsonic	Two designs were produced. A wristwatch with a LCD screen. 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 Watch (version 2)	198?	Nelsonic	A wristwatch with a LCD screen. Plays almost identically to Tomy LSI Game Pac-Man.
Super Pac-Man	198?	Grandstand, Halion	Despite the branding, the game is identical to the "Cresta" port of Pac-Man and not Super Pac-Man. This unit seems particularly rare, with very few copies being found.
Pac-Man (MGA, version 1)	1992	MGA	Two 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	Namco/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	Unknown	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. A ridiculously high amount of different designs were produced, including standard handhelds, keychains, and even a version built into a pen (Pen Arcade).
Pac-Man (Color FX/Color FX II)	199?	MGA	Colorized versions of MGA's second port of Pac-Man.
Ms. Pac-Man (MGA, version 2)	199?	MGA	Practically the same as MGA's second Pac-Man port, but with Ms. Pac-Man's first maze instead. Several different designs were produced.
Ms. Pac-Man (Color FX/Color FX II)	199?	MGA	Colorized versions of MGA's second port of Ms. Pac-Man.
Pac-Man	2000	Masudaya Corporation, Epoch	Uses a light sensor to project the screen onto a mirror.
Pac-Man Colour Handheld Game	200?	Zeon Tech	Uses a light sensor to project the screen onto a mirror. 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 (#1)	2016	Basic Fun	Tabletop arcade machine with a monochrome screen. Features the Eat & Run mode from the Pac-Man Coleco tabletop.
Arcade Classics: Pac-Man (#7)	2017	Basic Fun	Colorized version of Basic Fun's Arcade Classics: Pac-Man (#1).
Arcade Classics: Ms. Pac-Man (not numbered)	2018	Basic Fun	Tabletop arcade machine with a color screen.
Pac-Man Desktop Arcade/Pac-Man Game Keyring	2020	Fizz Creations	Seemingly rebranded versions of Basic Fun's Arcade Classics: Pac-Man (#1).

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 (#11)	2018	Basic Fun
Ms. Pac-Man Micro Player	2018	My Arcade	Tabletop arcade machine; based on Famiclone hardware.
Ms. Pac-Man Pocket Player	2018	My Arcade	Features Ms. Pac-Man, Mappy, and Sky Kid; based on Famiclone hardware.
Tiny Arcade - Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga	2018	World's Smallest	Based on the "Class of 1981" anniversary machine. The code to unlock Pac-Man is intact, but it unlocks Dig Dug instead.
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 (#14, #20)	2019	Basic Fun
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; seemingly uses a "VT03" (16-bit colors) hack of the Famicom/NES port.
Pac-Man Micro Player Pro	2023	My Arcade	Tabletop arcade machine; based on Sega Genesis clone hardware.
Ms. Pac-Man Micro Player Pro	2023	My Arcade	Tabletop arcade machine; based on Sega Genesis clone hardware.
Pac-Man Pocket Player Pro	2023	My Arcade	Based on Sega Genesis clone hardware.
Ms. Pac-Man Pocket Player Pro	2023	My Arcade	Based on Sega Genesis clone hardware.

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.