A Futuretronics-branded Pac-Man sticker.
Futuretronics was an Australian electronic company formed in 1979.[1][2]
Futuretronics had some form of connection to both Atari and Nintendo; distributing both the Atari 2600 and the Game & Watch series in Australia. In 1982, following the success of Pac-Man on the U.S. market, Futuretronics registered the Australian trademark to Pac-Man.[3] The company is known to have released several Pac-Man products under the Futuretronics name, though the full extent of their operations are unknown. Futuretronics' actual connections to Namco and/or Bally Midway are unclear.
The Pac-Man products known to have been published in Australia by Futuretronics include:
- Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 and Atari 400/800 computers; a TV commercial was produced for the former.
- Ms. Pac-Man for the Atari 2600; a TV commercial was produced for the game.
- Two handheld LCD games, "Pac Man" and "Pac Man-1"; these are rebranded versions of Gakken's Puck Monster and the Pac-Man Tomy LSI Game, respectively.
Additionally, a "Pac-Man Ice Cream" bar by Pauls was released under Futuretronics' "license"; the ice cream featured a giveaway where Futuretronics-branded Pac-Man products could be won if a "lucky" popsicle stick was uncovered.[4]
Trivia[]
- Despite some of their products being licensed, Futuretronics allegedly had ties to the bootleg industry; though this is largely unconfirmed. Such ties may explain the release of consoles such as the "Atari 2600 - 128 Games Built-In" system in Australia; a seemingly-licensed Atari product filled with 128 bootleg games, including a copy of Pac-Man.
- In Futuretronics' Ms. Pac-Man commercial, Ms. Pac-Man is erroneously referred to as Pac-Man's "big sister" rather than his wife.