History of Pac-Man clones and bootlegs/Multi-game and compilation releases

This page details bootleg "multi-game" compilation releases featuring Pac-Man games.

One of the most common forms of video game bootlegs are "multi-games" or "multicarts"; these releases compile numerous (pirated) games together into one product. These are released across numerous formats, including arcade machines, video game cartridges, and "plug & play" devices. While this category of bootlegs is particularly ubiquitous, there are several notable multi-games featuring Pac-Man which resulted in legal action from (or have legal ties to) Namco.

This page does not include compilations with originally-coded games (e.g. the homebrew Pac-Man Collection games); games featured on this page directly steal the original Pac-Man code, occasionally hacking the games or removing their copyright notices.

Arcade compilations

4 Fun in 1

4 Fun in 1 is a bootleg 4-in-1 multi-game board released in 1981. It is based on Galaxian hardware, and features bootleg hack-conversions of Centipede, Scramble, Galaxian, and Pac-Man. The Pac-Man hack is titled "The Ghostmuncher Pt 3", and features a Hangly-Man maze and poorly modified character sprites.

The 4 Fun in 1 menu features two company names: "Armenia Ltd" and "Food & Fun". Amusingly (and ironically), the demo screen displays the following message: "This game program contains original work and unauthorized duplication will result in prosecution", as a stolen Pac-Man ghost walks below.

Two-Bit Score multi-game kits

In the mid-to-late 1990s, several conversion kits for Pac-Man were released by Two-Bit Score. Unlike some earlier arcade hacks from the 1980s, these generally copied the full game code of either Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man; making them not apply under the "loopholes" of similar conversion kits.

The most well-known of these is a 8-in-1 multigame board, referred to as the "Super ABC" kit. The Super ABC kit, released in 1999, allows a Pac-Man machine to play Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, and various bootleg hacks of the game (including Piranha and a newly-created Ultra Pac-Man); each game also features a speed-up chip variant. Every game replaces the copyright byline with "www.pacman.com", as Two-Bit owned the domain name at the time (which would later be transferred to Namco).

At some point in the early 2000s, Two-Bit entered an agreement with Namco to produce officially licensed reproduction artwork for original Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaga machines (e.g. marquees and screen bezels). In entering this agreement, however, Two-Bit was ordered by Namco to not produce anything related to the Pac-Man software itself. As such, the Super ABC kits (and any variations thereof) were discontinued, presumably with no legal action being taken.

On a coincidental note, Two-Bit Score's Pac-Man reproduction artwork was sourced from a series of fan-made "PACANAC" vectors from the early 2000s. Namco of Japan threatened litigation against the PACANAC website, independently of their agreement with Two-Bit Score.

Ultracade

Ultracade is a multi-game arcade machine released in 2001. The machine included 86 built-in games, and featured the ability to buy "packs" of additional games that could be added to the machine. Ultracade's marketing - across numerous companies' game titles - boldly claimed that all games were officially licensed; though in actuality, almost every game on the platform was unauthorized, with Ultracade falsifying evidence to suggest it was official (e.g. falsely registering IP and trademark rights). This caused numerous legal issues for various parties, including more "hobbyist" projects such as the MAME emulator.

One pack released for the Ultracade was titled "Pac-Family Classics"; this pack featured Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, alongside various other Namco titles. In 2003, Namco issued a statement regarding the Ultracade Pac-Man pack; claiming it was "an unlicensed, illegal product", and implied that legal action would be taken. The founder of Ultracade, David Foley, had a strange response to this; he stated the Pac-Family pack was based on the coding of Microsoft Return of Arcade: Anniversary Edition for Windows, and that redistributing the game was "legal" under Microsoft's terms. Foley added that the terms did not prohibit "public use" of the Return of Arcade games, with Foley claiming that they could "legally" be used in a coin-operated arcade machine.

Effectively speaking, Ultracade was purchasing an individual copy of Return of Arcade per "Pac-Family Classics" package ordered (or so they claimed), and somehow modifying its coding to run on the arcade machine. However, there are numerous flaws in this logic; this strategy may violate some form of anti-circumvention law, and is such a stretch of the Microsoft terms that it is almost certainly still illegal. Additionally, the Pac-Family pack featured Galaga, which is not included in any Microsoft Arcade compilation. Regardless, it appears that Namco did not pursue further legal action, likely out of fear that it could set a precedent if Ultracade was found innocent.

However, numerous other video game companies would file suit against Ultracade; a multi-company lawsuit was filed in 2009, with plaintiffs including G-Mode (Data East), Jaleco, SNK, and Tecmo, among others. David Folely would plead guilty in this lawsuit in 2013.

At least one further arcade manufacturer appears to have attempted similar "loopholes" to Ultracade with software license terms. A series of machines known as Dream Arcades feature a "Namco Museum Pack" preinstalled (including Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man), which appears to use modified code from Namco Museum 50th Anniversary.

iCade 60-in-1

The iCade 60-in-1 is an arcade board released in 2004. There are numerous earlier variants of the board with less games included (48-in-1, 39-in-1, etc.). The 60-in-1 version features 55 games total, with the remaining five being "speed-up chip" repeats; among these are Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Jr. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, and Super Pac-Man.

The iCade 60-in-1 has been noted as being very common and widespread, despite its bootleg origin. For unclear reasons, Namco does not seem to have filed legal action directly towards the 60-in-1 board manufacturer(s); possibly due to difficulties tracking their true origin. However, a few US-based companies reselling the 60-in-1 are known to have been in legal disputes with Namco. In one case, a company known as CoinOpStore was sued by Namco in 2017; certain wording in these reports (e.g. "consoles [with] between 60 and 3,000 counterfeited games" and "five different versions of Pac-Man") imply that some of these machines were 60-in-1-derived. Curiously, both Namco of America and CoinOpStore were based in Santa Clara, CA; suggesting this is the reason why Namco could easily track this vendor.

However, the iCade 60-in-1 has also been utilized in official capacity. Several Namco-licensed merchandisers have utilized 60-in-1-based arcade machines at various trade shows and other promotional events. For instance, Outdoor Products once held a giveaway of custom-built Pac-Man machines as promotion for a set of Pac-Man backpacks; these machines are clearly 60-in-1 based, as evidenced by its phony "1 9 8 0" copyright string appearing in place of the Namco copyright.

Plug & Play consoles

TV Boy

The TV Boy is a game console released in 1992; it is commonly considered the precursor to the modern plug & play game systems, and is effectively the first of its kind. The console is based on Atari 2600 clone technology, and features 127 built-in games; this includes the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man, renamed to "Pacmania" in the instruction manual. The console also features Jawbreaker, which the manual refers to as "Pacmania 2".

While the TV Boy was widely distributed in Europe (particularly in the UK), no legal action is known to have been taken by Atari or any other game publisher.

Famiclone-based systems

Famiclones are devices which clone the hardware of the Famicom/NES. Beginning in the late 1990s, Famiclone hardware would often be utilized in plug & play consoles with built-in games; many of these consoles will bootleg the various Pac-Man games released on the NES or Famicom.

Some Famiclone devices feature built-in bootleg hacks of the Pac-Man games, altering the games' graphics. Examples of these include "Maze Tussle" and "Egg It" by Inventor, and "Eat Bean" and "Ms. Power-Ball" by Cube Technology, among others. Many of these hacks appear on earlier dreamGEAR systems; the predecessor to My Arcade, a company that has produced officially licensed Pac-Man products (which are also based on Famiclone hardware).