Pac-Man by WMS Gaming is a gambling machine released in 2002. It was followed by two sequels, Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Man Frenzy.
Overview[]
The WMS Pac-Man machines feature two screens: the top screen features the Pac-Man maze, while the bottom screen acts as a slot machine. The maze portion seemingly does play like the actual Pac-Man game, and is controlled via a joystick.
WMS Industries reportedly licensed the Pac-Man rights from Namco in early 2001, and planned for machine production to begin the following year.[1] Numerous copyright, trademark, and even patent registries were filed relating to the game. Despite this, the machine seems to have had rather limited distribution, and few machines are known to exist today.
In 2000, a law was passed in Nevada titled the "Slots for Tots" bill - which prohibited cartoon characters (primarily those appealing to children) from being used in gambling games. WMS attempted to cite a "loophole" with the Slots for Tots bill, claiming that Pac-Man had "nostalgic appeal" for adults. It is unknown if this strategy truly worked; many other "nostalgic" properties used in slot machines, such as Popeye, were unable to get around the restriction.[1] It is possible that the Slots for Tots bill, in part, led to the Pac-Man machine(s) receiving limited distribution.
Trivia[]
- While subsequent Pac-Man-themed slot machines were produced by various companies, no other machine incorporated the actual Pac-Man gameplay; presumably, this is due to the patent registries for the WMS game.
Gallery[]
References[]
External links[]
- Section on WMS Gaming website (archive.org)
- Machine patent (Google Patents)