May 22nd, 1980. The day the first Pac-Man arcade machine was placed in a Japanese arcade. Namco employees creepily crowded around the machine, watching others play it. With peoples' ecstatic reactions, Namco knew they had a hit on their hands. Pac-Man became a worldwide phenomenon, and is still the #1 most popular arcade game of all time. Its been 40 years since that fateful day. And guess what?
Nobody gives a single shit.
People cared during his 20th. His 25th. There was still plenty of interest in his 30th and 35th. But entering his 40th anniversary, all interest in Pac-Man has completely faded away. The newest generation of children have no idea what a Pac-Man is. Pac-Man's only remaining audience is a small subset of grown men in their 40s - the same group that played Pac-Man when it was brand-new.
So, what happened to Pac-Man? Why has his popularity completely died off, despite still being beloved only five years ago? If you've been following the Pac-Man series for the past decade, you already know the answer. Pac-Man has been reduced to practically nothing at this point. There are still plenty of newly-released Pac-Man games, but they're all just...variants of the original arcade game. Re-releases of the original Pac-Man; modified versions and special "editions" of Pac-Man; the occasional take on Pac-Man Battle Royale; but nothing else. Only the first year of Pac-Man's existence is evolved upon, while the thirty-nine others are intentionally ignored.
There was once a time where Pac-Man attempted to experiment with new concepts and ideas. 1984's Pac-Land is one of the most revolutionary games of all time. It was the inspiration for Super Mario Bros., and led the way for the entire platformer genre. Games like Pac-Pix and Pac 'n Roll were unlike anything the gaming world had ever seen - levels of creativity that even Mario can't reach. Of course, we can't forget about the fan-favorite Pac-Man World trilogy, which were some of the best platformers released in the early 2000s. And as much as people like to shit on Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures, it can't be denied that it's a unique experience.
You'd think since Namco is banking on nostalgia so hard, they would base content on the late 90s/early 2000s games. These were what kids were playing 15 years ago; the perfect age range for nostalgia money-milking. But instead, Namco is continuing to appeal to middle-aged men who played the original arcade game, most of whom barely, if at all, care about video games anymore.
"But the one who Doesn't Really Care!", you scream, "Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures tried to experiment!". Well, Ghostly Adventures was an experiment gone wrong. It was flat-out AWFUL, and I don't think I need to elaborate on why; its been done to death at this point. But at the same time, Ghostly Adventures has...grown on me over the years. We've been subjected to so little, that - while I hate to admit it - I prefer GA to what we're getting now. At least GA's Pac-Man had EYES! Even if they were weirdly realistic looking! I can't say the same for our current Pac-Man...
Now, only releasing the aforementioned crap would be one thing. But to make matters worse, Namco outright tries to not even acknowledge the post-80s Pac-Man titles. As evidence for this...let's take a look at Pac-Man's house. Yes, really.
This is the trophy of Pac-Man's House from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. In the North American version of the game, it features this tidbit in its description:
"Twenty years (or so) later, he moves into a yellow house with more rooms, but that's in another game."
This is referring to his house in Pac-Man World...which was actually 15 years after this other identical-looking-but-apparently-completely-different house, but whatever. Now here's the European/Australian description:
"In another game - one which marked his 20th anniversary - he has a bigger house with more rooms."
This one makes it more clear that they're referring to Pac-Man World, which was released for his 20th anniversary...but why, in both descriptions, does it refuse to mention Pac-Man World by name!? Why would Namco be so hellbent on insuring its not listed!? To make things even weirder, it also says the house appeared in Super Pac-Man - in which it didn't exist at all!
Let's do a comparison. Pac-Man against his original arcade rival, Mario. Imagine if after the release of Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo decided that Mario needed to completely change. And from 2008 onwards, Nintendo exclusively developed modified versions of the original Donkey Kong, stripping away every element of Mario's universe, save for where he began. (And there was a terrible cartoon mixed in somewhere.) That is the equivalent of where Pac-Man is today. Constant pandering to an audience who doesn't exist anymore, alongside the distant memory of Ghostly Adventures just to sour things further. Pac-Man needs his Odyssey - or at LEAST a 3D World.
Its hard to say if Pac-Man will ever properly return. In all fairness, there are many reasons why we've reached this point; mainly the insane Ms. Pac-Man issues with you-know-who. Hell, I'm pretty certain that both Ghostly Adventures and the Championship Edition games were in response to the idiotic Ms. Pac-Man royalty demands; a form of "We'll show you!" from Namco. As such, I don't necessarily put the blame on Namco for the mishandling of the series...aside from their desire to never mention Pac-Man World by name. I still cannot comprehend why they did that.
If someone at Namco somehow reads this, consider it a Pac-Manifesto. I am speaking on behalf of what I've heard from countless other Pac-Man fans - and being that I run the Pac-Man Wiki, that's a LOT. People want a return to what Pac-Man used to be. Not 1980, not 1981, but the 90s and 2000s. And I hope that, one day, the Pac will REALLY be Back.
(...and no, the fifth Pac-Man maze builder does not count as "creative". Jeff Bezos wiping his hands all over it isn't enough of a unique change to separate it...)