Tag Archives: namco

Crafting a Miniature Pac-Man Arcade Game Drink Coaster

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Ever wanted to craft your own miniature Pac-Man level drink coaster? Who hasn’t? It’s a universal human dream. And to help us achieve that dream, YouTuber The Avid Creator avidly created this video detailing how he made one. Just follow along to make your own! Will yours turn out as well as his did? Yours might, but mine definitely won’t.

He constructed the base and walls of the level from finely-cut wood pieces, while the pellets, ghosts, and Pac-Man are made of polymer clay, with everything painted and then sealed with epoxy resin. Admittedly, that is a good-looking drink coaster. Way nicer than my coaster, which just looks like a water ring on the coffee table.

Does anybody want to make a bunch of these for me to give out as Christmas gifts this year? I can promise you’ll be handsomely rewarded. With praise, just to be clear – not with actual money. Come on, Santa doesn’t even pay his elves!

This Custom Pac-Man Synthesizer Looks A-maze-ing

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You know what? I’m surprised that they never came up with a vaccine for Pac-Man Fever. I mean, I’ve had it for nearly four decades, and it’s not getting any better. I suppose if you’re still a Pac-Man fan like me, you might want something like this sweet Pac-Man-themed synthesizer by Swedish artist and vintage gadget fan Love Hultén.

The custom-built synthesizer is done up in a vibrant color scheme inspired by Namco’s classic maze game. The customized Korg Minilogue synth has Pac-Man yellow keys with orange sharps and flats. Its case has a Pac-Man logo and ghost artwork straight from the game’s original arcade cabinet, and there are other little details like cherries on the keyboard and a pair of blue ghosts with light-up eyes being chased by Pac-Man. Check it out in action and give it a listen in the video below:

Surprisingly, this isn’t the only Pac-Man synthesizer that Hultén has built. He also created a custom synth with a yellow case and blue keys, presumably on Opposite Day.

If you love the retro-modernist look of these pieces, be sure to check out Love’s Instagram page and website for more awesome custom electronic gear.

Galaga Enamel Pins Bring the 8-Bit Goodness

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I’ve played a whole lot of arcade games in my lifetime, but one that I always go back to is Namco’s classic Galaga. It’s every bit as playable and challenging today as it was the day it came out in 1981, and now I don’t even have to spend quarters to play it. If you love Galaga as much as I do, check out these enamel pins inspired by the game.

Etsy seller Wardingers creates these awesome pixel art pins based on enemies like the Bee, Butterfly, Scorpion, Galaxian, and Bosconian. I never knew the names of these characters before now – it was easier to kill nameless, soulless aliens. Now every time I go to shoot at them, I’m going to think about that Bosconian’s wife and kids. Thanks, Wardingers, thanks.

The Galaga enamel pins sell for $9.25 each, or you can buy them in sets, with the full 7-piece collection selling for $52.75. Of course, I’d need to buy two fighters because I always joined mine together for maximum firepower.

The Ghosts Give Chase in this LEGO Pac-Man Automaton

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Wakka Wakka Wakka, Everything is Awesome! It’s LEGO Pac-Man time! Do you love retro arcade games and LEGO bricks? Well, then, you’ll love this LEGO Pac-Man display that moves when you turn its crank.

The 1603-piece set was designed by LiteBricks and submitted to LEGO Ideas. Its modular design lets you rearrange its pieces so Pac-Man can be chased by ghosts, gobble dots, chase blue ghosts, or make a hasty escape as their eyeballs scurry home to regenerate. Or any combination thereof. The set features a mini Pac-Maze on its side, made up of 1×1 round LEGO bricks.

If you’d like to see this set go into production, you can show your support by casting a vote on LEGO Ideas. If it gets at least 10,000 votes, it’ll go to the LEGO Ideas internal committee for consideration. I’d love to see more LEGO sets inspired by classic arcade games. The plastic bricks gave us pixel art before pixel art was a thing, so it’s a natural fit.

Pac-Man Goes for the Gold with This Connect-and-Play Special Edition

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Pac-Man, Galaga, and Dig Dug are three of my all-time favorite 8-bit arcade games. There are lots of ways to play Namco’s classic game at home these days, but how many of them are shiny and gold? Well before now, none of them. Now, thanks to the guys at Bandai, there’s a special gold edition of the Pac-Man Connect and Play game system.

The plug-and-play style system plays those classics on your TV using its built-in joystick and arcade buttons. It comes loaded with a dozen games, including those I already mentioned, plus Galaxian, Bosconian, New Rally-X, Super Pac-Man, Xevious, Mappy, Pac-Man Plus, and the glitchy 256th-level of the original Pac-Man. Of course what makes it special is its case, which is shaped like a pixel art Pac-Man, and done up in a glistening golden finish.

The Pac-Man Connect and Play: Gold Edition is available for pre-order from Premium Bandai for $60, and is expected to ship starting in March 2021. That’s quite a bit more expensive than the plain yellow version, but the way I figure it, if you played the original games 240 times, which I’m sure many of you did, you would have pumped in the same amount in quarters and not gotten to take the games home with you after you left the arcade.

Pac-Man Succulent Planters Trade Quarters for Cacti

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You know what the ghosts from Pac-Man could use? Plants growing out of their heads, that’s what. Yeah, that makes them much more adorable, and less intimidating for sure. That’s why I love these Pac-Man ghost planters from Dips and Prints.

Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde are all here, and ready to help provide a home for your indoor succulents. Of course, Pac-Man is here to try and gobble them up too, though I’m thinking the spiky plants might get stuck in his throat. Wait, does Pac-Man even have a throat? Who knows? Regardless, these guys would look great sitting on your bookshelf… or your maze if you have one.

These guys are 3D-printed from PLA bioplastic, and come in two different sizes 2.5″ tall and 4″ tall for the ghosts, and 2.75″ tall and 4.43″ tall for Pac-Man, respectively. The small ones sell for $14.99 each or $44.99 for the set, and the large ones are $19.99 each or $69.99 for the set. You can chase them down over on Etsy.

Bandai Namco discounts its Switch library until October 21st

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The holidays are nearly upon us. For some, that means a whole lot of traveling. Switch owners can stock up on cheap digital downloads during Bandai Namco's publisher sale to stay occupied during flights, long drives and restless nights in lumpy child...