On this day in 1980 Japanese company Namco officially transferred rights to its arcade game Pac-Man to American video game developer Midway Games. This was a significant moment as the game’s popularity didn’t take off until it was released in the US that very same month. Pac-Man was first released to a lukewarm response in Japan in May of 1980 with the name Puck Man, created by video game designer Toru Iwatani.
The game became immensely popular since its US release, sparking a “Pac-Man Fever” and inspiring various, very lucrative merchandise and media. Pac-Man became an icon of 1980s popular culture, and today is still considered one of the most popular and influential video games of all time.