Pac-Man was first released in 1980 and is one of the most successful video games of all time. The game was among the first to deviate from the then-dominant genres of Space Shooters and rudimentary sports games and allow the player to control a simple, cartoon-like character. The popularity of the game and the visual appeal of the Pac-Man character made the Pac-Man brand one of the first to be licensed for use in toys, an animated TV series by Hanna-Barbera, and other merchandise.

ReferencesEdit

• In a Muppet comic strip by Guy and Brad Gilchrist, Robin the Frog displays his Frog Scout merit badge for playing the game.

• In Fraggle Rock episode 114, Doc and Sprocket play a video game that uses sound effects from Pac-Man.

• Kermit does an impression of Pac-Man in a Muppets.com video.

• In Elmo's World: Teeth, Elmo plays a game similar to Pac-Man on his computer, but with the titular character replaced by a set of clacking teeth.

• A sound effect in the song created expressly for "The Pig with the Froggy Tattoo" trailer samples a sound effect from Pac-Man.

• The 2012 direct-to-video special Elmo's Alphabet Challenge features a spoof of the game. A. B. C-more appears in the form of the ghosts and Elmo as Pac-Man, moving around the maze looking for various items beginning with different letters. Elmo makes a "muncha muncha" sound as he moves in lieu of Pac-Man's "wakka wakka" noise, which Elmo claims is merely a noise he makes when he's hungry.
• A photo featuring Cookie Monster uploaded on Sesame Street's Tumblr page features a "Delete Cookies" parody of Pac-Man to promote the DVD release of Elmo's Alphabet Challenge.

ConnectionsEdit

• Will Lee appeared in a 1982 TV commercial for the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man.
• Peter Cullen played Sour Puss in the animated Pac-Man TV series (1982)
• Russi Taylor played Pac-Baby in the animated Pac-Man TV series (1982)
• Frank Welker played various roles in the animated Pac-Man TV series (1982)