The Official Pac-Man 40th Anniversary Book

Who would have thought Pac-Man, the mere 2D arcade character that eats dots, power pellets, and strawberries while being chased by a bunch of 2D ghosts, would have an illustrious history affording it to be written into a book?

Yes. My friends, you heard that right. There’s going to have a book on the art and history of the iconic video game character.

The Official Pac-Man 40th Anniversary Book

The book, entitled The Official Pac-Man 40th Anniversary Book, is a result of a collaboration between The Netherlands Cook and Becker and Bandai Namco and as the literature’s title implies, released to commemorate the yellow dot muncher’s 40th birthday. Here’s a summary of what the book is about:

“Exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with PAC-MAN’s original designers, marketing and sales staff, both in Japan and in the US, detail how PAC-MAN became the first true video game mascot, beloved by millions worldwide. As a game, PAC-MAN greatly expanded the  expressive range of video games, while as a product its design philosophy made it uniquely suited to appeal to new types of video game players, forever changing the arcade and home video industry. ”

The Official Pac-Man 40th Anniversary Book

The book is researched and written by Arjan Terpstra, author of Sonic the Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Art Book from The Netherlands and Art of Atari’s Tim Lapetino from the U.S.A., with the help of Katsuaki Keto, former editor-in-chief of Weekly Famitsu from Japan.

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It is the first standalone art and design book on Pac-Man that dives into the history of Pac-Man and its history, presented in full-color, luxury coffee table art book.

The Official Pac-Man 40th Anniversary Book will be available in two editions when it becomes available in November 2020. There is the standard hardcover edition and there’s the special collector’s edition with several extras. Pre-order for both editions is expected to start in July 2020. So, keep your eyes peeled.

The Official Pac-Man 40th Anniversary Book

Images: Cook and Becker.