<s>
Pac-Man	B-Application
is	O
a	O
1982	O
maze	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Atari	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
under	O
official	O
license	O
by	O
Namco	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
adaptation	O
of	O
the	O
1980	B-Application
hit	I-Application
arcade	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
same	I-Application
name	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eating	O
flashing	O
wafers	O
at	O
the	O
corners	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
will	O
cause	O
the	O
ghosts	O
to	O
turn	O
temporarily	O
blue	O
and	O
flee	O
,	O
allowing	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
to	O
eat	O
them	O
for	O
bonus	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Once	O
eaten	O
,	O
a	O
ghost	O
was	O
reduced	O
to	O
a	O
mobile	O
pair	O
of	O
eyes	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
to	O
return	O
to	O
the	O
center	O
of	O
the	O
maze	B-Application
to	O
be	O
restored	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
heavily	O
anticipated	O
,	O
and	O
expecting	O
high	O
sales	O
,	O
Atari	O
produced	O
over	O
1	O
million	O
copies	O
for	O
its	O
launch	O
and	O
held	O
a	O
"	O
National	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
Day	O
"	O
on	O
April	O
3	O
,	O
1982	O
,	O
to	O
help	O
promote	O
its	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
remains	O
the	O
best-selling	B-Application
Atari	I-Application
2600	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	O
all	O
time	O
,	O
selling	O
over	O
copies	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
all	O
time	O
best-selling	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
for	O
several	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
commercial	O
success	O
,	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
was	O
lambasted	O
by	O
critics	O
for	O
poor	O
visuals	O
and	O
sound	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
bearing	O
little	O
resemblance	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pac-Man	B-Application
is	O
a	O
variation	O
of	O
the	O
original	B-Application
arcade	I-Application
game	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
Namco	O
in	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
uses	O
a	O
joystick	B-Device
to	O
control	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
,	O
navigating	O
him	O
through	O
a	O
maze	B-Application
of	O
consumable	O
dashes	O
called	O
Video	O
Wafers	O
,	O
opposed	O
by	O
a	O
quartet	O
of	O
multi-colored	O
ghosts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
four	O
ghosts	O
roam	O
the	O
maze	B-Application
,	O
trying	O
to	O
kill	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
ghosts	O
touches	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
,	O
he	O
loses	O
a	O
life	O
;	O
when	O
all	O
lives	O
have	O
been	O
lost	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
ends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Near	O
the	O
corners	O
of	O
the	O
maze	B-Application
are	O
four	O
larger	O
,	O
flashing	O
consumables	O
known	O
as	O
Power	O
Pills	O
that	O
provide	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
with	O
the	O
temporary	O
ability	O
to	O
eat	O
the	O
ghosts	O
and	O
earn	O
bonus	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
Power	O
Pill	O
is	O
in	O
effect	O
the	O
enemies	O
turn	O
blue	O
and	O
try	O
to	O
evade	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
eight	O
variations	O
,	O
offering	O
two	O
different	O
starting	O
speeds	O
for	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
and	O
four	O
speeds	O
for	O
the	O
ghosts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ghosts	O
get	O
slightly	O
faster	O
each	O
subsequent	O
round	O
,	O
but	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
stays	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
speed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
maze	B-Application
layout	O
and	O
overall	O
color	O
scheme	O
also	O
differ	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pac-Man	B-Application
himself	O
features	O
an	O
eye	O
and	O
he	O
only	O
faces	O
left	O
and	O
right	O
,	O
never	O
turning	O
to	O
face	O
up	O
or	O
down	O
when	O
traveling	O
in	O
those	O
directions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
maze	B-Application
contains	O
126	O
wafers	O
,	O
just	O
over	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
arcade	O
's	O
244	O
dots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ghost	O
behaviors	O
are	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
and	O
dispense	O
with	O
the	O
brief	O
"	O
rest	O
"	O
states	O
whereby	O
the	O
ghosts	O
periodically	O
do	O
not	O
track	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
,	O
but	O
each	O
ghost	O
still	O
features	O
a	O
distinct	O
individual	O
method	O
of	O
tracking	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
,	O
with	O
one	O
pair	O
being	O
"	O
smarter	O
"	O
in	O
their	O
pursuit	O
choices	O
and	O
one	O
member	O
of	O
each	O
pair	O
being	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
arcade	O
version	O
,	O
if	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
loses	O
a	O
life	O
while	O
the	O
vitamin	O
appears	O
,	O
the	O
vitamin	O
may	O
not	O
necessarily	O
be	O
forfeited	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
proved	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
success	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
Atari	O
decided	O
to	O
license	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
produce	O
it	O
for	O
its	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
finished	O
game	O
uses	O
a	O
4KB	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
,	O
chosen	O
for	O
its	O
lower	O
manufacturing	O
costs	O
compared	O
to	O
8KB	O
bank-switched	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
which	O
had	O
recently	O
become	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
any	O
contemporary	O
arcade	O
port	O
,	O
the	O
simple	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
hardware	O
was	O
a	O
considerable	O
limitation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	O
PAC-MAN	B-Application
system	B-Device
board	I-Device
contained	O
2KB	O
of	O
main	O
RAM	B-Architecture
(	O
random-access	B-Architecture
memory	I-Architecture
)	O
in	O
which	O
to	O
run	O
the	O
program	O
,	O
2KB	O
of	O
video	O
RAM	B-Architecture
to	O
store	O
the	O
screen	O
state	O
,	O
and	O
16KB	O
of	O
ROM	B-Device
(	O
read-only	B-Device
memory	I-Device
)	O
to	O
store	O
the	O
game	O
code	O
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
featured	O
only	O
128	O
bytes	B-Application
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
memory	I-Architecture
and	O
none	O
dedicated	O
to	O
video	O
:	O
effectively	O
32	O
times	O
less	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
CPU	B-General_Concept
microprocessor	B-Architecture
used	O
by	O
the	O
Namco	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
arcade	O
system	O
is	O
clocked	O
at	O
three	O
times	O
the	O
speed	O
of	O
the	O
MOS	B-General_Concept
6507	I-General_Concept
CPU	B-General_Concept
in	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
-	O
though	O
the	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
typically	O
does	O
less	O
work	O
per	O
clock	O
cycle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
deal	O
with	O
these	O
limitations	O
,	O
Frye	O
simplified	O
the	O
maze	B-Application
's	O
intricate	O
pattern	O
of	O
corridors	O
to	O
a	O
more	O
repetitive	O
pattern	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
achieve	O
the	O
visual	O
effect	O
of	O
wafers	O
disappearing	O
as	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
eats	O
them	O
,	O
the	O
actual	O
map	O
of	O
the	O
maze	B-Application
was	O
updated	O
as	O
the	O
data	O
was	O
written	O
into	O
the	O
Playfield	O
registers	O
,	O
excluding	O
those	O
pellets	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
eaten	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pac-Man	B-Application
and	O
ghost	O
characters	O
were	O
implemented	O
using	O
the	O
2600	O
's	O
two	O
Player	O
objects	O
,	O
with	O
one	O
being	O
used	O
for	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
and	O
the	O
other	O
being	O
used	O
for	O
all	O
four	O
ghosts	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
result	O
that	O
each	O
ghost	O
only	O
appears	O
once	O
out	O
of	O
every	O
four	O
frames	O
,	O
which	O
creates	O
a	O
flickering	O
effect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
effect	O
takes	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
slow	O
phosphorescent	O
fade	O
of	O
CRT	B-Device
monitors	I-Device
and	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
persistence	O
of	O
vision	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
the	O
image	O
appearing	O
to	O
linger	O
on	O
screen	O
longer	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
flickering	O
remains	O
noticeable	O
,	O
and	O
makes	O
each	O
individual	O
ghost	O
's	O
color	O
nearly	O
impossible	O
to	O
discern	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
quality	O
impact	O
was	O
his	O
decision	O
that	O
two-player	O
gameplay	O
was	O
important	O
,	O
which	O
meant	O
that	O
the	O
23	O
bytes	B-Application
required	O
to	O
store	O
the	O
current	O
difficulty	O
,	O
state	O
of	O
the	O
dots	O
on	O
the	O
current	O
maze	B-Application
,	O
remaining	O
lives	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
score	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
doubled	O
for	O
a	O
second	O
player	O
,	O
consuming	O
46	O
of	O
the	O
2600	O
's	O
meager	O
128-byte	O
memory	O
,	O
which	O
precluded	O
its	O
use	O
for	O
additional	O
game	O
data	O
and	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
help	O
sales	O
,	O
Atari	O
promoted	O
and	O
protected	O
its	O
exclusive	O
licensing	O
of	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
took	O
legal	O
action	O
against	O
companies	O
that	O
released	O
clones	O
similar	O
to	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
sued	O
Philips	O
for	O
its	O
1981	O
Magnavox	B-Application
Odyssey²	I-Application
game	O
K.C.	O
</s>
<s>
Munchkin	B-Application
!	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
landmark	O
case	O
Atari	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
v	O
.	O
North	O
American	O
Philips	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Corp.	O
,	O
the	O
Court	O
of	O
Appeals	O
allowed	O
a	O
preliminary	O
injunction	O
against	O
Philips	O
to	O
prevent	O
the	O
sale	O
of	O
Munchkin	B-Application
cartridges	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Atari	O
failed	O
to	O
stop	O
other	O
games	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
On-Line	O
Systems	O
 '	O
Jawbreaker	B-Application
and	O
Gobbler	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Continuing	O
a	O
long-standing	O
relationship	O
between	O
it	O
and	O
Sears	O
,	O
Atari	O
also	O
produced	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
cartridges	B-Protocol
under	O
the	O
department	O
store	O
's	O
label	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
stated	O
in	O
1981	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
preorders	O
for	O
"	O
three	O
or	O
four	O
million	O
"	O
copies	O
of	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pac-Man	B-Application
met	O
with	O
initial	O
commercial	O
success	O
;	O
more	O
than	O
one	O
million	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
had	O
been	O
shipped	O
in	O
less	O
than	O
one	O
month	O
,	O
helped	O
by	O
Atari	O
's	O
$1.5	O
million	O
publicity	O
campaign	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
best-selling	O
home	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1982	I-Application
,	O
with	O
over	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
sold	O
that	O
year	O
and	O
over	O
(	O
adjusted	O
for	O
inflation	O
)	O
in	O
gross	O
revenue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
replaced	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
as	O
the	O
best-selling	B-Application
Atari	I-Application
2600	I-Application
title	I-Application
and	O
also	O
became	O
the	O
overall	O
best-selling	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
up	O
until	O
then	O
(	O
a	O
title	O
it	O
held	O
for	O
several	O
years	O
until	O
eventually	O
being	O
surpassed	O
by	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Bros	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pac-Man	B-Application
also	O
propelled	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
VCS	I-General_Concept
sales	O
to	O
units	O
by	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
sell	O
over	O
684,000	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
sold	O
a	O
cumulative	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
by	O
1983	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
further	O
units	O
for	O
between	O
1986	O
and	O
1990	O
,	O
for	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
over	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
sold	O
by	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2004	O
,	O
the	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
were	O
still	O
very	O
common	O
among	O
collectors	O
and	O
enthusiasts	O
—	O
though	O
the	O
Sears	O
versions	O
were	O
rarer	O
—	O
and	O
priced	O
lower	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Video	O
Magazine	O
admitted	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
challenging	O
,	O
and	O
there	O
are	O
a	O
few	O
visual	O
pluses	O
"	O
,	O
before	O
lamenting	O
,	O
"	O
Unfortunately	O
those	O
who	O
cannot	O
evaluate	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
through	O
lover	O
's	O
eyes	O
are	O
likely	O
to	O
be	O
disappointed	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
premiere	O
issue	O
of	O
Video	O
Games	O
Player	O
from	O
Fall	O
1982	O
called	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
"	O
just	O
awful	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1983	O
,	O
Creative	B-General_Concept
Computing	I-General_Concept
Video	O
&	O
Arcade	O
Games	O
reviewer	O
Danny	O
Goodman	O
commented	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
fails	O
as	O
a	O
replica	O
of	O
its	O
arcade	O
form	O
:	O
"	O
Atari	O
stated	O
clearly	O
in	O
its	O
description	O
of	O
the	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
that	O
Atari	O
's	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
'	O
differs	O
slightly	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Goodman	O
further	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
port	O
is	O
a	O
challenging	O
maze	B-Application
game	I-Application
in	O
its	O
own	O
right	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
would	O
have	O
been	O
a	O
success	O
if	O
fans	O
had	O
not	O
expected	O
to	O
play	O
a	O
game	O
closer	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
year	O
Phil	O
Wiswell	O
of	O
Video	O
Games	O
criticized	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
poor	O
graphics	O
,	O
mockingly	O
referring	O
to	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
Flickerman	O
"	O
,	O
while	O
Softline	O
questioned	O
why	O
Atari	O
opposed	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
clones	I-Application
when	O
the	O
2600	O
version	O
was	O
less	O
like	O
the	O
original	O
"	O
than	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
pack	O
of	O
imitators	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Frye	O
stated	O
that	O
he	O
would	O
have	O
done	O
things	O
differently	O
with	O
a	O
larger	O
capacity	O
ROM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Video	O
game	O
industry	O
researchers	O
Nick	O
Montfort	O
and	O
Ian	O
Bogost	O
attribute	O
the	O
poor	O
reception	O
to	O
the	O
technical	O
differences	O
between	O
the	O
1977	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
console	O
and	O
the	O
1980	O
arcade	O
hardware	O
used	O
in	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
cabinets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Drugstores	O
began	O
stocking	O
video	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
toy	O
retailers	O
vied	O
for	O
new	O
releases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
also	O
led	O
to	O
an	O
increase	O
in	O
sales	O
of	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
retrospect	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
critics	O
often	O
cite	O
Atari	O
's	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
as	O
a	O
major	O
factor	O
in	O
the	O
drop	O
of	O
consumer	O
confidence	O
in	O
the	O
company	O
,	O
which	O
contributed	O
to	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
crash	O
of	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Calling	O
the	O
game	O
the	O
top	O
video	O
game	O
disaster	O
,	O
Buchanan	O
credits	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
as	O
a	O
factor	O
to	O
the	O
downfall	O
of	O
Atari	O
and	O
the	O
industry	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Author	O
Steven	O
Kent	O
also	O
blames	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
Atari	O
's	O
E.T.	B-Application
</s>
<s>
Warner	O
admitted	O
that	O
Pac-Mans	O
good	O
sales	O
despite	O
poor	O
quality	O
made	O
Atari	O
overconfident	O
about	O
E.T.	B-Application
</s>
<s>
and	O
Raiders	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Lost	I-Application
Ark	I-Application
,	O
which	O
did	O
not	O
sell	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1982	O
,	O
Atari	O
ported	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
to	O
its	O
new	O
console	O
,	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
5200	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
was	O
a	O
more	O
accurate	O
conversion	O
of	O
the	O
original	B-Application
arcade	I-Application
game	I-Application
and	O
was	O
a	O
launch	O
title	O
for	O
the	O
console	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
eleven	O
other	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
port	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
conversions	O
of	O
Pac-Mans	O
arcade	O
sequels	O
,	O
Ms.	B-Application
Pac-Man	I-Application
and	O
Jr.	B-Application
Pac-Man	I-Application
,	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
used	O
8KB	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
instead	O
of	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
'''	O
s	O
4	O
KB	O
and	O
dispensed	O
with	O
two-player	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
were	O
better	O
received	O
than	O
Atari	O
's	O
first	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
title	O
and	O
addressed	O
many	O
critics	O
 '	O
complaints	O
of	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
''	O
.	O
</s>
