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Classic Pac-Man free for the first time in 33 years with Google Play Store game

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By Alan Friedman

Published: Mar 25, 2013, 2:44 AM

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Classic Pac-Man free for the first time in 33 years with Google Play Store game

Classic Pac-Man is free from the Google Play Store

If you love the classic Pac-Man game, we are happy to (gobble, gobble) tell you that it is now free in the Google Play Store as part of a game called Pac-Man +Tournaments. Not only has Namco used the freemium approach to offering the game, it has made it an exclusive for the Google Play Store for now. Those who don't mind shelling out a little bit of money will be rewarded with weekly updates containing brand new mazes to play.

The Tournament part of the game offers great prizes for true Pac-Man fans like plush Pac-Man ghost toys. Can you name the ghosts in the game? They are Pinky, Inky, Blinky and Cyde. If you got it right, we're a little concerned about you. Anyway, in case you iOS users were getting a little green with envy, don't fear. There will be an iOS version of the app.

That does beg the question why Namco decided to go with Android first considering that for most developers it is the other way around. Namco explained the decision by noting that Android has the largest installed base today and that Pac-Man already has a presence in the Apple App Store. Namco thought that with this game it would be the perfect time for Pac-Man to make its debut on Android. And with the success of the freemium model, that is the direction that Namco wanted to go in.

"Android is the biggest OS in terms of installed base today. While PAC-MAN is already very present on iOS, it can benefit from a lot more visibility with Android users. Additionally, Google’s recent initiatives on games have really won us over, and it was a logical step for us to launch this new title first on Google Play."-James Kucera, Head of Mobile, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc

"PAC-MAN has adapted to over 30 years of video game platforms and trends. Free-to-Play is the dominating model today, especially on Android, and we need to stay ahead of that. The Tournaments mode, where players can enjoy playing the classic PAC-MAN with never-before-seen mazes, is a perfect fit for this micro-transaction ecosystem."-Alex Adjadj, Director of Global Strategy, Namco Bandai Games America

source: Pac-Man+Tournaments via Forbes

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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