As Pac-Man turns 43, Lego has announced that it will be releasing a 2650-piece Lego Icons Pac-Man set, which, according to Engadget, "recreates the classic Pac-Man arcade cabinet, complete with a light-up coin-slot, joystick, and mechanical crank that lets you move characters around the maze mechanically (though not actually play the game)."
Lego provides more details:
• New LEGO Icons PAC-MAN Arcade set is a detailed recreation of the classic 80's arcade game
• New LEGO set is announced on the same day the original game was revealed in 1980 and includes large colourful brick versions of PAC-MAN, BLINKY and CLYDE
• Collaboration between Bandai Namco and the LEGO Group revealed that PAC-MAN's famous yellow colour was inspired by the LEGO Group's signature colour
The Lego press release also includes some fun facts about Pac-Man:
• On May 22nd 1980, the first focus test was held for PAC-MAN, where members of the public got to see the yellow character for the first time.
• PAC-MAN is yellow, as designer Mr. Iwatani was inspired by the iconic yellow of the LEGO brick.
• The character shape is based on a pizza with a slice missing.
• The game was released in Japan on June 29, 1980 – before being made available in the rest of the world.
• A PAC-MAN cartoon hit appeared on TV screens in the 80s.
• Buckner & Garcia released the hit single "PAC-MAN Fever", which went as high as 9th place on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in March 1982.
• In 1993, Billy Mitchell of Florida became the first person to ever achieve the game's perfect score of 3,333,360 points. In order to achieve a perfect score, the player would have to clear all 256 stages without a single miss, and consume all PAC-DOTs, fruits, and ghosts (consume 4 ghosts with each POWER PELLET).
• In recognition of PAC-MAN's 1980 release, where it installed 293,822 arcade units within 7 years, the Guinness World Records acknowledged the game as the "Most Successful Coin-Operated Game" in the world.
The set looks super cool — check out this first peek at the new set, courtesy of Bricksie. It will cost $270 and will be available June 1 for Lego VIP Members, and June 4 for everyone else.
