when was pacman made

Pac-Man was created in 1979 and first released in Japanese arcades in 1980 under the original name Puck-Man.

Quick facts

• Development started in early 1979 at Namco, led by game designer Toru Iwatani.

• The arcade game launched in Japan in 1980, then in the United States later in 1980 under the name Pac-Man.

• The name comes from Japanese “paku-paku,” an onomatopoeia for eating, which fits the character’s mouth-chomping design.

Simple timeline

• 1979: Core game design and development work on Puck-Man at Namco.

• 1980: Arcade release in Japan as Puck-Man.

• Late 1980: U.S. release rebranded as Pac-Man, becoming a massive arcade hit.

TL;DR: Designed in 1979, released in 1980 (Japan first, then U.S.).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.