Namco-Bandai is asking their fans for input regarding a potential re-design for one of gaming's most celebrated and recognizable mascots, Pac-Man. Make your way over to their facebook page, and you'll see their plea to fans.
"Calling all PAC-MAN fans! Help us decide on how we should design PAC-MAN for our next game! Check out the link below and don't forget to share feedback,like and comment."
Fans are asked to pick their choice of four designs, seen in the picture above. Besides adding hairdos to the ghosts, the "upgraded" look doesn't change the dot muncher, or his cohorts around too much.
Interesting timing on this, as this month marks Pac-Man's 32nd birthday in the US. Pac-Man arcade cabinets first started popping up in North America in October of 1980. Shortly after it's debut, it had managed to outgross Asteroids as the best-selling game in the country, with gamers popping in over $1 billion in quarters. The addition of a simple bow to the yellow sprite also helped to establish one of the first female characters of videogames in Ms. Pac-Man.
By 1982, the game had sold 400,000 arcade machines worldwide. Beyond the arcades, pac-mania quickly swept over American culture, and sales spread into numerous forms of merchandise, including t-shirts, a television show, a pop song, and more.
It'll certainly be interesting to see what adventures Namco Bandai have planned for our spherical yellow friend. With the publishers already asking for feedback on exactly how the game should look, perhaps we'll be seeing another platformer on a number of digital platforms.