The year was 1981: Big hair, high-waisted jeans and popped-up collars were popular fashions, "Bette Davis Eyes" topped the charts, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" hit theaters, and everyone was saving up quarters to play the latest video games. Also that year, a new video game by game designer Toru Iwatani at NAMCO LTD. (currently NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.) hit arcades around the world and would soon become a pop- culture phenomenon and one of the most beloved games of all time.
That game was "Pac-Man®," and today Microsoft Corp. and NAMCO BANDAI Games made video game history by unveiling the "Pac-Man Championship Edition" — featuring the first new Pac-Man mazes in more than 26 years — available only on the Xbox 360. This brand new game was introduced today in New York City at the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship, presented by Quiznos. As a special surprise from Iwatani and NAMCO BANDAI Games, the 10 tournament competitors became the first in the world to play and compete on the "Pac-Man Championship Edition" before its launch at 9 a.m. GMT (5 a.m. EDT) on June 6, 2007, only on Xbox LIVE® Arcade on the Xbox 360.