Microsoft Corp. and Namco Bandai Games Inc. have made video game history by announcing the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship.
From April 25 to May 9, Kiwi fans of one of the most beloved games of all time will have the opportunity to become the Pac-Man World Champion by playing the game via Xbox Live Arcade along with others in the Xbox Live community of more than six million members.
Drawn from the best players in the Xbox 360 regions of Australasia, Asia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Europe and the United States, nine finalists will advance to the finals based upon the highest Xbox Live Arcade leaderboard scores and be flown to New York City for the finals on June 5. The winner will be crowned the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Champion by Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man.
Since launching in 1980 in Japan and in 1981 around the world, Pac-Man and its host of ghosts have become global pop culture icons. Pac Man played an instrumental role in establishing the video game industry in the ’80s, while the launch of Xbox Live in 2002 was a key factor behind the rapid growth in popularity of online gaming.
Xbox NZ product marketing manager Tom Hunt says, “Pac-Man is the ultimate classic game that appeals to all ages – thousands of Kiwis will have a ‘Pac-Man heritage’.
“The Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship is a great incentive for fans old and new to start munching those power pills and fall in love with this iconic game all over again. Pac-Man has been an extremely popular download on Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace and the competition for a spot in the Pac-Man World Championship will be hugely contested – I really want to see a Kiwi gamer representing us in the finals in the Big Apple."
The tournament is open to all Xbox Live Silver members (complimentary with Xbox 360) and downloading Pac-Man from Xbox Live Arcade costs 400 Microsoft Points – around NZ$7.”
The Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Champion will gain a place in gaming history from being the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Champion and the winner of the finals will also receive other prizes, including 100,000 Microsoft Points and a one-of-a-kind Xbox 360 system featuring a design inspired by Pac-Man.
Participation information and timeline:
- * Gamers who want to start practicing can download Pac-Man for Xbox 360 (400 Microsoft Points) now from Xbox LIVE Arcade.
* Starting April 25, 2007, at 12.00pm NZST, gamers can visit xboxlivetournament.com to register and review full eligibility criteria, regulations and rules.
* At that time, the worldwide competition will officially kick off on Xbox Live Arcade.
* Previous leaderboard scores for Pac-Man will be deleted to provide a clean slate for all gamers participating in the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship.
* On May 10, 2007, at 12pm NZST, the competition will officially close and nine finalists from the identified regions, based on the top leaderboard scores, will advance to the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship final.
* These nine finalists will then be announced before June 1, 2007.
* On June 5th finalists will compete for the title of Pac-Man World Champion in New York.
