New Zealander Reuben Anderson is to travel to New York next week as one of the world’s top Pac-Man players selected to compete in the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship.

On June 5, Anderson, 15, from Foxton Beach, Horowhenua, will compete in Times Square, taking on nine other gamers from around the globe for the right to be crowned the first Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Champion by Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani.

More than 30,000 Xbox 360 gamers in 25 countries spent thousands of hours playing Pac-Man on the Xbox Live online from 4-10 May in the quest to get the highest score in their region and advance to the championship round in New York.

Anderson achieved the highest score in the Australia/New Zealand region and will now test his skills against the best Pac-Man players on the planet.

Reuben says, “I’d never actually played Pac-Man competitively before, but when I heard about the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Champs I played it every day after school for about 10 days on Xbox Live.

“I can’t believe I’m a finalist and will be representing New Zealand in New York City. I’m so stoked – it’s a huge honour.”

Xbox 360 New Zealand business manager Frazer Scott says, “We’re thrilled a Kiwi gamer has beaten the Aussies to secure the ANZ top spot in the New York finals. Here’s hoping Reuben can bring home the trophy.”

The 10 finalists for the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship are based on four continents and in eight countries: US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Austria, New Zealand and Singapore.

The winner of the finals will receive 100,000 Microsoft Points for games, movies and other content available on Xbox Live, and a one-of-a-kind Xbox 360 featuring a special design inspired by Pac-Man and autographed by creator Toru Iwatani.