Pacman Google Logo (VIDEO, PICTURE): Doodle Celebrates 30th Anniversary Of Iconic Game

Pacman is taking over Google!

The iconic arcade game celebrates its 30th anniversary on May 22, and Google has created a one-of-a-kind Pacman Google Doodle in its honor.

Google frequently switches up its primary-colored logo in order to celebrate the birthdays and anniversaries of luminaries, pop culture icons, and important innovations (Sesame Street and the barcode have been among the honorees), but the Pacman Google logo is unique in that it is the first playable Google Doodle.

According to Google, the Pacman logo has a total of 256 levels. Users can click the "Insert Coin" button to get the game going, or click it twice to kick-off a two-player game. (See it in action in the video below.) Pacman will be up on Google for a total of 48 hours--from 8AM PT on Friday through Sunday morning. The programmer behind the Pacman Doodle was reportedly the son of a game and pinball technician and used to accompany his father to arcade parlors and help him tinker with the games.

Twitter has exploded with tweets about the interactive Google Doodle. Many are tweeting about how much time they could lose playing the game. For example:

@SlayAlive_News: AHHH!!! Playable Pacman on Google logo! Time waster of the day!!!

@johnnyt: So how much time will be wasted today with Google's Pacman logo game?

@ocugwu: PacMan on Google.com?! Could there BE a more epic (read: irresistable) time-drain?

How about you? Is it a productivity killer?

See a screenshot and video of the Pacman Google Doodle below, then check out the geekiest Google logos of all time.

Comments

[pdxist]

01:32 PM on 05/24/2010

Just go to google.com/pacman to keep playing.

[Dave Bee]

05:38 AM on 05/24/2010

It was surreal walking through an office and hearing the exact same sounds chorus over each other a dozen times over. I wish I had recorded it because it was awesome.

[andrewheil]

08:52 PM on 05/23/2010

Good News! they kept the game on their site! More info at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUWpFMzgrtg

[ChadAyers]

08:40 PM on 05/22/2010

Can't beat the 1st level of Pacman on Google's logo? Check out my modified version! http://ChadAyers.org/Google.html

[Americulchie]

05:36 PM on 05/22/2010

Pac Man was pretty groovy;but I am a demi-luddite I still love pinball the best.

[Copeword]

10:23 AM on 05/22/2010

Pac-man is kind of okay, but I was never really a fan. Just never got into it. Happy 30th though. Hope they do some kind of Mario celebration someday.

[pjfbncyl]

12:21 AM on 05/22/2010

What About Le French? Le Pac Man or Le Pac Homme!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtl9gO2dt_4

[mentormatt8]

06:23 PM on 05/21/2010

The problem of incessant sound was actually CoolPreview on Firefox.

Here's the solution if you can not stop the Pac Man Sound:

http://annoyances-resolved.blogspot.com/2010/05/google-pac-man-keeps-going-and-going.html

[tantamnt]

07:33 AM on 05/22/2010

Maybe, but why was it running on my Chrome without CoolPreview after I uninstalled Firefox?
Or why my wife's netbook with Firefox but not CoolPreview had it too?

[haljett]

05:43 PM on 05/21/2010

Oh man, what a hoot. I sat for five minutes just enjoying the memories and playing along. Very cool.

[JBS]

04:53 PM on 05/21/2010

Starts automatically whether you "insert coin" or not. Can't keep another tab open in the background in case I want to search for something. The noise is deafening.

[Json]

02:00 PM on 05/21/2010

This is making me nostalgic. I may have to bust out my 2600.

[mentormatt8]

01:43 PM on 05/21/2010

Unfortunately, Google Pacman is a virus!

Proof:

http://annoyances-resolved.blogspot.com/2010/05/google-pac-man-keeps-going-and-going.html

Google Pacman Virus?

[Toonguy]

03:22 PM on 05/21/2010

Appears to be a bug with certain browsers. At first I thought it was Flash, but I guess it's java. Maybe the plugin needs updating?

[imajypsee]

01:11 PM on 05/21/2010

Not everyone, including me, thinks this is such a swell idea. I didn't play pac man 30 years ago and I think today's exercise in juvenile behavior is about as enlightened as the last google fiasco : buzz.

see this
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Web%20Search/label?lid=55e7c850c3d9dd64&hl=en

[ohpuhleezee]

03:45 PM on 05/21/2010

Oohhh Geez. Get the stick out of your butt.

[Tblack]

09:33 PM on 05/21/2010

Are you serious? The true test of any game is time. 30 years and the whole internet is still playing this game. It's popular with EVERY demographic.

[Barbie and Ken forever]

09:46 PM on 05/22/2010

Oh stop being so uptight

[ramblingjohnny]

12:49 PM on 05/21/2010

Pacman, Tetris and Doom anybody who like to call himself or herself a Gamer should have played all three to deserve the label in my book!

[Toonguy]

03:18 PM on 05/21/2010

Casual gamer, maybe.

They better add Burger Time, Donkey Kong Jr. and Warcraft before they even get to crack the cover of my book. ;)

[blingbling65943]

12:49 PM on 05/21/2010

my home page is Google, turned my computer on at work and spent 20 minutes playing Pac-man

Never played it before

Its cool

[Toonguy]

03:19 PM on 05/21/2010

That's what makes it a classic. Easy to understand, increases in difficulty as you get better at it and the graphics can still hold their own without an "update" after 30 years.