By India McCarty
Video game fans, get ready — PAC-MAN is officially joining this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!
“For 45 years, PAC-MAN has made a lasting impact by bringing people of all ages together through the power of play,” Susan Tran, Sr. Director of Brand Development for PAC-MAN at Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., said in a press release. “Seeing PAC-MAN join one of America’s most cherished holiday traditions is an incredible way to celebrate the legacy and joy he continues to spark around the world. We can’t wait for fans everywhere to spot him chomping high above New York City this Thanksgiving.”
The PAC-MAN balloon measures 40 feet 5 inches long, 38 feet 9 inches wide, and 37 feet 3 inches tall.
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“For more than a century, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has brought everyone’s favorite characters to life and this year we’re thrilled to see PAC-MAN join the fun” Jordan Dabby, producer of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, said in a statement.
Dabby continued, “As he celebrates 45 years of nonstop adventures and Power Pellet chomping, PAC-MAN is trading pixels for pavement with his first ever flight through Manhattan. Generations of fans will be smiling and cheering ‘Waka Waka’ as he makes his Parade debut Thanksgiving morning!”
PAC-MAN debuted in 1980 and quickly captured the hearts — and attention spans — of kids all over the world.
“The arcades of that era were very much filled with shooters [games], and so PAC-MAN really stood out from that,” Tim Lapetino, creative director of Atari and author of 2021’s “Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon,” told NPR.
Peter Etchells, a professor of science communication at Bath Spa University, made similar comments, telling the BBC that PAC-MAN is “one of the figureheads of the birth of mainstream video gaming.”
“There was an elegant simplicity to its gameplay and design that I think captured a lot of players’ imaginations,” he continued.
NPR reporter Vincent Acovino added, “It was a game with bright colors and vibrant sounds. It wasn’t violent. And because of that, its appeal was broad.”
That broad appeal continues to this day, even as arcades have fallen out of fashion.
“When my kids were younger, I went to a career day, and I had asked a question. I said, ‘Who knows video games? Who knows Pac-Man?’” Lapetino shared. “And a whole room full of 5-year-olds raised their hands, and I was baffled by that. I was like, how do all these kids still know about PAC-MAN?”
With Macy’s brand-new parade float, it looks like a whole new generation is about to fall in love with PAC-MAN!
Read Next: What Do You Think About These New Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Floats?
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