Pac-Man World Championship Announced by Microsoft and Namco Bandai

Microsoft and Namco Bandai Games have announced the first-ever Xbox 360 “Pac-Man” World Championship. The tourney, which will be held from April 25, 2007 to May 9, 2007, will let fans compete on the classic arcade game via Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox 360.

Pac-Man World Championship Details:

Gamers who want to start practicing can download “Pac-Man” (400 Microsoft Points) now from Xbox LIVE Arcade on the Xbox 360.

Starting 25th April 2007, at 00:01GMT/ 01:01 CET, gamers can visit http://www.xboxlivetournament.com to register and review full eligibility criteria, regulations and rules.

Also on 25th April 2007, at 00:01 GMT / 01:01 CET, the worldwide competition will officially kick off on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Previous leaderboard scores for “Pac-Man” will be deleted to provide a clean and fair slate for all gamers participating in the Xbox 360 “Pac-Man” World Championship.

Concurrently, “Pac-Man” fans in the United States and Canada can also enter the “Pac-Man” FANatic contest and receive an invitation to compete in the finals in New York City. Starting 25th April 2007, they can visit http://www.xboxlivetournament.com for more information on how to submit a creative video that best illustrates their love for “Pac-Man.”

On 9th May 2007, at 23:59 GMT / 00:59 CET, the competition will officially cease and nine finalists from the identified regions, based on the top leaderboard scores, will advance to the Xbox 360 “Pac-Man” World Championship.

Before 1st June 2007, the top nine finalists will be announced.

The nine finalists will also be joined in New York City by the winner of the “Pac-Man” FANatic contest, and compete for the Xbox 360 “Pac-Man” World Championship title on 5th June 2007, in New York City.

Toru Iwatani, creator of “Pac-Man” and presently a professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University says, “NAMCO BANDAI Games and I are proud to partner with Microsoft on the Xbox 360 ‘Pac-Man’ World Championship, which celebrates how admired ‘Pac-Man’ remains to this day. The success of “Pac-Man” stems from its fun gameplay and host of characters that have been enjoyed by families for generations. It will be exciting to see ‘Pac-Man’ fans from around the world compete on Xbox LIVE Arcade to become the first-ever ‘Pac-Man’ World Champion.”

Jeff Bell, Corporate VP, Global Marketing for Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business commented, “Pac-Man’ reached an iconic status in the ’80s across multiple generations and cultures, so the Xbox 360 ‘Pac-Man’ World Championship provides a great encouragement for fans old and new to fall in love with the game all over again. We are thrilled to be partnering with NAMCO BANDAI Games and our sponsor, Quiznos, to invite ‘Pac-Man’ players from around the globe to join in the fun.”

This seems to be a very nice idea for a tournament and what I like about it is that the winner of the finals will also receive 26 years of free Quiznos toasted subs i.e. one sandwich a week for 26 years. That’s one prize everyone will be fighting for!