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Gaming Control Board to Rule on Pac-Man Slot Machines

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Jan. 26, 2001 --Pac-Man showed an affinity for gobbling up dots, ghosts and quarters during its heyday as a fixture of video arcades in the 1980s.

WMS Industries Inc. of Chicago hopes the yellow gobbler will be as hungry in eating up the nickels and quarters of slot players when it introduces a Pac-Man slot machine in early 2002. But first, the company will have to convince Nevada regulators that Pac-Man doesn't have the appeal to today's kids that it had to their parents two decades ago.

Under Nevada's themed slot regulations, the state may reject any slot based on a theme currently and primarily marketed toward children. But WMS officials, who insist Pac-Man doesn't fall in that category, say they will at some point seek out Nevada's approval for a Pac-Man slot.

"The key thing to consider is that we are basing the game on the coin-operated arcade version of the 1980s," said Orrin Edidin, executive vice president and general counsel of WMS.

"We are very sensitive to the regulatory requirements of Nevada. It's incumbent on us as game designers to remain true to the version that has nostalgic appeal. We feel we can do that successfully."

Rights to Pac-Man are being licensed from Japanese firm Namco Corp.

Under Nevada regulations, a slot theme based on a video game less than 21 years old is automatically assumed to be currently and primarily marketed to children.

But Pac-Man misses this category by a hairsbreadth. Pac-Man received copyright protection in 1979 -- 22 years ago -- and made its first appearance in arcades in 1980.

"Of all the themes we've looked at, this is the most recent one with a so-called nostalgic appeal," said state Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander. "The Addams Family, Munsters, Battleship (themes approved previously by the board), these are all fairly older themes."

Pac-Man became a national sensation shortly after its 1980 release and spawned a series of sequel arcade games, toys, home video games, and even a short-lived Saturday morning cartoon series in the early 1980s. Computer games based on the Pac-Man character are still sold today.

The original Pac-Man was little more than a yellow circle with a rapidly gobbling "mouth." The goal of the game was to maneuver Pac-Man around a maze, eating up dots while avoiding contact with a quartet of colored ghosts named Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. Players were awarded for progress through increasingly difficult levels with short slapstick cartoon clips.

Neilander said he doesn't have an initial gut reaction to whether Pac-Man would pass muster under Nevada's slot theme regulations. He did express concern about the relative newness of the theme and its past on Saturday morning TV.

"Since it's something from the early '80s, we should be able to come up with some pretty reliable data about who the cartoon was marketed to, who watched it, what kind of products are currently available with respect to that theme," Neilander said.

One of the most outspoken opponents of slots based on their potential appeal to children has been board member Bobby Siller. In the case of International Game Technology's "Munsters" slot machine, Siller cast the lone dissenting vote against approval, citing concerns over its potential appeal to children.

But Siller said he has no such concerns about Pac-Man.

"I don't think there's a child alive today that knows about Pac-Man," Siller said. "I don't see a serious issue with it."

Siller recalled playing the game himself during the 1980s, and said its appeal is based in Pac-Man's historic place in the evolution of electronic entertainment.

"That (Pac-Man) might be one of those unique themes that is nostalgic," Siller said.

Edidin said the game's design and theme should be particularly appealing to players in their 30s and 40s.

"We think the game will have widespread appeal to players across all demographics because of the video graphics and video methods we can use for (bonus rounds)," Edidin said. "Our designers are really excited, because there's a lot of variations that are very unique to that theme."

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