From the Press Release
Today at 12.00 pm, a commemorative sculpture of Pac-Man has been unveiled at the Campus of the Rey Juan Carlos University by the Japanese Ambassador in Spain. The sculpture, which is more than two meters high, represents the iconic figure of Pac-Man as a symbol of the strong and prominent role that the videogame industry plays within the economy.
Pac-Man is a character from the realm of entertainment who became a worldwide icon in the 1980's and continues to be as popular as ever today, given that, over the last 30 years or more, Pac-Man has continued to star in new versions of the game, as an entire universe has gradually been created that revolves around this amiable character.
Pac-Man has thus become a veritable point of reference for the international digital entertainment industry and a symbol of the strong and prominent role that this industry plays within the economy as a whole and in terms of job creation.
The commemorative sculpture has been erected at the Rey Juan Carlos University in order to recognize the fact that this is the first public university in the Madrid Region to offer a Degree in Video-Game Development. It also marks the future contribution that the University's students are likely to make to the world of interactive leisure.
The inauguration will feature the participation of the Dean of the University, Mr. Fernando Suárez, the Japanese Ambassador in Spain, Mr. Kazuhiko Koshikawa, and cultural and business attachés from the Embassy, not to mention representatives from Bandai Namco, the company that owns the rights to the character.
About Pac-Man
Created in 1980, Pac-Man is the longest-running video-game character: for more than 30 years different versions of the game have been launched, as an entire universe has gradually been created that revolves around this amiable character. In 2014, Pac-Man will be present on the market with a new television series on Clan, "PAC-MAN™ and the Ghostly Adventures", as well as an extensive line of toys and video games.
Launched in 1980, Pac-Man was created by the Japanese designer, Tôru Iwatani. Its name comes from the onomatopoeic Japanese word "paku-paku", which is equivalent to "yum", the sound we make when we chew.
Designed as the main character for a Japanese amusement arcade game, this famous figure became one of the icons of popular culture in the 1980's (some 100,000 machines were sold in the first year alone) and has since become one of the most recognizable video-game characters of all time. In fact, Pac-Man has become a social phenomenon, generating millions in merchandising sales and the sale of other video-game-related products, such as a television series and even a top 10 single that shifted one million copies.
Pac-Man is probably the most widely played game in history. In fact, it has been calculated that more than 10 billion games have been played around the world in the arcade game segment alone. FUN FACTS AND FIGURES FEATURED IN THIS COMPUTER GRAPHICS: http://www.pacman.com/en/pac-man-history/index.html
About Bandai
Bandai is a manufacturer and distributor of toys founded in Japan in 1950. The company is now present in Spain since 1987 and in recent years has become the industry benchmark with their action figures, transformable robots, fashion dolls, board games, etc. Some of Bandai's lines are the following: Big Hero 6, Power Rangers, Pac-Man, Tamagotchi, Pocoyo, Peppa Pig, Lalaloopsy and Baby Born.