Last month (cutting it close here ;P ), Bandai Namco pulled back the curtain on a follow-up to their Pac-Man’s Arcade Party classic multi-game system. The new version, Pac-Man’s Pixel Bash, offered 31 games to play for coin-operated entertainment at arcades, bars, FECs and other out-of-home venues. Here is that model as seen at the debut event, Bowl Expo ’18:
While I was at that expo, Bandai Namco reps mentioned that they had a non-coin home version in the works, mentioning a built-in mini fridge and other features that would appeal to “man cave” situations. Such features would be unusual for a major manufacturer to undertake, but they went ahead and did it with the freshly announced Pac-Man’s Pixel Bash Chill cabinet. Per the press release: “The Chill Cab includes a fridge, two cup holders on either side of the cabinet, and a bottle opener in the middle for easy access.” The game roster is exactly the same as the coin-op version with one notable addition: Ms. Pac-Man. As discussed the last time this issue came around, Ms. Pac-Man is a difficult game to offer for coin-operated/commercial play. The title has been available on other non-coin Namco multi-game cabinets and here it is no different. This brings the Chill version of Pixel bash up to 32 games.
Here is the cabinet:
This game is available to order now, along with the coin-op model.
So what are the legal issues with Ms. Pac-Man exactly?
If I’m not mistaken (and I might be), General Computing (and/or its principals) owns the coin-op rights for Ms. Pac-Man and Namco would have to pay a hefty licensing fee to include it in any coin-operated machine. GCC owns the IP for a “Pac-Man family” as well, and a lawsuit against Midway in the 1980s due to the Baby Pac-Man machine was settled in favor of GCC. They continue to vigorously defend their IP to this very day.
we are interested for 1 NAMCO CPU Board for our GODZILLA WARS 1993-94.
or 1 complete machine Godzilla Wars the big redemption shooting machine ( not the JR small machine ),any one in JAPAN or anywhere to contact me my email:g.dracos@cytanet.com.cy
thanks.George Dracos,CYPRUS
I wouldn’t be surprised if they only continue to exist because of that. Reminds me of patent squatters.
Oh boy, this summer is so hot, and everything with a fridge sounds really good. 😀