<P> Pac - Man ( Japanese : パックマン , Hepburn : Pakkuman ) , stylized as PAC - MAN , is an arcade game developed by Namco and first released in Japan in May 1980 . It was created by Japanese video game designer Toru Iwatani . It was licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway Games and released in October 1980 . Immensely popular from its original release to the present day , Pac - Man is considered one of the classics of the medium , and an icon of 1980s popular culture . Upon its release , the game -- and , subsequently , Pac - Man derivatives -- became a social phenomenon that yielded high sales of merchandise and inspired a legacy in other media , such as the Pac - Man animated television series and the top - ten Buckner and Garcia hit single `` Pac - Man Fever '' . Pac - Man was popular in the 1980s and 1990s and is still played in the 2010s . </P>
when was pac man released in the us
October 1980