How many copies did Pac-Man sell? — 2024 statistics

Pac-Man sold over 43 million combined units.

(Source: Statista)

• It became one of the highest-grossing and best-selling games of all time
• It has had enduring commercial and cultural success and influence.
• Ports to numerous home consoles and computers were also very successful, with the Atari 2600 version alone selling over 7 million copies.
• Developed by a nine-person team over a year and five months, which was a long development period for an arcade game at the time

Pac-Man was an unprecedented commercial success that helped define the video game industry. While specific development budget details are not provided, its massive $14 billion in revenue over several decades speaks volumes about the enduring popularity and influence of this seminal arcade game. With over 43 million units sold across its many ports and versions, Pac-Man demonstrated video games’ potential for broad appeal and long tail revenues beyond their arcade origins. Its development of over a year, while lengthy at the time, clearly paid off in establishing one of the most recognizable and important games of all time based on its cultural impact and financial returns. Pac-Man set the stage for video games to become a mainstream entertainment force.

Pac-Man is the best-selling arcade game of all time having sold over 400,000 arcade cabinets.

(Source: Statista)

• Pac-Man had a large cultural impact and popularity beyond the arcade, with TV shows, songs, parodies and competitions about completing the game without errors.
• The game remains popular today, with Google creating an interactive doodle for its 39th anniversary last year.

Pac-Man was a revolutionary arcade game that demonstrated the massive commercial potential of the emerging video game industry. It sold over 400,000 cabinets globally and generated billions in revenue through its initial arcade release and subsequent merchandise, media and spin-offs like Ms. Pac-Man. Pac-Man proved that non-violent, approachable games could appeal to broad audiences like women and children. Its cultural impact extended well beyond the arcade through TV, music and competitions. Nearly 40 years later, Pac-Man continues to be a globally recognized icon and revenue driver, showing its game design transcended its era to create a legacy few other games have matched. 

Pac-Man has generated over $14 billion in revenue as of 2016 from both arcade and home versions.

(Source: Statista)

• Arcade version was highly profitable for Namco and Midway, likely earning hundreds of millions in the game’s first few years.
• Home console/computer ports extended longevity and revenue stream over many years, rather than just in arcades.
• Re-releases on modern platforms like mobile continue contributing to revenue total more than 35 years later.

Pac-Man was an incredibly lucrative property for Namco and its partners over many decades. Beyond its enormous $14 billion total, the game demonstrated how a universally appealing hit could spawn numerous ports and media extensions to maximize long-term profits. Whether through arcade play, home versions, or merchandise like the top 10 song, Pac-Man established video games as a new form of mass entertainment capable of generating massive and sustained revenues. 

Pac-Man made $3.5 billion in sales by 1990.

(Source: Statista)

• Ms. Pac-Man, a Pac-Man spin-off released in 1982, was also hugely popular and one of the top 5 best-selling arcade games.
• The arcade gaming market of the late 1970s-1980s where Pac-Man dominated was very lucrative, showing there was large revenue potential for games that captured the public imagination like Pac-Man did.

Pac-Man paved the way for the multi-billion dollar industry we see today by proving video games could capture the public imagination and generate substantial long-term profits if they tapped into universal themes.

The Pac-Man franchise is estimated to be worth $10 billion.

(Source: SVG)

• The Ms. Pac-Man franchise is estimated to be worth $2 billion

The Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man franchises have proven to be extremely lucrative for Bandai Namco over the past 40+ years. According to estimates, Pac-Man as a franchise is worth an impressive $10 billion due to its iconic status and enduring popularity worldwide. Meanwhile, Ms. Pac-Man still holds significant value at $2 billion, a testament to the enduring appeal of both these classic arcade characters even decades after their debut. With their simple yet addictive gameplay mechanics and recognizable yellow protagonists, Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man have rightfully cemented their place as two of the most successful and valuable franchises in gaming history.

Pac-Man 99 has surpassed 4 million downloads on Nintendo Switch in 2021.

(Source: Nintendo Everything)

Pac-Man 99 has seen tremendous success since its launch as a Nintendo Switch Online exclusive title. According to an announcement made at a recent Pac-Man 99 Challenge event, the game has now surpassed an impressive four million downloads. Bandai Namco also revealed that new downloadable content is in the works for the popular battle royale adaptation of the classic Pac-Man gameplay formula. Players can look forward to a free theme based on Hopping Mappy as well as future DLC. With strong ongoing player engagement demonstrated by these download numbers, it seems Pac-Man 99 has staying power as an entertaining multiplayer experience for Switch owners.

Pac-Man Community has reached 6 million players during its beta period.

• Users have created over 17,000 mazes in the four months since launch.
• Some of the most popular player-created mazes are getting tens of thousands of plays.
• A group of super fans played nearly 55 mazes in endless mode over several hours, accumulating nearly a quarter million points.
• An overwhelming majority (98%) of players are on mobile devices.
• The player base is large and growing rapidly in India and Southeast Asia as well as Mexico, the Philippines, and the US.
• Genvid’s other Facebook game Rival Peak has hit over 10 million players.

Pac-Man Community has clearly struck a chord with gamers around the world since its launch on Facebook just a few months ago. The game has seen phenomenal growth both in its player base and the user-generated content created within it. The level of engagement from the most dedicated fans is a testament to how Genvid has created not just another iteration of Pac-Man, but a true social experience that fosters creativity and competition. As it continues to expand with new features and territories, Pac-Man Community seems poised to cement its place as one of the most vibrant game communities online. The numbers indicate its success so far is just the beginning of what this innovative take on a classic arcade title can accomplish.

According to analyst Tony Wright, Google’s animated Pac-Man doodle caused nearly 5 million hours of lost productivity, costing the economy about $120 million.

• He estimated that Google had around 505 million unique users on the day the Pac-Man Google Doodle went live.
• With that money, you could hire all 19,385 Google employees for 6 weeks.
• The doodle was Google’s first interactive logo and allowed users to play Pac-Man directly on the homepage.
• The doodle remained online for 48 hours before reverting to the standard logo.
• Due to popularity, Google made the Pac-Man game permanently available on its site.

Google’s interactive Pac-Man doodle from 2009 was intended as a fun way to celebrate the iconic game’s anniversary. However, the viral success of being able to play Pac-Man directly on the world’s most visited website came at an unexpected cost according to one analyst. By some estimates, the doodle led to almost 5 million hours of lost productivity across employees who chose to play it at work. While it achieved Google’s goal of honoring Pac-Man’s legacy, the doodle highlights how even small distractions on massively popular sites can have sizable unintended economic impacts.