PAC-MAN Google Doodle!
Google has done it again- only this time, it was better than ever. They created a playable Google Doodle of PAC-MAN, for the 30th Anniversary of the game. I can remember playing PAC-MAN when I was a child, eating the fruit, chasing ghosts after eating the "power pellet", and trying not to get captured by them when they turned back to their colorful origins.
If you are unfamiliar of the game-play, here's a great description provided by the PAC-MAN Web site: "The player controls PAC-MAN while attempting to eat all the dots in the maze and avoid getting caught by the ghosts through an extremely simple user interface consisting only of a single joystick." PAC-MAN was also in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records: Gaming Edition for the best known Video Game Character of all time, so chances are pretty good that you know who and what I am talking about.
If you missed the Google tribute to PAC-MAN, you can still play the game at: http://www.google.com/pacman/
Hint: Press "Insert Coin" to get started, press it twice for Mrs. PAC-MAN to join in on the fun. To control Mrs. PAC-MAN, use the AWSD buttons.
Turning this more business related: Google doesn't make their money from their homepage- If you went to Google.com to search for something or use a different Google function, and got caught up in PAC-MAN for a length of time (I know I did), then Google is losing out on potential revenue via advertisements and links. But having multiple outlets blog about it or say to their buddies: "Did you play PAC-MAN on Google today?" most likely brought in substantial traffic to their site, which does make money. Worth it? Totally.
In related news: Conan O'Brien pokes fun at the Arizona legislation on his Twitter account, saying: “Pac-Man’s 30th birthday was marred by the sudden deportation of the Super Mario Bros. What were those fools doing in Arizona?” And speaking of Conan, he will be visiting The Ohio State University at the Schottenstein Center today- May 24, 2010, with his "Conan: The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour!"
Now go play some PAC-MAN and see if you can top the following score that I received: