Your first great love story is free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.co. That's audible.co.ukesl-wondery. Hello, I'm Dana Taylor, and this is a special episode of USA Today's The Excerpt.

In 1980, the world of arcade games got a jolt that changed the gaming world forever.

That's when a round yellow fellow with a large set of chompers known as Pac-Man first came on the scene. It's now been 45 years since the game was first imported to the U.S.

from Japan as Pac-Man, a name that was quickly changed. It's interesting to note that in the original

game, the few players who complete at all level simply landed

on a garbled kill screen.

How is it that a game with no defined way to even win, manage to take hold and never let

go?

Here to discuss the outsized cultural impact of Pac-Man is independent journalist and editor,

Chris Morris, who specializes in the video gaming

consumer electronics industries. Thanks for joining me, Chris.

Thanks for having me.

Pac-Man isn't the only retro game to fuel a widespread love of gaming. There is an obvious

through line from late 70s shooter games like space invaders and asteroids to some of today's

popular shooting games.

But how did Pac-Man change the arcade landscape in 1980?

One of the things about Pac-Man is that it opened up the arcade world to everybody.

Before Pac-Man came out, it was mainly teenage boys that were found in arcades.

They were smelly, dark, dinky places. But the creator of Pac-Man, Atura Vuitana, said he actually created the game to try and attract women to arcades to open up the industry a little bit more.

Pac-Man is a character-driven game.

What was it about Tori Uatana's design both the character and the overall look of the game that made it so appealing to a white audience?

I think it's the bright colors.

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