Pac-Man returns to the arcade

If you asked a non-gamer to think of a video game hero, the chances are they'll give you one of three answers: Lara Croft, Mario or everyone's favourite yellow sphere, Pac-Man.

Namco Bandai gave the old fella a new lease of life back in 2007 when they released Pac-Man Championshop Edition for Xbox Live Arcade.  Sure, Pac-Man has appeared on lots of home platforms, but really he belongs in the arcade and Namco Bandai have realised this and released a brand new machine, Pac-Man Battle Royale as part of his 30th anniversary.

Revealed to the public at the 2010 Amusement Expo in Las Vegas last month, Battle Royale has a similar asthetic to Championship Edition, but is a four player cocktail cabinet, where the players can not only eat the ghosts, but each other too.

The cabinet looks brilliant too.  It's uses an LCD screen to keep down the bulk and with its four cup holders, it's clearly been designed to live in bars as well as arcades.

I have no idea where I can get to play this in the UK, but I can't wait to give it a go when it's released next year.  For now, here's a video demo from a guy calling himself The Atarian: