It seems the honeymoon, and indeed, the whole marriage, is over between Pac-Man and his wife. Because AtGames currently holds some of the rights to the Ms. Pac-Man character, and because Namco was never really thrilled with her existence in the first place, they're purging her from other Pac-Man games, including the recently released Switch version of Pac-Land. Now, you'll find Pac-Mom at the end of every level, who looks like something Namco pulled out of their butts at the last minute.
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| "Hi honey, I'm- who the hell are you people?!" (image from Ars Technica) |
Namco did promise retribution after AtGames snuck off with the rights to Ms. Pac-Man, claiming that they would make the purchase useless. It seems this hasty Pac-ectomy is the first step toward keeping that promise, and with Pac-Man Museum Plus coming out in a couple of months, it's likely there will be more historical revisionism in the future.
By the way, Pac-Man's had another family on the side in Japan for years. This includes not only Pac-Mom, but Pac-Marie, Pac-Girl, and Pac Little as well. Pac Little isn't much different from Jr. Pac-Man, but Pac-Marie... well, just look at her.
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| image from the Pac-Man Wiki |
She lacks the glamour and maturity of Ms. Pac-Man, looking instead like the sweet, naïve girl next door type. Namco implied that she actually was Ms. Pac-Man in the past, but considering the current situation, they're probably going to backpedal on those suggestions in a hurry.
More importantly, what will happen to the Ms. Pac-Man game? For the moment, you can still buy it on the Xbox Marketplace, but until Namco and AtGames come to an agreement (and Namco doesn't seem in an agreeable mood at the moment), you probably won't be finding it on any future game systems. That's unfortunate, as it's widely regarded to be better than the original Pac-Man, with brighter colors, more variety, and those bedeviled bouncing fruits which always seem just out of reach.
With the exception of Pac-Man Arrangement, none of the other Pac-Man sequels and spin-offs could hold a candle to Ms. Pac-Man, whether they were Midway's legally dubious extensions of the franchise (Jr. Pac-Man, Baby Pac-Man, Professor Pac-Man) or Namco's official creations (Super Pac-Man, Pac and Pal, Pac-Mania). With this in mind, one hopes that Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man's separation will not be a permanent one. Somehow I doubt gamers are going to be satisfied with Exciting New! Pac-Man Plus as a substitute.
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