Tech Shout!

On Tuesday we had reported about the refurbished ‘Championship Edition’ which was announced at the Pac-Man World Championship in New York. There Iwatani also crowned Carlos Daniel Borrego from Pachuca, Mexico, who is the winner of the Microsoft-sponsored competition.

Iwatani designed the revamped “Championship Edition,” which was unveiled at the Pac-Man World Championship in New York on Tuesday. Iwatani, who is now a video game professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University, also crowned the winner of the Microsoft-sponsored competition, Carlos Daniel Borrego from Pachuca, Mexico.

In the new Pac-Man makeover, there are mazes that change shape as the game is played, new soundtracks and high-definition graphics, though the game retains the kitschy, arcade-inspired look. There are six new timed game modes, including the “Manhattan” mode, inspired by New York streets.

“It gives me great joy to know that my final contributions in my corporate career were to crown the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Champion and to leave the world with an amazing new ‘Pac-Man’ game for generations to enjoy,” said Iwatani, who is heading to become a video game professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University.

“Pac-Man was the game that ignited the world’s passion for video games, with every member of the family hooked on avoiding Clyde and eating up all the Power Pellets,” said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for the interactive entertainment division of Microsoft.

All dedicated Pac-Man lovers can buy and download the game from the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft points, or around $10. But if you have got the hots for Pac-Man’s red-bowed, lipsticked girlfriend will have to settle for a more traditional-looking version of the Ms. Pac-Man game, released to the Xbox Live Arcade in January.