“PAC-MAN” Partnership with the North American Professional Basketball

No66-020 Dec 18, 2020

To All Media BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. “PAC-MAN” Partnership with the North American Professional Basketball League, NBA & “PAC-MAN” Becomes the Second Inductee into the Comic-Con “Museum Character Hall of Fame” ～PAC-MAN Theme For 2021 Is “Be PAC-TIVE!!”～

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment (headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Yasuo Miyakawa) has made announcement of forming a partnership between “PAC-MAN” and the North American professional basketball league, the National Basketball Association (hereafter “NBA”), and that “PAC-MAN” became the second inductee into the Comic-Con “Museum Character Hall of Fame”, sponsored by the world’s greatest pop-culture event, Comic-Con.

■Partnership between “PAC-MAN” and the NBA Now in its 40th anniversary, “PAC-MAN” has formed a partnership with the North American professional basketball league, the NBA, and will be co-developing games and licensed products, leveraging the strengths of both brands. A special NBA inspired maze was made available as of December 22 for the smartphone “PAC-MAN” game app that can be downloaded through App Store and Google Play™, and plans are in works for sales of collaborative merchandises between “PAC-MAN” and the NBA. “PAC-MAN” and the NBA is supported by a wide breadth of audiences. Through this partnership, we will create fun for fans of both brands, so please stay tuned for more details to come.

■“PAC-MAN” inducted into the Comic-Con Museum Character Hall of Fame “PAC-MAN” became the second inductee into the Comic-Con “Museum Character Hall of Fame” based on its impact on the video game industry and pop-culture, and with its popularity across the world. The Comic-Con “Museum Hall of Fame” was established in 2019, and among the nominees, “PAC-MAN” became the first video game character to be inducted following the first inductee, “Batman”. In celebration of the induction of “PAC-MAN” into the Comic-Con “Museum Character Hall of Fame”, a virtual online induction ceremony took place on December 17 in the US. In addition to the awards ceremony, a look back to the 40 years of “PAC-MAN”, an interview with the arcade version’s developer, Toru Iwatani (current Professor Emeritus at the Tokyo Polytechnic University), and live performance of KEN ISHII’s official 40th anniversary theme track, “JOIN THE PAC”, were featured and transmitted to people around the world to promote the charm and culture of “PAC-MAN”.

Please see below for more details. “Comic-Con Museum Official Website” https://www.comic-con.org/museum

■PAC-MAN theme for 2021 is “Be PAC-TIVE!!” In commemoration of PAC-MAN’s 40th anniversary, we began promotion of our global theme, “JOIN THE PAC”, to people around the world from January 1st and extending into December 31st in an effort to bring PAC-MAN closer to everyone’s home. The theme for 2021 is “Be PAC-TIVE!!”. The message it holds is for people to be “in shape physically and mentally, so that they can live happy lives.” Together with “PAC-MAN”, we want to be filled with energy, happy, eating and drinking right, moving our bodies, playing games, and having fun with everyone. We will be delivering various “PAC-TIVE” activities for everyone to spend their “PAC-TIVE” time. With the 40th anniversary of “PAC-MAN”, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment has worked to bring “PAC-MAN” closer to everyone’s lives by creating new games and licensed products. We will be offering new forms of entertainment for “PAC-MAN” with 2021 marking the partnership between “PAC-MAN” and the NBA. We will work to spread “PAC-MAN” throughout the world so that everyone can have the best “PAC-TIVE” time possible. Please look forward for more to come from “PAC-MAN”.

“PAC-MAN” Official Website: http://www.pacman.com

We will continue to promote PAC-MAN for all to enjoy. BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment follows its corporate slogan to the word - more fun for everyone. We will strive to bring the fun to everyone throughout the world.

【More on PAC-MAN】 PAC-MAN made its debut in the arcades in 1980, and is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the “Most Successful Coin-Operated Arcade Game” of all time. As BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment’s pride Intellectual Property , PAC-MAN is known throughout the world for its colorful and vibrant characters. Upon its release, PAC-MAN became an instant hit in Japan and the US, bringing about the term “PAC-MAN Fever”. To this day, 98% in the US and more than 90% in other countries recognizes PAC-MAN. (“PAC-MAN” Recognition: results from our corporate private survey)

【About Comic-Con】 Founded in 1970 as the “Golden State Comic Book Convention” by Shel Dorf and others, Comic-Con is a pop-culture event that originated as an event featuring comics. It is held every year in early July at San Diego, featuring a vast genre of subjects such as comics, manga, anime, games, and movies, with more than 130,000 in attendance.

*The information herein represents the information according to the date of the press release. Information may be updated without notice after release. PAC-MAN™&©BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.