Wistful thinking

Saturday morning just wasn’t complete without My Little Pony, G.I. Joe or the Thundercats. But if a kid was more the weekend gamer, not cartoon watcher, it was Pac Man, Donkey Kong or the Ms.—Ms. Pac-Man. This year, the classics of yesteryear and video games past return to stores for a little fun—just like the good ol’ days!

Nostalgia? Not to worry, more classics are making their comeback this year on the video screen and in accessory form and are self-selling to adults who grew up with the characters, as well as kids who want something new.

Who thought pizza was that inspiring? Well, Pac-Man fanatics do! When Namco designer Tohru Iwatani went out for pizza with friends, the missing slice inspired Pac-Man. Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, Pac-Man is still around and more advanced: he tries to save the world from the evil Spectral Realm of the ghosts.

Now, players can follow the icon into deeper realms with improved graphics, but the labyrinth, ghost chaser is still around in its original form as well.

Pac-Man will be available this fall from Jakks Pacific, Mailbu, Calif., as part of its Plug It In and Play line, which features five original Namco arcade games like Galaga, Pole Position and, of course, Ms. Pac-Man, as well as two new games.

Anson Sowby, director of marketing, Jakks Pacific, tells Playthings that all ages can enjoy the new retro games.

“Licenses that appeal to all age groups and demographics are our top sellers,” says Sowby. “Our Ms. Pac-Man controller continues to be a hit with the kids of today just as much as it was with kids 25 years ago. So the consumer can range anywhere from a 5-year-old to a 45 year old,” Sowby says.

In 1955, Art Clokey, one of the innovators of claymation, created a lanky, green hero called Gumby. Forty years later, Gumby vs. the Astrobots, to be released this fall by Namco Hometek, Santa Clara, Calif., takes the claymation hero on a chase against the Blockheads. Gumby works on the Gameboy Advance platform.

Namco also secured the licensing rights to publish games based on characters from the Peanuts comic strip. The company will create games around some of the favorites--Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Peppermint Patty, Linus and Pigpen--for all current and upcoming platforms through 2009.

The Hello Kitty 3-D adventure, also released by Namco, takes the cute cat through other worlds to meet up with other Sanrio, Huntington Beach, Calif., characters. Kitty and friends must complete missions in order to save Sanriotown from the king Block-O of Block Planet.

An innovator of consoles, Atari, New York, comes back with the Atari Flashback 2.0. The new console will feature 20 classics like Pong, Asteroids and Centipede in addition to 20 more never-released games.

The wood grain paneling and two classic Atari 2600 joysticks give the console the look and feel of the orginial Atari 2600.

The Flashback is approximately two-thirds the size of the orginal console that debuted in 1977 and will be out this August in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the game Pong.

Welcome back Saturday morning!