Club Namco open for business

Gaming publisher launches online store full of T-shirts, toys, and imported Pac-Man merchandise.

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Gamers still suffering from "Pac-Man Fever" 25 years after the fact now have a few more ways to indulge their sickness. Namco today announced the opening of Club Namco, its online store for merchandise that mines the company's storied history of arcade games and characters.

Currently the site is dominated by Pac-Man merchandise, but Galaga, Dig Dug, and Pole Position are also represented. The publisher is promising a larger selection of items in the future, along with game-themed ringtones and wallpaper for cell phones. In addition to T-shirts and toys, the site also includes product categories for "Office Fun" and "Home & Kitchen," though at the moment, the only product to fall under either of those headings is a Pac-Man-shaped plush cushion that comes in two sizes.

Many of the items on the site are Japanese imports, like the aforementioned cushion, or plush Pac-Man headgear, for discriminating fans who always wanted a hat that makes it look like Namco's mascot is eating their faces. Unfortunately, most of the imported products are specifically listed as being unavailable to ship to addresses in Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

As for why those four states are singled out, a Namco representative said it was because those four have their own state-level testing requirements for toys, wheras Namco only tested the toys to the federally acceptable standards.

25 Comments

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Mar 21, 2006 10:37 am PT

    man, stuff like this always costs more than it should. (kind of like concert t-shirts)

  • pyth0n13

    Posted Mar 21, 2006 7:44 am PT

    pac man making a comeback maybe?

  • Sagacious_Tien

    Posted Mar 21, 2006 5:19 am PT

    Might have to import something Pac Man like for my Comp Desk. One can never have enough Pacman paraphernalia.

  • fistfull_of_me

    Posted Mar 21, 2006 3:34 am PT

    sweet, i love pac-man

  • KiLLer_ba

    Posted Mar 21, 2006 12:41 am PT

    That's cool. I hope they make pole position shirts.

  • nintendorocks

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 9:31 pm PT

    I'm surprised this took so long. But still a great idea.

  • Tranceplant

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 5:23 pm PT

    Oh so cute! I want these! Oh... they don't ship in Canada. Damn!!!

  • AbuSharkas8

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 4:03 pm PT

    pac man rulz lol

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 3:14 pm PT

    "Many of the items on the site are Japanese imports, like the aforementioned cushion, or plush Pac-Man headgear, for discriminating fans who always wanted a hat that makes it look like Namco's mascot is eating their faces." Hahahaha gotta love it!

  • akira0864

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 2:58 pm PT

    "As for why those four states are singled out, a Namco representative said it was because those four have their own state-level testing requirements for toys, wheras Namco only tested the toys to the federally acceptable standards." Right at the end of the article man...

  • yanks26wsw

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 2:46 pm PT

    I guess it is good

  • blackIceJoe

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 2:33 pm PT

    Bring back the old Pacman the one in the arcades.Not the weird walking Pacman and friends.

    Other then that a T shirt of Pacman sounds neat.

  • mickel_darmawan

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 2:31 pm PT

    Good!!

  • boolow407

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 2:18 pm PT

    Waca...Waca...Waca...bewewewew, bloint, bloint.

  • frankeyser

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 2:05 pm PT

    because there is an ohio statue banning all pacman appereal and iteams that was put into affect march 17 2001 because pac man slept with the govenors wife... him and pac man have ben at odds since then...

  • ze_krusty_krab

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:58 pm PT

    Can someone please explain to me why it is that certain things can't be shipped to certain states? What possible reason could there be for stopping a Pac-man hat or cushion being shipped to Ohio? Other than that, sounds like a very cool line of merchandise.

    akira0864 (below): that last paragraph of the article was posted in response to my original comment. A mod viewed my comment, and updated the article with the info I was interested in.

  • Achilles438

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:56 pm PT

    good for them. I enjoy pac man to this day.

  • Darkryu44

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:56 pm PT

    Namco sucks now. They shut down Katamari but they keep milking Pac-Man. Good job.

  • bioniccommando1

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:30 pm PT

    PacMan is my old boss. We used to have all kinds of cool PMan paraphanelia at Aladdin's Castle(arcade).

  • dadeisvenm

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:28 pm PT

    would be nice to see video game plushes around the house

  • artillery

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:27 pm PT

    Overpriced? $35 for a pac-man plush?

  • sasukedevil

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:25 pm PT

    Wow very good for them..

  • Donkeljohn

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:23 pm PT

    Hmmm, Dig-Dug paraphernalia is just what the desk ordered.

  • -Tron

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:19 pm PT

    great!

  • Orasion_Seiz

    Posted Mar 20, 2006 1:17 pm PT

    very nice for Namco. Pac Man merchandise are the best.

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