Pac-Man launched in Japanese arcades in 1980, published by Namco and designed by Toru Iwatani, and quickly became one of the most successful arcade games ever made. The start jingle plays each time a new game begins, and decades of arcade cabinets, home ports and remakes have burned it into pop culture. It spread online through retro gaming videos, remix culture and meme edits, where its cheerful chiptune climb signals old-school fun. Today it remains a shorthand for classic gaming, instantly understood even by people who never touched an arcade cabinet.