Pac-Man To Be First Game Character In Pasadena's Rose Parade

Namco Bandai Games announced today that a 55-foot tall display featuring Pac-Man and ghosts Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde, will be the first video game-focused float in Pasadena's 122-year old Tournament of Roses parade. Designed to celebrate Pac-Man's 30th anniversary, the float will feature a cake-toting Pac-Man surrounded by presents and "standing atop a bright and colorful cornucopia of floral arrangements," according to the announcement. “Pac-Man’s big spirit and insatiable appetite for adventure have won him a place in gamers’ hearts for three decades, and we think this is a great time to show how much we appreciate him,” said Kenji Hisatsune, president, CEO and COO of Namco Networks America. The two-and-a-half hour parade, which will start at 8 a.m. PST on Saturday, January 1, 2011, will be broadcast nationally on ABC, The Learning Channel, HGTV, the Hallmark Channel and Univision. The 2010 parade was viewed live by nearly 15 million households, according to Nielsen ratings. Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog became the first video game character to receive a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1993. Pokemon mascot Pikachu first appeared in that parade in 2001. Earlier this year, EA hosted a "Madden Gras" parade on New Orleans' Fulton Street to promote the release of Madden NFL 11.