Munchkin

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Synopsis

K.C. Munchkin!, released in Europe as Videopac 38 - Munchkin, is a 1981 maze game created by Ed Averett for the Magnavox Odyssey², also known as the Philips Videopac G7000. Players control a blue alien named K.C. who navigates a maze while eating pellets and avoiding enemy aliens. It was published by North American Philips (N.A.P.), who were sued by Atari over the game's resemblance to the arcade game Pac-Man. The ensuing court case, which was a landmark ruling in video game copyright law, found K.C. Munchkin! to be too close in "look and feel" to the arcade game causing it to be pulled from the market. At that point, it was the best selling game yet released for the Odyssey². It was created to cash in on the success of Pac-Man, and was designed to be as close to the original as possible without crossing the legal line. The success of the game was a catalyst which inspired further video game development at Philips. It was one of the first home console video games to receive a sequel, K.C.'s Krazy Chase!, which released in 1982. Its North American title is an inside reference to then president of North American Philips Consumer Electronics, Kenneth C. Meinken Jr. The preliminary injunction which pulled the game from stores was initially shot down by the courts, but granted on appeal on March 2, 1982. In the same month, Atari released its own version of Pac-Man for the Atari 2600, which critics overwhelmingly consider to be inferior to K.C. Munchkin. Critics praise the charming character animation and its customizable maze feature. Multiple retrospective reviews consider it to be one of the best Pac-Man clones ever created.

Text license: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Details

Type

Game

Release date

January 1, 1981

Genres

maze video game

Platforms

Magnavox Odyssey 2

Countries

United States