10 Biggest Scams In Gaming History
2. Pac-Man (Atari Port)
Even though modern publishers are perceived as boundlessly greedy, money-grabbing gaming companies have been around as long as the industry has existed.
When Pac-Man debuted back in 1980, it dominated the arcades in a way never seen before. Knowing there was a fortune to be made, Atari prepared to port the dot-chomping maze title to the Atari 2600. Although the programmer, Tod Frye, had no direct access to the original hardware, Pac-Man seemed like it would be easy to duplicate.
But that wasn't the case. Despite the simple setup, the original Pac-Man took 18 months to put together. Since Frye had to recreate the classic title single-handedly in one-third of the time, he had to cut a few corners.
Well, a lot of corners. Like, all the corners. Due to the flickering graphics, grating sound effects, and badly programmed everything, the Atari 2600 port was Pac-Man in name only.
The gaming community felt so utterly betrayed by this drivel, it tarnished the industry as a whole. This notorious incident was partially responsible for a staggering decline in game sales, which led to the Video Game Crash of 1983 (also known as the Atari Shock). Considering this shoddy port nearly collapsed the video game market, Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 has earned its place in infamy.