10 Worst Video Game Downgrades That Pissed Off EVERYONE

To casually dispel a prevailing myth, Atari did not single-handedly cause the 1983 video gaming crash, but releases like this certainly contributed to the (temporary) downfall of our beloved hobby.

Pac-Man - or Puck Man in Japan; the western title changed given our perceived temptation to change the "P" to an "F" (thanks, Scott Pilgrim) - was absolutely smashing it in arcades in 1980/81.

Known to this day as one of the most influential and recognisable games ever made, Pac-Man was huge back in the formative days of gaming, and consoles of the day had one goal in mind: to bring the arcade experience into the home.

Atari were the market leader in home consoles, and this hubris bred complacency, culminating in the 1982 Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man being truly awful.

Hoping that the success of the arcade title alone would ensure that copies flew off shelves regardless of quality (and they did), it would appear that only minimal care was put into this version.

The power differential notwithstanding, the bright, crisp arcade colours are now washed out purples and oranges; the iconic music is unrecognisable and the characters themselves now flickering, blocky imposters.

This was nothing like the arcade version, and people were SERIOUSLY pissed off.