See It First: Pac-Man Gets a Makeover With New 'Pac-Man Fever' Remix

Pac-Man turned 35 years old this year (wow, he looks great — apparently yellow don’t crack!), and it’s safe to say he’s still got it. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, he’s the best-known video game character in the world (recognized by 94 percent of consumers), and over the years he has spawned an entire cottage industry that’s included a Saturday morning cartoon series, a Christmas special, a kiddie cereal, and a bunch of weird yellow stuff.

But more importantly, back in 1982 the little yellow fellow inspired the most successful video game song ever, Buckner & Garcia’s “Pac-Man Fever.” (Seriously, Rock Band and Guitar Hero ain’t got nuthin' on Buckner & Garcia.) The novelty hit went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold a whopping 1.2 million copies in the ‘80s; Jerry Buckner and the late Gary Garcia even performed the song on American Bandstand for a national audience of arcade addicts. The song was a bona fide phenomenon. People magazine actually called it one of the top pop-cultural events of all time.

Now, as the '80s video game-themed film Pixels hits theaters, there’s a new acute “Fever” outbreak sweeping America, with a reissued remix titled “Pac-Man Fever (Eat ‘Em Up) 2015” featuring Jace Hall. And you don’t even need a pocketful of quarters, and you don’t need to head to the arcade, to check it out… because Yahoo Music has the song’s video premiere, right here!

And while you’re at it, Bucker & Garcia’s full Pac-Man Fever concept album is available on Spotify. Its second single, “Do the Donkey Kong,” sadly stalled on the pop charts at #103 (the sweeping, Journey-esque power ballad “Ode to a Centipede” could’ve been a hit if it had been released as a single instead), but the album still sold an incredible 2.5 million copies (of LPs, CDs, cassettes, and of course 8-tracks) worldwide. Just imagine how many quarters that equals!