Earlier this week, Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani called it quits and retired from gaming. What's next? He's teaching game planning at Tokyo Polytechnic Institute. Iwatani had a very impressive run, creating one of gaming's most memorable characters. All that's nice, but it doesn't pay the bills. Says Iwatani:

I'm not sure if I should mention this or not. Well, um, the truth of the matter is, there were no rewards per se for the success of Pac-Man. I was just an employee. There was no change in my salary, no bonus, no official citation of any kind. So I didn't buy anything for myself. And it's really not my personal style to buy myself a present anyway.

Bummer, dude! I remember reading this in Reuters or AP a year or so ago. Stuff like this isn't, rather wasn't, unheard of in companies here in Japan. Though, I'm sure Namco has set Iwatani up with a plush retirement plan. Well, I sure hope so. Brian Ashcraft

Iwatani Interview [Gamebreak]

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