The lone game character from the International Video Games Hall of Fame's inaugural class will appear on a float for the first time in the 122-year-old Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, Calif.
Pac and his four adversaries also constitute the first video-game float ever in the parade, which precedes the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. Namco says the float commemorates Pac-Man's 30th anniversary, It probably doesn't hurt that Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is out this week, too.
The float will stand 55 feet tall and feature "a cake-toting Pac-Man surrounded by presents," plus the ghosts. The Rose parade begins at 11 a.m. EST on New Year's Day, and will broadcast on ABC, HGTV and three other networks.
Gamasutra points out that Sonic was previously the first game character to get a float in a major parade, in Macy's 1993 Thanksgiving spectacular.
Pac-Man To Be First Game Character In Pasadena's Rose Parade [Gamasutra]