I was a HUGE fan of Pacman in its heyday. I remembered waiting in line with my quarters at the local 7-Eleven store for my turn at the arcade machine. I was so happy to find out that Atari was coming out with Pacman for the 2600. I remembered that it was sold out in my area so I had to wait for the next shipment. I slapped down $50 for my cartridge - that was a lot of money for me back then working at minimum wage (~$3.10/hr) for a local restaurant. I thought now I can finally play as much Pacman as I wanted to at home. So much for great expectations though, it was such a let down for me to see what I actually got. What a disappointment - a rip off! I couldn't take it back once it was opened per the store return policy. I got stuck with it and HAD to learn to like it. But, I became very wary of Atari from then on. From there, I moved on to getting my Atari 800 computer which I still have. I was much happier with the Pacman version for the Atari computers.
I just gave Pacman Arcade a try. I didn't know anything about it until today. Man, I would have been so happy if this were the version that I shelled out $50 for. Better late then never I guess. Great job RK!
You were not alone my friend... till this day I hate looking at the cart for the way it made me feel when I got it as a kid.