There are retro watches, and then there’s Casio’s newly announced Pac-Man tribute watch, which is about as geeky and retro as watches can get. The A100WEPC, to give it its full name, has not only been given the full Pac-Man theme treatment but it’s based on the Casio F-100 watch first released in 1978, the first quartz timepiece released by the company. That’s enough retro appeal to attract gamers and watch fans.
Casio has chosen the A100 watch as the base for the Pac-Man model, which is a metal-bodied reimagining of the resin-cased F-100 from 1978. The overall shape and design of the watch remain almost identical, right down to the four widely-spaced buttons below the small digital screen. It’s not a Bluetooth-connected watch like some of Casio’s recent G-Shock models, and an alarm, calendar, backlight, and stopwatch, plus water resistance, complete the feature list.
However, you’re not going to buy this because of the features. The A100WEPC is all about the Pac-Man tie-in. The case is gold plated with black inlays around the screen and buttons, all featuring Pac-Man being chased by ghosts through a maze, complete with some cherries to eat. What really makes the watch special is found on the stainless steel strap. The top part of the band shows ghosts chasing Pac-Man, but on the bottom band, the roles are reversed, and Pac-Man is chasing down the ghosts. The band has been laser-etched, so the design should be long-lasting.
Flip the watch over, and the stainless steel case back also shows Pac-Man, a recreation of the maze, and various ghosts. The watch comes in its own special packaging, with a small display stand, too. Casio has announced the Pac-Man A100WEPC will launch in the U.K. on August 18 but has not revealed the price yet. No information about a U.S. release has been announced yet, but we expect it to come in the near future.
If you head over to Casio’s website, you can sign up to be alerted when the watch is available and also play an online version of Pac-Man for good measure. If all that doesn’t give the A100WEPC enough geeky appeal, movie fans may also remember the original Casio F-100 was modified and worn by Sigourney Weaver’s character and others in the movie Aliens (1984).