Timex T80 x Pac-Man
40 years of Pac-Man and the T80 digital, two classics from the 1980s!
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Hi this is Alan. Thanks for your interest. My contact information is at the bottom. Here is a fun watch with retro vibes from the 1980s. It's a digital LCD watch reproduction of a late 1970s original (we will call it "Eighties") with a Pac-Man theme. And it plays the Pac-Man music!
The watch debuted at the ComplexCon in Los Angles, November 2019, and was sold out very quickly. More were manufactured, and they went on sale again in July 2020. In addition to the slivertone that I purchased, it comes in goldtone, and black.
Before proceeding any further, have a listen to the song it plays. Four-second video, above. Sound on, of course.
Before buying the watch I had heard that it plays a tune. I thought maybe it played it when the alarm went off. But you can activate it on demand by pushing and holding the upper right button.
Above pic from the Timex sales site featuring the watch. (The GIF banner at the very top of the page is also by Timex, and was at the top of their home page.)
Pac-Man, widely considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time, was released by Namco in Japan, July 1980, and in the US a few months later.
The designer, Toru Iwatani, working with a 9-member team, "wanted to create a game that could appeal to women as well as men, because most video games of the time had themes of war or sports."
Also, it was originally Puck Man: "The original Japanese title of Puck Man was changed to Pac-Man for international releases as a preventative measure against defacement of the arcade machines by changing the P to an F." (Wikipedia). Greater details about the Pac-Man game and its legacy is beyond the scope here, but for those interested there is much online reading available.
Classic Eighties digital watch shape, kind of "octagonoid," with four pusher buttons. The rectagular LCD screen is surrounded by an inner black bezel that has all the Pac-Man fun. Case is 34 mm, but it wears and looks larger. Like, if you put it on my wrist and told me it was 37 mm, I might believe you. I didn't realize this initially, but the case isn't metal! It is a resin, likely molded, and coated by a shiny and nicely polished ? chrome, or some other shiny metallic coating.
I am unsure of the original models of this watch were called "T80," or if that is a modern name, chosen when Timex began reproducing these models in 2019. It is my understanding that the originals preceded the release of Pac-Man by a year or so, but effectively this is considered as a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of both. If you want to see a vintage model, click here to see a pic. It is not my watch and I am not sure when this was made but not from the early years of the model, as it has Indiglo. So, 1990s.
Just for fun, and to truly honor the 1980s, the above is the same as the preceding pic, but what it would have looked like if the Web existed in 1980, and we were browsing the pages.
Watch came in a fun box.
Back of the watch. In addition to some of the usual notations, there is Pac-Man chasing two ghosts, and it is signed TIMEX and PAC-MAN. Date code 78, which is manufacture June 2020. Watch is 30 meter water resistant. But what is MODEL: M555. ? (The actual model of this watch is listed, TW2U31900.) Could it be referencing the movement number? M555 means movement 555? I don't see that routinely on their watches. Could it be the old model number of this watch, back in the Eighties? Even that would be unlikely, as model numbers were not three digit.
The bracelet is pretty nice, especially considering the reasonable price point. The clasp is adjustable Milanese style, and etched on the outside of the clasp is Pac-Man eating a dot, and chasing the ghost. The links of the bracelet have both brushed and polished elements. Given that the case is shiny, the matte tones down a bit of that.
Opening the outer box, you find the inner box, hard plastic.
The watch has all the features you would expect. Alarm, 1/100 sec chronograph, day/date/month, 12 or 24 hour time display, Indiglo light. And per that video, above, it plays the Pac-Man theme song when you press and hold the right upper button.
My son was looking at the watch and noticed that they didn't give the Pac-Man any power dots. Without a way to change the ghosts to blinking blue, Pac-Man appears doomed.
Back of outer box has lots of details, including an 8-bit infographic showing the given names, and the nicknames, of the four ghosts.
Caseback secured by four screws, a hallmark of 1980s and 1990s TIMEX and beyond. (What is MODEL: M555 ?!)
Unrelated to Pac-Man or Timex but this is a digital watch, so here is the government/military specifications for the digits of an LCD watch. Can't remember the date, or even the country of origin. Kind of interesting.
I generally don't wear digital LCD watches, but I really wanted to get this. Glad I did. It's attractive, wears well, and I enjoy the 1980s retro vibe. With the combination of the Pac-Man, it may be over-the-top 1980s, in a great way. The Eighties have been amplified.
As stated nicely in "A Blog to Watch," The overall design of the piece feels endemic to 1980 but bigger, louder, and more outwardly fun than the real thing."
Toru Iwatani's original drawings for the game.
