Pac-Man = Puckman, Mega Man = Rockman

[tom]

Are those characters still called Puckman and Rockman in Japan, or are they Pac-Man and Mega Man nowadays?

[Family Computer]

Rockman is still rockman. Pacman is Pacman.

[Haoie]

Puckman was only the 'experimental' name, it was never in widespread use anywhere.

And I believe cabinets with that name are exceedingly rare.

[theshizzle3000]

I was unaware of the Puckman thing, but I now Mega Man is still Rockman in Japan.

[Niku-Sama]

I saw some puckman thing, i think it was a tabletop or something at super potato. it was more like a translation thing for that.

rockman is still rockman over there even with the new stuff that wont ever never change

[zektor]

Yeah, they didn't call it "Puckman" here because it was assumed we would call it...well..you know..

[ccovell]

No, because the Japanese "Paku", a sound effect signifying eating, can be romanized from the Katakana as either "Pa(c)k" or "Pu(c)k". Both names would be correct, but Namco wisely saw ahead to what the English speaking public would do with the Puck name (ie: use black tape to cover the right side of the "P".)

[ROBOTNIK666]

I understand the Puckman thing, but why did they change Rockman?

[CosmicMonkey]

I understand the Puckman thing, but why did they change Rockman?

According to Wikipedia:

Mega Man's original Japanese name, "Rockman", is a reference to the music genre rock and roll, and is meant to work in tandem with his "sister" robot, Roll. Such music-themed naming conventions are present in a number of Keiji Inafune's other character designs, such as Blues. In addition, the original Mega Man titles intentionally incorporated a "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game play mechanic into defeating certain enemies.[2] His name was changed to "Mega Man" for the U.S. release because the word "Rock" was a slang for crack cocaine, which was prevalent at that time[citation needed]. In parts of the English speaking world, some people call Mega Man "The Blue Bomber" because of his blue armor and powerful fighting skills.

[Snapple]

I could see that. Mega Man came out in the mid-80s, and that was right when crack burst onto the scene, and Len Bias' death and all that.

[RegSNES]

Funny enough I was just reading the Pac-Man artical on wiki and saw a pic of a cabinet where he was called Puck Man.

I always call Mega Man by the name he goes by in the states, but I do think his name in Japan is cool. I mean, come on, Mega Man games Rock, Man! Get it? Get it?! Sorry, I couldn't resist the bad pun...

[mrmeatball]

As of a month ago, that Puck-Man table top was still sitting on the shelf of Super Potato in Akihabara. I'm sure its been handled many times over its life by curious customers, although I'm curious myself as to how long its been for sale there.

Also keeping in tradition with the "Rock & Roll" theme, you also have Bass and Treble/ Forte and Gospel in Rockman universe keeping in line with the musical names of select characters.

[idrougge]

I have a friend who has a stand-up Puckman cabinet in his cellar.

[Cryomancer]

Rockman is a neat name in the sense of the series' naming conventions, but when compared to the other robot masters it doesn't seem right. Cutman cuts things, why doesn't Rockman throw rocks? Ultimately I think of "Megaman" as his title/hero name, and Rock as his personal name. Helmet on / Helmet off kinda thing. Could just be me.

[NE146]

It wasn't 'experimental', it's the original name for Pac-Man, and it was in widespread use in Japan when it first came out.

Yep. And it's how I knew the game. It was always "Puckman" to me back in the day.

Once the game started getting very famous and started hitting the news, media, & marketing (we'd get U.S. shows) I'd start seeing "Pac-man" all over tv... and I was like "What the heck.. PAC-man?!??!" And the funny thing was, it eventually made me think that all the games I played of Puckman were cheap copies of the real thing. I really really longed to see and play a "real" Pacman cab.

..Course the truth was I was playing he original all along But in that day and age, who knew

[hbkprm]

do you mean a rock of cocane

[NE146]

Rockman is a neat name in the sense of the series' naming conventions, but when compared to the other robot masters it doesn't seem right. Cutman cuts things, why doesn't Rockman throw rocks? Ultimately I think of "Megaman" as his title/hero name, and Rock as his personal name. Helmet on / Helmet off kinda thing. Could just be me.

Well from what I understand from the creator's interview.. it's not rock as in rocks. It's rock as in Rock & Roll. As in music. Since I guess he thinks a big aspect of the games from the start was the soundtrack and music being a big part of the series.

..Although to be honest I dont know how much of NES Rockman/Megaman music I'd exactly call "rock and roll"

[idrougge]

..Although to be honest I dont know how much of NES Rockman/Megaman music I'd exactly call "rock and roll"

Megaman's music is very influenced by hard rock. It's just difficult to hear on the NES.