Review: 10323 PAC-MAN Arcade

Even as someone who spent a lot of time playing Pac-Man in its day, this set is not for me, but kudos to the designer for a thoughtful, faithful, and fun recreation.

Missed opportunity to include a functioning arcade game with lights sounds and movement!

What do you mean I’m expecting too much from d2c sets now...

Looks absolutely brilliant. It's overtaken the Land Rover on my £200+ wish list. Will probably wait for a higher threshold GWP though (maybe the rumoured 'Houses of the World 2' rerun in a few weeks).

Obviously not a set for everyone. Especially not the 'What's the point when you can get a real one cheaper' brigade. I guess they're not big fans of the 'Botanical Collection' either! But personally, I love the 'Wow, they've made THAT out of Lego' sets!

I still ask why didn't they print a .25 on that tile. Scrooge got his lucky dime.

I think the best thing is the side-build with minifigure. More of that please.

It is lovely... but, I'd rather spend the money on the actual game.

I saw this in Leicester Square today the movement was really impressive. Still don’t want it though.

Is it me or are these adult oriented sets tend to get larger and larger? How many of us have this kind of free space in our house? I barely made it alive after I got cought while sneaking 10497 into the house. That was the end for me, so good luck to you all.

When the reveal showed the coin slot was a sticker, I thought they'd have a couple of different currencies or amounts on different stickers, like the license plates on the large car sets.
Something that stood out for me from the review is the use of peg boards really ends up looking like circuit boards before they are put in place.

Nice review and interesting set, but I don't have the space. I wish they would sell the side builds separately, those are fun for display and fit on the average shelf.

I'm a big fan of this - exactly the kind of set I like. But £200+ is above my threshold. I'll see if it gets discounted like the Bowser set has been.

This is the issue with sets like this, the typewriter, and the table football: As cool as they are, when the actual function of the object is part of the appeal, it gets to be a little harder to justify a Lego version.

I never understood comparing the price with that of the real thing. Isn't the point of buying Lego for the novelty of building a thing out of a bunch of parts that we can then use for anything else we want? Hot Wheels are cheaper than Speed Champions, y'know!

Anyways, even though it's not one I'm after or have the budget for, this is a cool set! Love the function of rotating Pac-Man and the ghosts turning blue, so simple but effective!

Will never understand the ‘I can just buy the real thing’ argument.

Yeah, you can. You can buy a ship in a bottle, a globe, a typewriter, an arcade machine, a world map. The beauty is in the construction, the build process; seeing your efforts as you construct a model out of plastic bricks come together.

You don’t buy a puzzle and then think you should’ve just bought a picture instead. It’s problem solving and a sense of accomplishment.

It’s all about the build, baby.

@sjr60 said:
"Looks absolutely brilliant. It's overtaken the Land Rover on my £200+ wish list. Will probably wait for a higher threshold GWP though (maybe the rumoured 'Houses of the World 2' rerun in a few weeks).

Obviously not a set for everyone. Especially not the 'What's the point when you can get a real one cheaper' brigade. I guess they're not big fans of the 'Botanical Collection' either! But personally, I love the 'Wow, they've made THAT out of Lego' sets!"

I don't think they have issue with the botanical collection. The botanical collection is often cheaper than the real thing as well as not dying(big plus for the flowers).

@chrisaw said:
"Will never understand the ‘I can just buy the real thing’ argument."
Sadly that often equates to 'I don't personally like it, so Lego shouldn't have made it'

@sir_vasco said:
"I never understood comparing the price with that of the real thing. Isn't the point of buying Lego for the novelty of building a thing out of a bunch of parts that we can then use for anything else we want? Hot Wheels are cheaper than Speed Champions, y'know!

Anyways, even though it's not one I'm after or have the budget for, this is a cool set! Love the function of rotating Pac-Man and the ghosts turning blue, so simple but effective!"

On the one hand: yes, the build is part of the appeal beyond display value. If it purely was about display value the real deal would be a no-brainer in all cases.

On the other hand: you can buy a LOT of bricks for that kind of money if you go elsewhere. Large ones, not 100 technic pins or something.

The real appeal of these is building something for hours on end and then being able to look back and say 'I built an X'. Which then means all you can do with it is either spend 5 minutes fiddling with the functionality, use it as a literal ornament or unbuild it and either build it again, part it out, or sell it.

Basically, this is for people who really, REALLY like that X so much they want to build it with lego once or twice and don't mind spending a lot of money just for that relatively short experience.

Personally, I like to rebuild stuff and maybe even make alternate builds. Good luck doing that when a set consists of this many parts. You cán do it. But it's not designed for that. These sets are all about that one time they are built and after that they are meant to just be left on display.

At that point the question is: if it looks like an X, and you want to look at an X... is building the X out of lego really worth paying double what you get for a REAL X that not only looks like an X. But is also... you know... the actual thing. And in case of these 'functional' sets like the piano, typewriter and game consoles they actually work.

So it becomes: If you REALLY want that probably once, twice or maybe four times in your life experience of building the set version of an X (probably once for most people) with lego and maybe get to part it out if you really dare to. Then these are for you. I understand that those who already have plenty of the real thing might like a lego replica.

Oh, and there might also be the people who use it as conspicuous consumption to show to others what they like and/or what quirky things they own. Who knows.

TL;DR: the 'you can buy the real thing for cheaper' crowd aren't wrong. In some cases you can, in fact, buy the real thing for less than it costs to buy the lego version. In that case the value becomes less about having the X for display or even the functionality and more about the limited buildability and potential to part out the set. Which, to be honest, becomes less easy to rebuild the bigger and fiddlier it gets.
So the 'real thing' crowd has a valid point that this might take the main draws of these sets (display and 'function') and outdo them, only leaving the building experience. And the fact that it is a lego version of the thing.
This does actually change the context around the decision to fork out the high prices for these sets for the people that care more about display and function over build and 'lego-ness', so this information is relevant.

It's good to see a number of other people finding the criticism that you can buy the real thing cheaper baffling as well.

I could maybe understand it from people who don't like Lego but it is quite bizarre on a site that is supposed to be for fans of Lego.

@ShinyBidoof said:
"It's good to see a number of other people finding the criticism that you can buy the real thing cheaper baffling as well.

I could maybe understand it from people who don't like Lego but it is quite bizarre on a site that is supposed to be for fans of Lego."

That's likely just a result of all the licensing lately. Nobody will complain about the accuracy of a City set. Meanwhile, sets like Star Wars are heavily scrutinized on accuracy. Once Lego decided to make it a recreation of an actual Pac-Man machine people were bound to compare it to the actual Pac-Man machine.

It also doesn't help that the price points are so high and the set is so focussed on display alone (see my post above) that they immediately aim for the more hardcore fans of the subject matter. I doubt many people will be able to throw that money at something just because it looks mildly interesting. Thus, you're left with heavy scrutiny and comparisons galore.

As a lifelong, dark-age less fan I can tell you that even though people like Lego they don't all like it the same way. Some are MOCists, some minifig collectors. Some set collectors. Some just like the toylines. Some might even like combining hobby's or have Lego intersect with a main hobby. As more people enter the hobby you'll only see more perspectives and values that go beyond liking something just because it's lego. Often, people might like the IP first and foremost. And that's okay too.

In fact, I daresay sets like this aren't aimed at lego fans. They're aimed at non-fans specifically and use the object created with lego in question specifically because this group might love the object and maybe grow to like lego once they are reeled in by the set. That's the marketing strategy here. "Adults Welcome."

I see a really big opportunity with this new part to make a chain driven fairground dogem's set

@ShinyBidoof said:
"It's good to see a number of other people finding the criticism that you can buy the real thing cheaper baffling as well.

I could maybe understand it from people who don't like Lego but it is quite bizarre on a site that is supposed to be for fans of Lego."

because this set doesn't offer much value and the real thing makes it that much clearer, lots of people are both LEGO and videogame fans but that doesn't mean we throw common sense out the window over nostalgia bait

I really like the look of the set, but there's only so many times I can justify splurging out that much money on a LEGO set each year.
And I'm afraid this one is not going to make that list for me. I'd rather save that budget for the new Ninjago City set.

@sir_vasco said:
"I never understood comparing the price with that of the real thing. Isn't the point of buying Lego for the novelty of building a thing out of a bunch of parts that we can then use for anything else we want? Hot Wheels are cheaper than Speed Champions, y'know!

Ayways, even though it's not one I'm after or have the budget for, this is a cool set! Love the function of rotating Pac-Man and the ghosts turning blue, so simple but effective!"

I think in this case if you’re interested in Pac-Man and have this level of disposable income, a replica of an arcade machine would be a better purchase. It allows you to actually play the game and not just mimic it while taking out about as much space. That’s not to mention that the real deal will just look better than a LEGO imitation (no offense to the designer, of course)!

This, the foos ball table, and the typewriter raise the question of “why not just get the real deal”? Not everything on someone’s shelf needs to be LEGO. The real deal being a better deal just makes what LEGO has to offer often seem worse.

I would buy both of those side-builds in a heartbeat, for a reasonable price.

The main build itself looks really, really great, no doubt about that. But we've been here and done this already, I just don't have the space, budget or desire to buy this. Should that change, I can just buy the real thing.

@chrisaw said:
"Will never understand the ‘I can just buy the real thing’ argument."

Saves me the effort of trying to explain my motivations, thank you.

I'm strongly in the "consider the fact that you can get the real thing for a fraction of the price" crowd, and very much against the idea that even considering the thought is somehow utterly unconscionable. The build experience of LEGO is great. A moderately experienced builder can assemble this set in ~5 hours. That's a one-time, half-day experience, and then you're done. The number of people who will take the set apart & rebuild it repeatedly to extract more of said build experience for their money is miniscule. The number of people who will take advantage of the LEGO system here and turn this $270 USD arcade into a motorcycle or spaceship or Jedi holocron MOC is tiny.

Most happy buyers of this set will assemble it, play with it a few minutes, then put it on display. The end. Compare that to a same-sized, working countertop arcade unit which does not have the brief build, but instead gives you 5 to 15 minute gaming sessions with far more visceral and nostalgic endorphins triggered by accurate sights *and* sounds, for months, if not years to come. When not in use, said arcade will simply be on display, just like the LEGO set. The LEGO build has the gee-whiz factor of a visitor to your house asking, "Wait is that real? Oh it's LEGO, awesome!" The working arcade has the gee-whiz factor of a visitor to your house asking, "Wait is that real? Oh it IS! Awesome!"

For folks open to more sources of entertainment and joy than just a single brand, it's absolutely valid to at least posit the question of LEGO vs. real thing, *especially* when the former costs nearly 2x as much, is loaded up with stickers, and will yellow over time. Variety of thought shouldn't be discouraged.

@theJANG said:
"I'm strongly in the "consider the fact that you can get the real thing for a fraction of the price" crowd, and very much against the idea that even considering the thought is somehow utterly unconscionable. The build experience of LEGO is great. A moderately experienced builder can assemble this set in ~5 hours. That's a one-time, half-day experience, and then you're done. The number of people who will take the set apart & rebuild it repeatedly to extract more of said build experience for their money is miniscule. The number of people who will take advantage of the LEGO system here and turn this $270 USD arcade into a motorcycle or spaceship or Jedi holocron MOC is tiny.

Most happy buyers of this set will assemble it, play with it a few minutes, then put it on display. The end. Compare that to a same-sized, working countertop arcade unit which does not have the brief build, but instead gives you 5 to 15 minute gaming sessions with far more visceral and nostalgic endorphins triggered by accurate sights *and* sounds, for months, if not years to come. When not in use, said arcade will simply be on display, just like the LEGO set. The LEGO build has the gee-whiz factor of a visitor to your house asking, "Wait is that real? Oh it's LEGO, awesome!" The working arcade has the gee-whiz factor of a visitor to your house asking, "Wait is that real? Oh it IS! Awesome!"

For folks open to more sources of entertainment and joy than just a single brand, it's absolutely valid to at least posit the question of LEGO vs. real thing, *especially* when the former costs nearly 2x as much, is loaded up with stickers, and will yellow over time. Variety of thought shouldn't be discouraged."

I unliked that just so I could like it again.

LEGO should sell the minifig scale PacMan cabinet. i'd rather that. As well as all the brickbuilt ghosts instead of just two.

Amazing, design, but why would I want this?

While I have no particular inclination to buy the set (no reason other than it not really being my thing) I do have to respect it as a masterpiece of engineering and design as far as Lego goes. I dread to think how many hours of thought went into getting that chain drive system working just right

"I would rather spend my money on the real thing." Okay, fine, go ahead!

"Why would anyone spend money on this when they could buy a real, working one?" I think you don't understand the very concept of a hobby: that is, something that interests you.
Sets like this combine two hobbies, that's the appeal to some people.

@Huw said:
"
This is a cool model and it offers an interesting building expeience, but once you've built it and turned the lever a few times, all that's left to do is look at it and watch while it gathers dust, and perhaps surprise your visitors when they find out it's LEGO.
"

You've just described every single Lego set out there if you're an adult. Do grown men actually swoosh cars and airplanes around? The interesting building experience + cool display model is pretty much 100% the point of Lego isn't it?

I don't believe this is particularly aimed at current gamers. In the early 80s I loved Pac-Man (although not quite as much as Space Invaders before it!). But I've not played any video game for at least 30 years.

Hence, for me this is a superb combination of nostalgia, a great display piece and a bit of novelty action thrown in for good measure... perfect.
I have no interest in playing Pac-Man now, so have no interest in a real machine.

I think this is obviously a niche set and as such will probably sell somewhere between the volume of the Atari and the NES. Nobody can brand it a success or failure without knowing what the predicted sales figures were and how many sales are needed to make the project worthwhile.

Long live niche sets. I certainly wouldn't want Lego to produce nothing but universally liked top sellers.

@theJANG said:
"Variety of thought shouldn't be discouraged."

This is the best sentence I've read on BrickSet for years.

In the "Lego vs. real thing" debate, I just want to add: Not everyone WANTS the real thing, even when given the choice at a similar price point.

I didn't grow up in the generation that played Pac-Man in the arcades. Pac-Man as a game probably holds my interest for maybe half an hour tops. However, I've always loved Pac-Man from an aesthetic and a branding standpoint, and I do still like retro games as a whole. I also love Lego, and building static representations of things out of Lego. Knowing these things, a real Pac-Man arcade machine in my home would do absolutely nothing for me. It literally serves a completely different purpose, and even if it costs less, it wouldn't give me the value that the Lego set does.

Would some see that as a weird way of thinking? Maybe. But as some have already said, variety of thought shouldn't be discouraged. Well then, also consider the perspectives of the types of people who *do* want this set, and realize that just as a Lego set does not provide the same value to everyone, neither does a real working arcade machine.

Whether the set is or isn't for you, does not mean it has no reason to exist.

@MrClassic said:
"I suppose the blue build in the minifig scene is meant to be a coin changer? You certainly needed a lot of coins back then..."

It looks more like a trash bin to me.

@ShinyBidoof said:
"It's good to see a number of other people finding the criticism that you can buy the real thing cheaper baffling as well.

I could maybe understand it from people who don't like Lego but it is quite bizarre on a site that is supposed to be for fans of Lego."

I understand the comments about cameras, globes, typewriters, pianos, and video game consoles. But, I have to respectfully disagree with @theJANG .

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I enjoy hearing all of them. However, hearing Lego professionals like Jang and @Huw criticize a Lego set for essentially being an expensive dust collector on an AFOL site is simply an exercise in self-loathing.

All of our sets... and MOCs, fall into the same essential category unless you constantly play with them or deconstruct them and rebuild. The fact that we have large permanent to semi-permanent displays and have to share dusting tips belies the fact that we don't even play enough with our Lego to keep the dust off and make them shiny whith our finger grease.

I could easily see someone enjoying this as a dust-play item in a game room, Lego room, office, etc. This set is really no different than any other- especially the big sets.

I think most of the negative comments are merely a reflection that most of us are reaching the end of some Lego limit- space, time, money, or patience of our loved ones. That was inevitable, I suppose.

For myself, I won't be buying this until it reaches the BIG discount stage.

EDIT: BTW, I love the work you do, Jang and Huw, hope you keep it up!

@bcontant said:
" @Huw said:
"
This is a cool model and it offers an interesting building expeience, but once you've built it and turned the lever a few times, all that's left to do is look at it and watch while it gathers dust, and perhaps surprise your visitors when they find out it's LEGO.
"

You've just described every single Lego set out there if you're an adult. Do grown men actually swoosh cars and airplanes around? The interesting building experience + cool display model is pretty much 100% the point of Lego isn't it?

"

Absolutely! I agree with the essence of your point (see, above).

However, the day I stop zooming, swooshing, wooshing (sailing ships), whrooming, and pew-pewing is the day I put it all on Bricklink and call it quits!

@StyleCounselor said:

"All of our sets... and MOCs, fall into the same essential category unless you constantly play with them or deconstruct them and rebuild. The fact that we have large permanent to semi-permanent displays and have to share dusting tips belies the fact that we don't even play enough with our Lego to keep the dust off and make them shiny whith our finger grease.

I could easily see someone enjoying this as a dust-play item in a game room, Lego room, office, etc. This set is really no different than any other- especially the big sets. "

There are other options. I rotate the sets I display and regularly build and disassemble. Of course large sets like these don't scale well in such a system so I don't often go for anything large. But it's actually not that display based.
I mostly just use the little room I have for storing the built models in a way that doubles as display. Ever so often I take them out and fiddle with them, swoosh them or play around with them too.

One thing I feel will inspire the Lego group or a top MOC builder is with this new element and the way this all functions in this set, someone will come up with a new Lego game that properly uses this technique and function.
An all-new original Lego game you build and play with a point system, competitive, etc.
I think that will happen.
Maybe JK Brickworks will come up with something.

@StyleCounselor said:
" However, the day I stop zooming, swooshing, wooshing (sailing ships), whrooming, and pew-pewing is the day I put it all on Bricklink and call it quits!"

The day you grow up is the day you grow old. Never surrender to the exterior grouchy old man (or woman), instead, be a kid inside forever - no matter your physical age! Remember: age is just a number!

For the record I think this set looks great, its concept & execution are fantastic from a LEGO perspective, and this very positive review does it justice. I smile every time I look at the pics and the extra effort of the short embedded video is a wonderful value add. I can't wait to be able to buy this thing in a few days & see how well this all translates to the real-world ownership experience. The price, and what else I (as a consumer, not a reviewer) could acquire for that amount (or far less) is the only thing that gives me pause.

As an AFOL who isn't as hardcore, I appreciate the price comparisons to "the real thing" for all of the replica sets that Jang and Huw do.

@Huw said:
" @bcontant said:
" @Huw said:
"
This is a cool model and it offers an interesting building expeience, but once you've built it and turned the lever a few times, all that's left to do is look at it and watch while it gathers dust, and perhaps surprise your visitors when they find out it's LEGO.
"

You've just described every single Lego set out there if you're an adult. Do grown men actually swoosh cars and airplanes around? The interesting building experience + cool display model is pretty much 100% the point of Lego isn't it?"

Fair point, but I think there is a difference between say, the John Deere skidder I revewied last week, and this. The skidder is a model that replicates the functions of a real machine in miniature from which you can learn how it works, whereas this is something that looks like a real machine but doesn't function like one."

So are you saying that all my Star Wars sets are pointless dust collectors? Let’s face it, my X-Wings can’t fly, and im yet to blow up a planet with my Death Star. Personally I think it’s amazing that they can create movement in this set in a similar but completely different way than they did with the NES set. I think the engineering that goes on behind this is absolutely incredible. Of course you can’t play the games, but replicating the look of them is incredible.

Now here is my issue with this set. When the NES set came out, it was a day-one pre-order for me. But that was easy, I already owned 2 NES consoles and nearly 50 games, plus the NES Classic, a NES Advantage, and even a U-Force (I’ve since added a ROB and several other items to my collection).

However Pac-Man is very problematic for me. Yes, I own the game for Game Boy and other consoles, but I’ve always wanted an original arcade cabinet. Problem is, aside from the price and potential maintenance issues, the size is a major problem. How would I transport a cabinet and where would I put it. Arcade 1-Up has come up with a solution for most of these problems, yet I haven’t bought one. I suppose it’s not real enough. But this Lego set too isn’t real and I love it. So if I’m going to spend this kind of money, it just seems like it would be better spent on the Arcade 1-Up, which thanks to this set I’m strongly considering.

Perhaps after I get an Arcade 1-Up I will then consider this set. It does look amazing, even if that is mostly due to stickers.

So I suppose the argument that you can get a functional one for a similar price is valid so long as you don’t already own a functional one and it is feasible to obtain one. However, if you already have a functional one, then that argument gets thrown out the window.

@bcontant said:
" @Huw said:
"
This is a cool model and it offers an interesting building expeience, but once you've built it and turned the lever a few times, all that's left to do is look at it and watch while it gathers dust, and perhaps surprise your visitors when they find out it's LEGO.
"

You've just described every single Lego set out there if you're an adult. Do grown men actually swoosh cars and airplanes around? The interesting building experience + cool display model is pretty much 100% the point of Lego isn't it?

"

Yes, grown men do swoosh cars and aeroplanes around.

@StyleCounselor said:
"However, the day I stop zooming, swooshing, wooshing (sailing ships), whrooming, and pew-pewing is the day I put it all on Bricklink and call it quits!"
Preach it, my brother in Lego! I swoosh stuff all the time, and occasionally get 42128 off the shelf to play with the functions.

@legoDad42: I wouldn't be surprised if good ol' JK (Brickworks, not Rowling) has already started planning something.

@Murdoch17: "We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." Alternately: "Old age is all in your mind. The trick is keeping it out of the rest of you."

@Huw said:
" @bcontant said:
" @Huw said:
"
This is a cool model and it offers an interesting building expeience, but once you've built it and turned the lever a few times, all that's left to do is look at it and watch while it gathers dust, and perhaps surprise your visitors when they find out it's LEGO.
"

You've just described every single Lego set out there if you're an adult. Do grown men actually swoosh cars and airplanes around? The interesting building experience + cool display model is pretty much 100% the point of Lego isn't it?"

Fair point, but I think there is a difference between say, the John Deere skidder I revewied last week, and this. The skidder is a model that replicates the functions of a real machine in miniature from which you can learn how it works, whereas this is something that looks like a real machine but doesn't function like one."

I first learned what a differential was and how it worked through building 8865 Technic Test Car :)

I have no strong opinion on this set vs the real thing; both have their place. I think this is a great set and a valid attempt with lots of merits. I am glad LEGO made it. It will inspire tweaks and the new technic link piece alone will allow great engineering MOCs.

Just a quick friendly note.
Redo the video in the review.
Your cranking it the wrong way. PAC-man is going in reverse in the video.
Should be going forward. Mouth open forward.

"You wouldn't download a car"
Me looking at the PDF instructions for Speed Champions sets: