The Pac is back, and in a big way.

Created specially for the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championships in New York City and released in June of 2007, Pac-Man Championship Edition was designer Toru Iwatani's last game before retirement. It has since received numerous industry accolades as one of 2007's best downloadable games from MTV.com, G4's X-PLAY, Next-Gen.biz and Gamasutra.com.

Now, it is nominated for another award, "Best Downloadable Game" by the eighth annual Game Developers Choice Awards. One of the most prestigious honors in the industry, the award nominees are chosen and voted on by fellow game developers. The "Best Downloadable Game" category recognizes the overall best game released on console or PC platforms, specifically and solely for digital download.

"A Game Developers Choice Award nomination for Pac-Man Championship Edition is an honor and testament to Namco Bandai Games' ingenuity and success in enhancing a classic arcade game for the Xbox Live Arcade community," said Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Namco Bandai Games America Inc. "Pac-Man has been a pop culture icon for more than two decades and we are thrilled to bring the fun and amusement of the franchise to the next generation of gamers."

About Pac-Man (from the press release):

As the story goes, one day in 1979, Namco developer Toru Iwatani removed a single slice of pizza and, after looking down upon the rest of the pie, saw what was to become one of the most popular characters in gaming history. The release of Pac-Man to arcades a year later (1980) lead to the beginning of "Pac-Mania," in which over the next few years would yield everything from character-based board games and breakfast cereal to a top 40 song and popular Saturday-morning cartoon. Namco-Bandai Games estimates that the original Pac-Man arcade title has been played more than ten billion times in its 27-year history.