37. Pac Man

First appeared in: Pac-Man (1980)

Though his limited character development might leave us with a few key questions, such as "Why is he so hungry for white dots, anyway?", "How does his relationship with Ms Pac-Man work?" and "How did Pac-Man Jr. come about?", there is no doubt in anyone's mind as to his iconic status in the gaming world.

He may look like an indecisive pie-chart, but the sight of the original om-nom-nommer is as recognisable as McDonalds' Golden Arches or Darth Vader's helmet - the definitive symbol of his medium. And though playing through to the infamous 'broken' level of 256 might seem a little too much (and a little too hard) for some, his unstoppable chomping is as addictive as old school arcade gaming gets, even now inspiring thousands to meet up for the world championships in New York.

And though a yellow hat-tip must go out to Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde for all their multi-coloured ghostliness, all the fruit goes to Pac-Man himself, still munching after all these years.