Pac-Man sound effects: waka-waka, the siren and the jingles
Three oscillators and one composer produced some of the most recognisable audio ever made. Here is what each sound is, when it plays and why it works.
The composer
Toshio Kai composed and programmed all the audio for the 1980 original at Namco, working with a custom three-channel sound generator that could play simple waveforms. The team is profiled in who created pacman. His constraint was severe: every sound had to be short, loopable and distinct from the others while sharing three channels.
Every sound in the game
| Sound | When it plays | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Opening jingle | Start of the first board after a coin | A bright major-key fanfare that became the brand's audio logo |
| Waka-waka | Every dot eaten, alternating two tones | Rhythmic feedback that makes continuous eating feel satisfying; silence tells you to move |
| Siren | Continuously while ghosts are in normal mode | Rises in pitch as dots are eaten, increasing tension as the board empties |
| Frightened warble | While ghosts are blue | Replaces the siren so you know the window is open without looking |
| Ghost eaten | Each ghost caught | A rapid ascending blip that feels like a reward |
| Eyes returning | While eaten ghosts travel home | A fast pulse that signals a ghost is about to re-enter |
| Fruit eaten | Bonus item collected | Short and bright, distinct from ghost points |
| Death | Pac-Man caught | A descending melody as the sprite folds, ending in a pop |
| Extra life | At 10,000 points | A chime that is easy to miss during play |
| Intermission music | During the cutscenes in the three pacman cutscenes | A playful tune that marks the pause |
About "waka-waka"
The eating sound is two tones alternating with every dot. English-speaking players named it waka-waka; in Japan it was simply the paku-paku sound, the same word that gave the game its name (see puck man to pacman rename). Because it only plays while dots are being eaten, it doubles as a speed cue: the slowdown while eating, listed in pacman and ghost speed table, is audible.
Legacy
The siren's rising pitch is an early example of adaptive audio, changing with game state rather than looping blindly. The sounds were reproduced in the Google doodle, sampled in countless records and reused across the franchise. Home ports often changed them, most infamously the Atari 2600 version, whose single bonk replaced the lot. The free games on the mr pacman free maze games use original synthesised beeps, not Namco's recordings, which is why they sound different on purpose.
More from the guides
- pacman character encyclopedia — All Pac-Man characters explained: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde, Sue, J…
- learn how pacman works — How to play Pac-Man: the goal of each board, controls, what dots, power pellets, fruit and…
- pacman maze dimensions explained — The Pac-Man maze explained: 28 by 31 tiles, 240 dots and 4 pellets, the ghost house, two w…
Frequently asked questions
Who made the Pac-Man sound effects?
Toshio Kai, Namco's sound designer, composed and programmed all of them in 1980.
What is the Pac-Man eating sound called?
Waka-waka in English, from the two alternating tones; in Japanese it is the paku-paku sound.
Why does the Pac-Man siren change?
Its pitch rises as dots are eaten, so the sound tracks how close you are to clearing the board.