Kids today seem to think classic video games are all the rage, and I can't walk around any suburban mall without being bombarded with Pac-Man and Nintendo schlock – and buying most of it. Twenty-five years ago, it was pretty much the same, except Nintendo had yet to make its mark and all the Pac-Man stuff was hideously ugly. And that makes this piece of Pac-memorabilia all the more exceptional.

This oversized goblet dates back to 1980, and the copyright notice mentions American distributor Bally/Midway instead of Japanese creator Namco. For comparison's sake I included the Pac-Man VS sleeve, which is about the size of a jewel case and is a nifty Pac-promo in its own right. While Pac-Man could be found on everything from perfume to pickled eggs back then, most of his licensed merchandise had really terrible hand-drawn art. The smattering of sprites and the Pac-Man lettering here are pretty classy by comparison.

Not only is it the oldest piece that I have, it's one of the first ones I picked up – seven or eight years ago at a yard sale around the corner, for a quarter. I don't know if it's worth anything, but I haven't seen another since, online or off. (But I haven't really been looking.) I didn't really get into collecting this stuff for a good few years after that, but Pac-Man was with me all throughout college – because nothing washes down those power pellets like a huge glass of cabernet. Wokka wokka!

· · · Anthony Onyrscuk