Space Invaders
| Space Invaders | |
|---|---|
Advertisement featuring the upright arcade cabinet | |
| Developer(s) | Taito |
| Publisher(s) | Atari, Inc. (home) |
| Designer(s) | Tomohiro Nishikado |
| Series | Space Invaders |
| Platform(s) |
|
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Fixed shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Space Invaders[a] is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, and released overseas by Midway Manufacturing later that year. Space Invaders was the first video game with endless gameplay and the first fixed shooter, setting the template for the genre. The goal is to defeat waves of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser cannon to earn as many points as possible.
Designer Tomohiro Nishikado drew inspiration from video games such as Gun Fight and Breakout, electro-mechanical target shooting games, and science fiction narratives such as the novel The War of the Worlds, the anime Space Battleship Yamato, and the film Star Wars. To complete development, he had to design custom hardware and development tools to use the features in microprocessor technology, which was new to him. Upon release, Space Invaders quickly became a commercial success worldwide; by 1982, it had grossed $3.8 billion ($10 billion in 2023-adjusted terms),[15] with a net profit of $450 million ($1.2 billion in 2023 terms). This made it the best-selling video game and highest-grossing entertainment product at the time, and the highest-grossing video game of all time.
Space Invaders is considered one of the most influential and greatest video games of all time, having ushered in the golden age of arcade video games and Japan's long-lasting global success in the video games industry. In addition to inspiring several prolific game designers to join the industry, it influenced numerous games across different genres and has been ported and re-released in various forms. The 1980 Atari 2600 version quadrupled sales of the Atari 2600 console, becoming the first killer app for video game consoles. The pixelated enemy alien has become a pop culture icon, often representing video games as a whole. The game has spawned dozens of sequels and remakes, been the inspiration for numerous pieces of art and music, been parodied across media, and been the focus of several pieces of legislation to limit access to video games.
- ^ Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 124. ISBN 978-4990251215.
- ^ Staff (October 25, 1980). "Chicago Chatter: Happy Birthday "Space Invaders."". Cash Box. Vol. 42, no. 24. New York, New York, United States: Cash Box Publishing Co. p. 47. ISSN 0008-7289.
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- ^ "Space Invaders Spain Flyer". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014.
- ^ "Space Invaders Australia Flyer". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Archived from the original on June 26, 2017.
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- ^ "Space Invaders for WS". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
- ^ Block, Gerry (September 26, 2006). "VG Pocket Caplet Review". IGN. Archived from the original on February 15, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
- ^ "NTTドコモ「FOMAR 904i」向けに新コンテンツ提供！！" [New content available for NTT DoCoMo's "FOMAR 904i"!!] (in Japanese). Taito. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ Crecente, Brian (August 30, 2012). "Space Invaders Infinity Gene Micro-Review: Evolve or Die". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
- ^ Hansen, Dusty (2016). Game On! Video Game History From Pong and Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft and More. MacMillan Publishing Group, LLC. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-250-08095-0.
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