is a 1978
shoot 'em up arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
developed by
Tomohiro Nishikado
is a Japanese people, Japanese video game developer and engineer. He is the creator of the arcade shoot 'em up game ''Space Invaders'', released to the public in 1978 by the Taito of Japan, often credited as the first shoot 'em up and for beginn ...
. It was manufactured and sold by
Taito in Japan, and licensed to the
Midway division of
Bally
Bally may refer to:
Places
*Bally, a historical spelling of Bali
*Bally (from the Irish ''baile'') or townland, a traditional division of land, as well as a common prefix in the names of settlements throughout Ireland
*Bally, Bally-Jagachha, a c ...
for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first
fixed shooter and set the template for the
shoot 'em up genre. The goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser to earn as many points as possible.
Designer Nishikado drew inspiration from North American target
shooting games
Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other Projectile w ...
like ''
Breakout'' (1976) and ''
Gun Fight'' (1975), as well as
science fiction narratives such as the novel ''
The War of the Worlds'' (1897), the anime ''
Space Battleship Yamato'' (1974), and the movie ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' (1977). To complete development of the game, he had to design custom hardware and
development tools
A programming tool or software development tool is a computer program that software developers use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise support other programs and applications. The term usually refers to relatively simple programs, that can ...
. Upon release, ''Space Invaders'' was an immediate commercial success; by 1982, it had
grossed $3.8 billion (equivalent to over adjusted for inflation ),
with a
net profit of $450 million (equivalent to adjusted for inflation). 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 video games of all time. It ushered in the
golden age of arcade video games. It was the inspiration for numerous
video games and
game designers across different genres, and has been
ported and re-released in various forms. The 1980
Atari VCS
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
version quadrupled sales of the VCS, thereby becoming the first
killer app for
video game consoles. More broadly, the
pixelated enemy alien has become a
pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
icon, often representing video games as a whole.
Gameplay
''Space Invaders'' is a
fixed shooter in which the player moves a
laser cannon
A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers. After decades of R&D, directed-energy weapons including lasers are still at the experimental stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-perfo ...
horizontally across the bottom of the screen and fires at aliens overhead. The aliens begin as five rows of eleven that move left and right as a group, shifting downward each time they reach a screen edge. The goal is to eliminate all of the aliens by shooting them. While the player has three lives, the game ends immediately if the invaders reach the bottom of the screen.
The aliens attempt to destroy the player's cannon by firing projectiles. The laser cannon is partially protected by stationary defense
bunkers which are gradually destroyed from the top by the aliens and, if the player fires when beneath one, the bottom gets destroyed.
As aliens are defeated, their movement and the
game's music both speed up. Defeating all the aliens brings another wave which starts lower, a loop which can continue endlessly.
A special "mystery ship" will occasionally move across the top of the screen and award bonus points if destroyed.
Development
''Space Invaders'' was developed by Japanese designer
Tomohiro Nishikado
is a Japanese people, Japanese video game developer and engineer. He is the creator of the arcade shoot 'em up game ''Space Invaders'', released to the public in 1978 by the Taito of Japan, often credited as the first shoot 'em up and for beginn ...
, who spent a year designing the game and developing the necessary
hardware to produce it.
The game's inspiration is reported to have come from varying sources, including an adaptation of the
electro-mechanical arcade game ''
Space Monsters'' released by Taito in 1972, and a dream about Japanese school children who are waiting for
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
when they are attacked by invading aliens.
Nishikado himself has cited
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...
's arcade game ''
Breakout'' (1976) as his original inspiration behind the game's concept, wanting to adapt the same sense of achievement and tension from destroying targets one at a time, combining it with elements of target
shooting games
Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other Projectile w ...
.
The game uses a similar layout to that of ''Breakout'' but with different
game mechanics; rather than bounce a ball to attack static objects, players are given the ability to fire projectiles at moving enemies.
Nishikado added several interactive elements that he found lacking in earlier video games, such as the ability for enemies to react to the player's movement and fire back, and a
game over triggered by the enemies killing the player (either by getting hit or enemies reaching the bottom of the screen) rather than simply a timer running out.
He replaced the timer, typical of arcade games at the time, with descending aliens who effectively served a similar function, where the closer they came, the less time the player had left.
Early enemy designs for the game included tanks, combat planes, and battleships.
Nishikado, however, was not satisfied with the enemy movements; technical limitations made it difficult to simulate flying.
Humans would have been easier to simulate, but the designer considered shooting them immoral.
After the release of the 1974
anime ''
Space Battleship Yamato'' in Japan, and seeing a magazine feature about ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' (1977), he thought of using a space theme.
Nishikado drew inspiration for the aliens from a novel by
H. G. Wells, ''
The War of the Worlds'', and created initial
bitmap images after the octopus-like aliens.
Other alien designs were modeled after squids and crabs.
The game was originally titled ''Space Monsters'' after a popular song in Japan at the time, "Monster", but was changed to ''Space Invaders'' by the designer's superiors.
Hardware
Because
microcomputer
A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PC ...
s in Japan were not powerful enough at the time to perform the complex tasks involved in designing and programming ''Space Invaders'', Nishikado had to design his own custom hardware and development tools for the game.
He created the
arcade board using the latest
microprocessors from the United States.
The game uses an
Intel 8080 central processing unit (CPU), displays
raster graphics
upright=1, The Smiley, smiley face in the top left corner is a raster image. When enlarged, individual pixels appear as squares. Enlarging further, each pixel can be analyzed, with their colors constructed through combination of the values for ...
on a
CRT monitor
A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms ( oscilloscope), pictu ...
using a
bitmapped
framebuffer, and uses
monaural sound hosted by a combination of
analog circuitry
Analogue electronics ( en-US, analog electronics) are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two levels. The term "analogue" describes the proportional relati ...
and a
Texas Instruments SN76477
SN76477 " complex sound generator" is a sound chip produced by Texas Instruments (TI). The chip came to market in 1978, and TI ceased production of the part. A compatible version is identified as ICS76477. sound chip.
The adoption of a microprocessor was inspired by ''
Gun Fight'' (1975),
Midway's microprocessor adaptation of Nishikado's earlier
discrete logic game ''
Western Gun'', after the designer was impressed by the improved graphics and smoother animation of Midway's version. '' Space Invaders'' also adopted the multi-chip
barrel shifter
A barrel shifter is a digital circuit that can shift a data word by a specified number of bits without the use of any sequential logic, only pure combinational logic, i.e. it inherently provides a binary operation. It can however in theory also ...
circuit first developed by Midway for ''Gun Fight'', which had been a key part of that game's smoother animation. This circuit allowed the 8080 CPU to shift pictures in the graphics framebuffer faster than it could using only its own native instructions.
Despite the specially developed hardware, Nishikado was unable to program the game as he wanted—the Control Program board was not powerful enough to display the graphics in color or move the enemies faster—and he ended up considering the development of the game's hardware the most difficult part of the whole process.
While programming the game, Nishikado discovered that the processor was able to
render each frame of the alien's animation graphics faster when there were fewer aliens on the screen. Since the alien's positions updated after each frame, this caused the aliens to move across the screen at an increasing speed as more and more were destroyed. Rather than design a compensation for the speed increase, he decided that it was a
feature, not a bug
An undocumented feature is an unintended or undocumented hardware operation, for example an undocumented instruction, or software feature found in computer hardware and software that is considered beneficial or useful. Sometimes the documentation i ...
, and kept it as a challenging
gameplay mechanism.
Taito first published ''Space Invaders'' on April 1, 1978, before entering mass-production in July 1978.
They released both an
upright arcade cabinet and a so-called
"cocktail-table" cabinet; following its usual practice, Taito named the cocktail version ''T.T. Space Invaders'' ("T.T." for "table-top"). Midway released its upright version a few months later and its cocktail version several months after that. The cabinet artwork featured large
humanoid
A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...
monster
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
s not present in the game; Nishikado attributes this to the artist basing the designs on the original title of "''Space Monsters''", rather than referring to the actual in-game graphics.
In the upright cabinets, the game graphics are generated on a hidden CRT monitor and reflected toward the player using a
semi-transparent mirror, behind which is mounted a plastic cutout of a
moon bolted against a painted starry background. The backdrop is visible through the mirror and thus appears "behind" the graphics.
Both Taito's and Midway's first Space Invaders versions had black-and-white graphics with a transparent colored overlay using strips of orange and green
cellophane over certain portions of the screen to add color to the image. Later Japanese releases used a rainbow-colored cellophane overlay,
and these were eventually followed by versions with a color monitor and an electronically generated color overlay.
Music
Despite its simplicity, the music to ''Space Invaders'' was revolutionary for the gaming industry of the time. Video game scholar Andrew Schartmann identifies three aspects of the music that had a significant impact on the development of game music:
# Whereas video game music prior to ''Space Invaders'' was restricted to the extremities (i.e., a short introductory theme with game-over counterpart), the alien-inspired hit featured ''continuous music''the well-known four-note loop, consisting of the first four notes of the descending D
minor natural scalethroughout, uninterrupted by sound effects: "It was thus the first time that sound effects and music were superimposed to form a rich sonic landscape. Not only do players receive feedback related directly to their actions through sound effects; they also receive stimulus in a more subtle, non-interactive fashion through music."
[Schartmann, Andrew]
Maestro Mario: How Nintendo Transformed Videogame Music into an Art.
New York: Thought Catalog, 2013.
# The music interacts with on-screen animation to influence the emotions of the player: "That seemingly pedestrian four-note loop might stir us in the most primitive of ways, but that it stirs us at all is worthy of note. By demonstrating that game sound could be more than a simple tune to fill the silence, ''Space Invaders'' moved video game music closer to the realm of art."
# The music for ''Space Invaders'' popularized the notion of variability—the idea that music can change in accordance with the ongoing on-screen narrative. The variable in ''Space Invaders'', the
tempo, is admittedly simple, but its implications are not to be underestimated. "Over the years, analogous strategies of variation would be applied to pitch, rhythm, dynamics, form, and a host of other parameters, all with the goal of accommodating the nonlinear aspect of video games."
''
Next Generation
Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to:
Publications and literature
* ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company
* Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'' editor Neil West also cited the ''Space Invaders'' music as an example of great video game art, commenting on how the simple melody's increasing tempo and synchronization with the enemies' movement chills and excites the player.
Reception and versions
Arcade version
When Nishikado completed the game, it was initially met with a mixed response from within Taito and among
amusement arcade
An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as cl ...
owners. His colleagues praised it, applauding his achievement while queuing up to play, whereas his bosses predicted low sales as games often ended more quickly than other timer-based arcade games at the time. A number of
amusement arcade
An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as cl ...
owners initially rejected the game, but some
pachinko parlors and
bowling alleys adopted it; it quickly caught on, with many parlors and alleys clearing space for more ''Space Invaders'' cabinets.
In the first few months following its release in Japan, ''Space Invaders'' became popular,
and specialty
video arcade
An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as c ...
s opened with nothing but ''Space Invaders'' cabinets.
By the end of 1978,
Taito had installed over 100,000 machines and grossed ( adjusted for inflation) in Japan alone.
By June 1979, Taito had manufactured about 200,000–300,000 ''Space Invaders'' machines in Japan, with each unit earning an average of or in
100 yen coin
The is a denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in silver in 1959 and saw a change of metal in 1967. It is the second-highest denomination coin in Japan after the 500 yen coin. The current 100 yen coin is one of two ...
s per day. However, this was not enough to meet the high demand, leading to Taito increasing production to 25,000–30,000 units per month and raising projections to 400,000 manufactured in Japan by the end of 1979.
In order to cope with the demand, Taito licensed the overseas rights to Midway for distribution outside of Japan. By the end of 1979, an estimated 750,000 ''Space Invaders'' machines were installed worldwide, including 400,000 in Japan, 85,000 in the United Kingdom,
and 60,000 within a year in the United States
(where prices ranged from $2,000 to $3,000 for each machine); the game eventually sold 72,000 units in the United States by 1982. By 1979, it had become the
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
industry's all-time best-seller. In Australia, ''Space Invaders'' was performing strongly for a long time, with a level of longevity not matched until ''
Street Fighter II
is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the ''Street Fighter'' series and the sequel to 1987's ''Street Fighter''. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP Syst ...
'' (1991).
''Space Invaders'' had about
daily players in Japan, with daily revenue peaking at or . ''Space Invaders'' machines had grossed more than four billion
US quarters
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
( at the time, or adjusted for inflation) by 1979. It remained the top arcade game for three years through 1980.
In 1981, several years after its release, it still had weekly earnings of in the United States, second only to ''
Pac-Man
originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
''. ''Space Invaders'' continued to gross an average of per year through 1982, by which time it had crossed $2 billion in quarters
(equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation),
with a
net profit of $450 million
(equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation).
This made it the
best-selling video game and
highest-grossing "entertainment product" of its time,
with comparisons made to the then
highest-grossing film
Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights, and merchandising. However, theatrical box-office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in asse ...
''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'',
which had grossed $486 million,
with a net profit of $175 million.
By 1982, it had
grossed , equivalent to over as of 2016.
''Space Invaders'' earned Taito profits of over .
Home versions
The 1980
Atari VCS
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
(Atari 2600) version was the first official
licensing of an arcade game for consoles and became the first "
killer app" for
video game consoles
A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a t ...
after quadrupling the system's sales.
It sold over two million units in its first year on sale as a home
console game, making it the first title to sell over a million
cartridges. The game went on to sell copies, then over copies by the end of 1981, and over by 1982; it was the
best-selling Atari 2600 game up until the
Atari version of ''Pac-Man'' (1982).
[ Via ] ''Space Invaders'' for the Atari 2600 had sold cartridges by 1983,
and a further between 1986 and 1990,
for a total of over cartridges sold by 1990.
Other official
conversions were released for the
Atari 8-bit computer line and
Atari 5200 console, while Taito later released it for the
Nintendo Famicom
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...
in 1985, but only in Japan. By 1982, versions of ''Space Invaders'' were available for
handheld electronic game devices, tabletop
dedicated consoles,
home computers,
watches and
pocket calculators
An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics.
The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-sized ...
.
The Atari VCS conversion was programmed by Richard Maurer, while the Atari 5200 conversion was programmed by Eric Manghise and animated by Marilyn Churchill. Adjusted for inflation, sales of all versions of ''Space Invaders'' combined are estimated to have exceeded $13 billion in gross revenue , making it the highest-grossing video game of all time.
More than a hundred ''Space Invaders''
video game clones were released for various platforms,
such as the popular
computer games
A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...
''
Super Invader'' (1979) and ''
TI Invaders'' (1981); the latter was the
top-selling game for the
TI-99/4A through at least 1982.
Legacy
As one of the earliest
shooting games
Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other Projectile w ...
, ''Space Invaders'' set precedents and helped pave the way for future titles and for the shooting genre.
''Space Invaders'' popularized a more interactive style of
gameplay, with the enemies responding to the player-controlled cannon's movement,
and was the first video game to popularize the concept of achieving a
high score,
being the first to
save the player's score.
While earlier shooting games allowed the player to shoot at targets, ''Space Invaders'' was the first in which multiple enemies could fire back at the player,
[
*] and in contrast to earlier arcade games which often had a timer, ''Space Invaders'' introduced the "concept of going
round after round."
It was also the first game where players were given multiple
lives, had to repel hordes of enemies,
could
take cover from enemy fire, and use
destructible barriers, in addition to being the first game to use a continuous
background soundtrack, with four simple
diatonic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize Scale (music), scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, Interval (music), intervals, Chord (music), chords, Musical note, notes, musical sty ...
descending
bass notes repeating in a
loop
Loop or LOOP may refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live
* Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets
* Loop Mobile, an ...
, which was
dynamic and
changed pace during stages, like a
heartbeat sound that increases pace as enemies approached.
An
urban legend states that ''Space Invaders''
' popularity led to a shortage of
100-yen coins in Japan.
However, Nishikado himself was skeptical of the story.
In actuality, 100-
yen coin production was lower in 1978 and 1979 than in previous or subsequent years.
Additionally, arcade operators would have emptied their machines and taken the money to the bank, thus keeping the coins in
circulation
Circulation may refer to:
Science and technology
* Atmospheric circulation, the large-scale movement of air
* Circulation (physics), the path integral of the fluid velocity around a closed curve in a fluid flow field
* Circulatory system, a bio ...
.
Reports from those living in Japan at the time indicate "nothing out of the ordinary ... during the height of the ''Space Invaders'' invasion".
''Space Invaders'' was inducted into the
World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2016. ''Space Invaders'' cabinets have become
collector's items, with the
cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...
and
cabaret versions being the rarest.
Impact
Game developers including
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
(creator of the franchises ''
Donkey Kong'', ''
Mario'', and ''
The Legend of Zelda''),
Hideo Kojima
is a Japanese video game designer, director, producer and writer. He is regarded as an auteur of video games. He developed a strong passion for action/adventure cinema and literature during his childhood and adolescence. In 1986, he was hired ...
(''
Metal Gear''),
Satoshi Tajiri
is a Japanese video game designer and director best known for being the creator of the ''Pokémon'' franchise and one of the founders, and president of video game developer Game Freak. A fan of arcade games, Tajiri wrote for and edited his own v ...
(''
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of ...
''), and
John Romero and
John Carmack
John D. Carmack II (born August 20, 1970) is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games ''Commander Keen'', ''Wolfenstein 3D'', ''Doo ...
(both ''
Doom)'' have cited ''Space Invaders'' as their introduction to video games. Miyamoto said ''Space Invaders'' had revolutionized the
video game industry.
According to Alexander Smith, by "allowing targets to attack the player and eliminating the timer, Nishikado created a new paradigm in video games." It also inspired
Eugene Jarvis (''
Defender'', ''
Robotron: 2084
''Robotron: 2084'' (also referred to as ''Robotron'') is a multidirectional shooter developed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar of Vid Kidz and released in arcades by Williams Electronics in 1982. The game is set in the year 2084 in a fictional wo ...
'') to become a video game designer, stating it "laid the groundwork for a whole generation" of video games with the "animated characters, the story, this amazing crescendo of action and climax"
and that many games "still rely on the multiple
life, progressively difficult
level
Level or levels may refer to:
Engineering
*Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights
*Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical
*Canal pound or level
*Regr ...
paradigm" of ''Space Invaders''. ''
Deus Ex'' creator
Warren Spector said: "''Space Invaders'' and games like it represent the roots of everything we see today in gaming. It represents the birth of a new art form, one that literally changed the world. ''Space Invaders'' is important as an historical artefact, no less than the silent films of the early twentieth century or early printed books."
''Edge'' attributed the shift of games from
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
s and
amusement arcade
An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as cl ...
s to more mainstream locations, such as restaurants and
department stores, to ''Space Invaders''. Its popularity was such that it was the first game where an
arcade machine's owner could make up for the cost of the machine in under one month, or in some places within one week.
''Space Invaders'' helped action games become the dominant
genre in arcades and on consoles. ''Guinness World Records'' considered ''Space Invaders'' one of the most successful arcade shooting games by 2008.
In describing it as a "seminal arcade classic", IGN listed it as the number eight "classic shoot 'em up".
''Space Invaders'' set the template for the shoot 'em up genre.
Its worldwide success created a demand for a wide variety of
science fiction games, inspiring the development of arcade games, such as
Atari's ''
Asteroids'',
Williams Electronics' ''
Defender'', and
Namco's ''
Galaxian'' and ''
Galaga'', which were modeled after ''Space Invaders''s gameplay and design. This influence could be said to extend to most shooting games released to the present day,
including
first-person shooters (FPS) such as ''
Wolfenstein
''Wolfenstein'' is a series of World War II video games originally developed by Muse Software. The majority of the games follow William "B.J." Blazkowicz, an American Army captain and his fight against the Axis powers. Earlier titles are center ...
'', ''
Doom'', ''
Halo'' and ''
Call of Duty
''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter video game Media franchise, franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold W ...
''. ''Space Invaders'' also influenced other genres, including
maze games such as
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
/
Gremlin's ''
Head On'' (1979) which adopted the concept of "going round after round" instead of a timer,
and early computer
dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games an ...
games such as ''
Dungeons of Daggorath'', which used similar
heartbeat sounds to indicate player
health.
The
technology journalist Jason Whittaker credited ''Space Invaders'' with ending the
video game crash of 1977, caused by ''
Pong'' clones flooding the market, and beginning the
golden age of video arcade games
The golden age of arcade video games was the period of rapid growth, technological development and cultural influence of arcade video games, from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The period began with the release of ''Space Invaders'' in 1978, ...
(1978–1980s). According to ''
The Observer'', home console versions of ''Space Invaders'' were popular and encouraged users to learn to program; many became industry leaders.
1UP.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
stated that ''Space Invaders'' showed that video games could compete against the major entertainment media at the time: movies, music, and television.
''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' attributed the launch of the "arcade phenomenon" in North America in part to ''Space Invaders''.
''
Electronic Games'' said it was the impetus behind video gaming becoming a rapidly growing hobby, and as "the single most popular coin-operated attraction of all time." ''
Game Informer'' considered it, along with ''
Pac-Man
originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'', one of the most popular arcade games; it tapped into popular culture and generated excitement during the golden age of arcades.
Rankings
In 1995,
Flux
Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...
magazine ranked Space Invaders #1 on their "Top 100 Video Games." In 1996,
''Next Generation'' magazine put ''Space Invaders'' at number 97 on their list of the "Top 100 Games of All Time", saying that it "provides an elegance and simplicity not found in later games like ''
Phoenix''
980
Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) a ...
" IGN listed it as one of the "Top 10 Most Influential Games" in 2007, citing it as a source of inspiration to video game designers and the impact it had on the
shooting genre.
''
The Times'' ranked it No. 1 on its list of "The ten most influential video games ever" in 2007.
[The ten most influential video games ever](_blank)
'' The Times'', September 20, 2007 1UP ranked it at No. 3 on its list of "The 60 Most Influential Games of All Time," stating that, in contrast to earlier arcade games which "were attempts to
simulate
A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...
already-existing things," ''Space Invaders'' was "the first video game as a video game, instead of merely a playable electronic representation of something else."
In 2008, ''
Guinness World Records'' listed it as the top-rated arcade game in technical, creative, and cultural impact.
''
Entertainment Weekly'' named ''Space Invaders'' one of the top ten games for the
Atari 2600 home console in 2013. In 2018, it was ranked 87th in Video Game Canon's statistical
meta-analysis of 48 "top games" lists published between 1995 and 2017. The list aggregator site Playthatgame currently ranks Space Invaders as the 57th top game of all time, game of the year, & game of the 1970s. In 2021, ''
The Guardian'' listed it as the third greatest
video game of the 1970s, just below ''Galaxian'' and ''Asteroids''.
Remakes and sequels

''Space Invaders'' has been remade on numerous platforms and spawned many sequels. Re-releases include
ported and updated versions of the original arcade game. Ported versions generally feature different graphics and additional
gameplay options—for example, ''moving'' defense bunkers, zigzag shots, invisible aliens, and two-player cooperative gameplay.
Ports on earlier systems like the Atari home consoles featured simplified graphics, while later systems such as the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
and
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
featured updated graphics. Later titles include several modes of gameplay and integrate new elements into the original design. For example, ''
Space Invaders Extreme
(stylized as ''SPACƎ INVADERS EXTRƎME'') is a re-vamped incarnation of the classic arcade game ''Space Invaders''. The DS and PSP versions were released to mark the 30th anniversary of ''Space Invaders'' which saw its original arcade release i ...
'', released on the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
and
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
, integrated musical elements into the standard gameplay. A 2008
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
for
WiiWare, ''
Space Invaders Get Even'', allows players to control the aliens instead of the laser cannon in a reversal of roles.
In 1980,
Bally-Midway
Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', '' Rampage'', ''Spy Hunter'', ...
released a
pinball version of the game. However, few elements from the original game are included, and the aliens instead resemble the
xenomorphs from the film ''
Alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
''; Bally-Midway was later sued over the game's resemblance to the designs by
H. R. Giger
Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". Giger later abandoned airbrush for pastels, mark ...
. It became the third highest-grossing pinball machine of 1980 in the United States.
Ports of the game have been met with mixed receptions; the
Atari 2600 version was successful, while the
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
version was poorly received.
Taito has released several arcade
sequels. The first was ''
Space Invaders Part II'' in 1979; it featured color graphics, an
attract mode, new gameplay elements, and added an
intermission between gameplay.
According to the ''
Killer List of Video Games
Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pl ...
'', this was the first video game to include an
intermission.
[Space Invaders Deluxe](_blank)
klov.com. Accessed on line March 28, 2011. The game also allowed the player with the top score to sign their name on the
high score table
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points (except in game shows, where scores often are instead measured in units of currency), and events in the ...
. This version was released in the United States as ''Deluxe Space Invaders'' (also known as ''Space Invaders Deluxe''), but it featured a different graphical color scheme and a lunar-city background. Another arcade sequel, ''
Space Invaders II
''Space Invaders'' is a Japanese shooting video game released in 1978 by Taito. It was developed by Tomohiro Nishikado, who was inspired by other media: '' Breakout'', ''The War of the Worlds'', and '' Star Wars''. It is one of the forerunners ...
'', was released exclusively in the United States. It was in a
cocktail-table format with very fast alien firing and a competitive
two-player mode. During the summer of 1985, ''
Return of the Invaders'' was released with updated color graphics and more complex movements and attack patterns for the aliens.
Subsequent arcade sequels included ''
Super Space Invaders '91
''Space Invaders'' is a Japanese shooting video game released in 1978 by Taito. It was developed by Tomohiro Nishikado, who was inspired by other media: '' Breakout'', ''The War of the Worlds'', and ''Star Wars''. It is one of the forerunners o ...
'', ''
Space Invaders DX
is a 1993 fixed shooter arcade game developed and published in Japan by Taito. It has been re-released for several consoles since, including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PC Engine Super CD, and Sega Saturn — several of these conver ...
'', and ''
Space Invaders 95''. Each game introduced minor gameplay additions to the original design. Like the original game, several of the arcade sequels have become collector's items, though some are considered rarer.
In 2002, Taito released ''
Space Raiders'', a
third-person shooter reminiscent of ''Space Invaders''.
The game and its related games have been included in
video game compilation titles. ''
Space Invaders Anniversary
'' Space Invaders'' is a Japanese shooting video game released in 1978 by Taito. It was developed by Tomohiro Nishikado, who was inspired by other media: '' Breakout'', '' The War of the Worlds'', and ''Star Wars''. It is one of the forerunners ...
'' was released in 2003 for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and included nine ''Space Invader'' variants. A similar title for the PlayStation Portable, ''
Space Invaders Pocket
'' Space Invaders'' is a Japanese shooting video game released in 1978 by Taito. It was developed by Tomohiro Nishikado, who was inspired by other media: '' Breakout'', '' The War of the Worlds'', and ''Star Wars''. It is one of the forerunners ...
'', was released in 2005. ''Space Invaders'', ''Space Invaders Part II'' and ''Return of the Invaders'' are included in ''
Taito Legends
''Taito Legends'' is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. The games were originally developed by Taito. The European release was published by Empire Interactive, who had licensed the games f ...
'', a compilation of Taito's classic arcade games released in 2005 on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. ''Super Space Invaders '91'', ''Space Invaders DX'', and ''Space Invaders 95'' were included in ''
Taito Legends 2
''Taito Legends 2'' is the sequel to ''Taito Legends'' and is a follow-up collection of 39 (or 43, see below) Taito arcade games for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. As the former collection, it has been derived from the Japan exclu ...
'', a sequel compilation released in 2006. In April 2017, a redemption game by
Raw Thrills, ''Space Invaders Frenzy'', was released.
A stand-alone version was released by Super Impulse as part of its ''Tiny Arcade'' series, along with the
Namco games ''
Pac-Man
originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'', ''
Ms. Pac-Man
is a 1982 maze arcade game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is the first sequel to '' Pac-Man'' (1980) and the first entry in the series to not be made by Namco. Controlling the title character, Pac-Man's ...
'', and ''
Galaxian''.
A ''Space Invaders'' title for the
Atari Jaguar was being worked on by
Virtuality Entertainment, which would have featured support for the unreleased
Jaguar VR peripheral
A peripheral or peripheral device is an auxiliary device used to put information into and get information out of a computer. The term ''peripheral device'' refers to all hardware components that are attached to a computer and are controlled by the ...
; however, the project never entered full development beyond reaching pre-production stages, with the only remaining proof of its existence being a
game design document
A game design document (often abbreviated GDD) is a highly descriptive living software design document of the design for a video game. Oxland 2004, p. 240 Brathwaite, Schreiber 2009, p. 14 A GDD is created and edited by the development team and ...
.
In popular culture
Many publications and websites use the
pixelated alien Video game graphics, graphic as an Mascot, icon for video games in general, including the video game magazine ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'', technology website Ars Technica, and concert event Video Games Live.
There has also been ''Space Invaders-''themed merchandising, including necklaces and puzzles. The trend continues to this day, with handmade sites like Etsy and Pinterest showcasing thousands of handmade items featuring ''Space Invaders'' characters.

The game—and references to it—has appeared in numerous facets of popular culture. Soon after the game's release, hundreds of favorable articles and stories about the emerging video game medium as popularized by ''Space Invaders'' aired on television and were printed in newspapers and magazines. The Space Invaders Tournament, held by Atari in 1980 and won by Rebecca Heineman, was the first electronic sports (eSports) event, and attracted more than 10,000 participants, establishing Video game culture, video gaming as a mainstream hobby.
The Electronic Games, Arcade Awards ceremony was created that same year to honor the best video games, with ''Space Invaders'' winning the first List of Game of the Year awards, Game of the Year (GoTY) award.
The impact of ''Space Invaders'' on the
video game industry has been compared to that of The Beatles in the pop music industry. Considered "the first 'Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbuster' video game," ''Space Invaders'' became synonymous with video games worldwide for some time.
Within a year of the game's release, the Japanese Parent-Teacher Association, PTA unsuccessfully attempted to ban the game for allegedly inspiring truancy.
In North America, doctors identified a condition called the "''Space Invaders'' elbow" as a complaint, while a physician in ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' named a similar ailment the "''Space Invaders'' Wrist". ''Space Invaders'' was also the first game to attract Video game controversy, political controversy when a 1981 Private Member's Bill known as the "Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill", drafted by Labour Party (UK), British Labour Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, George Foulkes, attempted to allow City council, local councils to restrict the game and those like it by
licensing for its "Video game addiction, addictive properties" and for causing "deviancy". Conservative Party (UK), Conservative MP Michael Brown (British politician), Michael Brown defended the game as "innocent and harmless pleasure", which he himself had enjoyed that day, and criticized the bill as an example of "Socialist beliefs in restriction and control". A motion to bring the bill before Parliament was defeated by 114 votes to 94 votes; the bill itself was never considered by Parliament. Similarly in the United States, in Westchester County, New York, there was a controversial political debate in 1981 over a resolution to place age restrictions on ''Space Invaders'' and other arcade games, following complaints that schoolchildren wasted time and lunch money, and went to school late; the resolution drew national attention.
Music
Musicians have drawn inspiration for their music from ''Space Invaders''. The pioneering J-pop, Japanese synthpop group Yellow Magic Orchestra reproduced ''Space Invaders'' sounds in its 1978 Yellow Magic Orchestra (album), self-titled album and hit single "Computer Game",
the latter selling over 400,000 copies in the United States. Other pop songs based on ''Space Invaders'' soon followed, including disco records such as "Disco Space Invaders" (1979) by Funny Stuff,
and the hit songs "Pretenders (album), Space Invader" (1980) by Pretenders (band), The Pretenders,
"Space Invaders" (1980) by Uncle Vic, and the Australian hit "Space Invaders (Player One song), Space Invaders" (1979) by Player One (band), Player One (known in the US as 'Playback'), which in turn provided the bassline for Jesse Saunders' "On and On" (1984), the first Chicago house, Chicago house music track. The Clash sampled sound effects from the game on the song "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe" from its 4th studio album, ''Sandinista!''
Video Games Live performed audio from the game as part of a special Retrogaming, retro "Classic Arcade Medley (music), Medley" in 2007. In honor of the game's 30th anniversary,
Taito produced an album titled ''Space Invaders 2008''. The album was released by Avex Trax and features music inspired by the game. Six songs were originally used in the PlayStation Portable, PSP version of ''
Space Invaders Extreme
(stylized as ''SPACƎ INVADERS EXTRƎME'') is a re-vamped incarnation of the classic arcade game ''Space Invaders''. The DS and PSP versions were released to mark the 30th anniversary of ''Space Invaders'' which saw its original arcade release i ...
''. Taito's store, Taito Station, also unveiled a ''Space Invaders''-themed music video.
Television and film
In the 1982 original pilot of the series ''The Powers of Matthew Star'', David Star uses his powers to Cheating in video games, cheat the game. The game is shown with a colored backdrop of the moon. Multiple television series have aired episodes that either reference or parody the game and its elements; for example, ''Danger Mouse (1981 TV series), Danger Mouse'', ''That '70s Show'', ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'', ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'', ''Robot Chicken'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' and ''The Amazing World of Gumball''. Elements are prominently featured in the "Raiders of the Lost Arcade" segment of "Anthology of Interest II", an episode of the animated series ''Futurama''.
''Space Invaders'' also appears in the films ''Cherry 2000'' (1987), ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), and ''Pixels (2015 film), Pixels'' (2015) while its ''Deluxe'' game made an appearance in ''Fast Times At Ridgemont High'' (1982). A film adaptation of the game is in the works by Warner Bros. Pictures with Akiva Goldsman producing. On February 13, 2015, Daniel Kunka was set to write the script for the film. On July 12, 2019, Greg Russo (screenwriter), Greg Russo was set to write the script for the film, with Goldsman still producing alongside Safehouse Pictures partners Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell.
Books
Various books have been published about ''Space Invaders'', including ''Space Invaders: An addict's guide to battle tactics, big scores and the best machines'' (1982) by Martin Amis, ''Tomb Raiders and Space Invaders: Videogame forms and Contexts'' (2006) by Geof King and Tanya Krzywinska, and ''Space Invaders'' (1980) by Mark Roeder and Julian Wolanski.
Miscellaneous

In the mid-1990s, the athletics company Puma (brand), Puma released a T-shirt with a stamp having references to ''Space Invaders'', i.e. a spaceship aiming at the company's logo (see picture on the right).
In 2006, the game was one of several video game-related media selected to represent Japan as part of a project compiled by Japanese Culture, Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. That same year, ''Space Invaders'' was included in the London Science Museum (London), Science Museum's Game On exhibition, meant to showcase the various aspects of video game history, Video game development, development, and Video game culture, culture. (The game is a part of the Barbican Centre's traveling Game On exhibition.)
At the Belluard Bollwerk International 2006 festival in Fribourg, Switzerland, Guillaume Reymond created a three-minute video recreation of a game of ''Space Invaders'' as part of the "Gameover" project using humans as pixels. The GH ART exhibit at the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, included an art game, ''Invaders!'', based on ''Space Invaders''s gameplay. The creator later asked for the game to be removed from the exhibit following criticism of elements based on the September 11 attacks in the United States.
There is a bridge in Cáceres, Spain, projected by engineers Pedro Plasencia and Hadrián Arias, whose pavement design is based on the game. The laser cannon, some shots, and several figures can be seen on the deck. A French street artist, Invader (artist), Invader, made a name for himself by creating Mosaic, mosaic artwork of ''Space Invader'' aliens around the world.
In 2014, two Brazilian zoologists described a new species of arachnid as ''Taito spaceinvaders.'' Kury & Barros, 2014, inspired by the game, because of the resemblance of a fleck in the dorsal Scute, scutum of the animal to a typical alien in the game. The genus ''Taito (genus), Taito'' is named for the company that produces ''Space Invaders''.
In 2018, Highways England launched a Political campaign, campaign titled "Don't be a Space Invader, Stay Safe, Stay Back" to raise awareness on the dangers of tailgating. People were also able to order free car bumper stickers to raise awareness of the campaign.
Notes
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
Game manual for arcade game, stored at archive.org
Game manualfor Atari 2600 game, stored at archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Space Invaders
Space Invaders,
1978 video games
Arcade video games
Atari 2600 games
Atari 5200 games
Atari 8-bit family games
BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games
Cancelled Atari Jaguar games
Fixed shooters
Game Boy Advance games
Game Boy Color games
Game Boy games
IOS games
NESiCAxLive games
Midway video games
Mobile games
MSX games
NEC PC-9801 games
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation Network games
PlayStation Portable games
SG-1000 games
Single-player video games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Taito arcade games
Tiger handheld games
Vertically-oriented video games
Virtual Boy games
Virtual Console games
Windows games
WonderSwan games
Alien invasions in video games
World Video Game Hall of Fame
Video games developed in Japan