is a 1978

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...

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. It was manufactured and sold by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...

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 Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...

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 ''Gun Fight'', known as in Japan and Europe, is a 1975 multidirectional shooter arcade game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Midway in North America. Based around two Old West cowboys armed ...

'' (1975), as well as

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

narratives such as the novel ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' (1897), the anime ''

Space Battleship Yamato is a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri TV from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975 ...

'' (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. 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 In business and accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest, ...

of $450 million (equivalent to adjusted for inflation). This made it the

best-selling video game This is a list of video games that have sold the highest number of software units worldwide. The best-selling video game to date is ''Minecraft'', a sandbox game released by Mojang in May 2009 for a wide range of PC, mobile and console plat ...

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 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, ...

. It was the inspiration for numerous

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s and

game designer Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

s across different genres, and has been

ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...

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 In marketing terminology, a killer application (commonly shortened to killer app) is any computer program or software that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware, a video game ...

for

video game console 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 ...

s. More broadly, the

pixelated Pixelization (British English, pixelisation) or mosaic processing is any technique used in editing images or video, whereby an image is blurred by displaying part or all of it at a markedly lower resolution. It is primarily used for censorshi ...

enemy alien has become a pop culture icon, often representing video games as a whole.

Gameplay

''Space Invaders'' is a

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

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

s 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, 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 In engineering, electromechanics combines processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focuses on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems ...

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

. The game uses a similar layout to that of ''Breakout'' but with different

game mechanics In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide the player's actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, a ludeme is an element of play like the L-sha ...

; 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 is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

'' in Japan, and seeing a magazine feature about ''

'' (1977), he thought of using a space theme. Nishikado drew inspiration for the aliens from a novel by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

'', and created initial

bitmap In computing, a bitmap is a mapping from some domain (for example, a range of integers) to bits. It is also called a bit array or bitmap index. As a noun, the term "bitmap" is very often used to refer to a particular bitmapping application: t ...

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 microcomputers 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

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circ ...

s from the United States. The game uses an

Intel 8080 The Intel 8080 (''"eighty-eighty"'') is the second 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel. It first appeared in April 1974 and is an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008 design, although without binary compatibil ...

central processing unit A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, an ...

(CPU), displays raster graphics 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

ped

framebuffer A framebuffer (frame buffer, or sometimes framestore) is a portion of random-access memory (RAM) containing a bitmap that drives a video display. It is a memory buffer containing data representing all the pixels in a complete video frame. Mode ...

, 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 A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that process ...

. The adoption of a microprocessor was inspired by ''

'' (1975), Midway's microprocessor adaptation of Nishikado's earlier

discrete logic A logic gate is an idealized or physical device implementing a Boolean function, a logical operation performed on one or more binary inputs that produces a single binary output. Depending on the context, the term may refer to an ideal logic gate ...

game ''

Western Gun ''Gun Fight'', known as in Japan and Europe, is a 1975 multidirectional shooter arcade game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Midway in North America. Based around two Old West cowboys armed with ...

'', 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 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 Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pl ...

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 monsters 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 The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

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 Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coated ...

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 In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

, 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'' 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 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 owners initially rejected the game, but some

pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...

parlors and

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

s 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,

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 coins 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

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

( 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''. ''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

of $450 million (equivalent to $ adjusted for inflation). This made it the

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 assess ...

'', 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 2600) version was the first official

licensing A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

of an arcade game for consoles and became the first "

" for video game consoles after quadrupling the system's sales. It sold over two million units in its first year on sale as a home

console game A console game is a type of video game consisting of images and often sounds generated by a video game console, which are displayed on a television or similar audio-video system, and that can be manipulated by a player. This manipulation usually ...

, 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 The Atari 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to the Atari 2600 at the time of the 520 ...

console, while Taito later released it for the

Nintendo Famicom 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 ...

in 1985, but only in Japan. By 1982, versions of ''Space Invaders'' were available for

handheld electronic game Handheld electronic games are very small, portable devices for playing interactive electronic games, often miniaturized versions of video games. The controls, display and speakers are all part of a single unit. Rather than a general-purpose ...

devices, tabletop

dedicated consoles A dedicated console is a video game console that is limited to one or more built-in video game or games, and is not equipped for additional games that are distributed via ROM cartridges, discs, downloads or other digital media. Dedicated console ...

, home computers,

watches A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached b ...

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 clone A video game clone is either a video game or a video game console very similar to, or heavily inspired by, a previous popular game or console. Clones are typically made to take financial advantage of the popularity of the cloned game or system, bu ...

s were released for various platforms, such as the popular computer games '' Super Invader'' (1979) and ''

TI Invaders ''TI Invaders'' is a fixed shooter video game published by Texas Instruments in 1981 for the TI-99/4A home computer. The game is a ''Space Invaders'' clone where the goal is to shoot all of the aliens before they reach the bottom of the screen. ...

'' (1981); the latter was the top-selling game for the

TI-99/4A The TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A are home computers released by Texas Instruments in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Based on the Texas Instruments TMS9900 microprocessor originally used in minicomputers, the TI-99/4 was the first 16-bit home computer. ...

through at least 1982.

Legacy

As one of the earliest

, ''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

, 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 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 th ...

, 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 Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...

after round." It was also the first game where players were given multiple

lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a '' life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * '' Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous ...

, 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 note In music theory, the bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice (the note furthest in the bass.) Three situations are possible: # ...

s 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 Dynamics (from Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power") or dynamic may refer to: Physics and engineering * Dynamics (mechanics) ** Aerodynamics, the study of the motion of air ** Analytical dyna ...

and changed pace during stages, like a heartbeat sound that increases pace as enemies approached. An

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

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 The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

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. 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 The World Video Game Hall of Fame is an international hall of fame that opened on June 4, 2015. It is located in The National Museum of Play's ''eGameRevolution'' exhibit; the hall's administration is overseen by The Strong and the Internatio ...

in 2016. ''Space Invaders'' cabinets have become

collector's items A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

, with the cocktail and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

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 is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...

'', ''

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...

'', and ''

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...

''), Hideo Kojima (''

Metal Gear is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operativ ...

''),

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 John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and John Carmack (both ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

)'' have cited ''Space Invaders'' as their introduction to video games. Miyamoto said ''Space Invaders'' had revolutionized the

video game industry The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide. The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstrea ...

. 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 Eugene Peyton Jarvis is an American game designer and video game programmer, known for producing pinball machines for Atari and video games for Williams Electronics. Most notable among his works are the seminal arcade video games '' Defender'' ...

('' Defender'', '' Robotron: 2084'') 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 Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

, 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 ''Deus Ex'' is a series of role-playing video games, set during the mid 21st century. Focusing on the conflict between secretive factions who wish to control the world by proxy, and the effects of transhumanistic attitudes and technologies in a ...

'' creator

Warren Spector Warren Evan Spector (born October 2, 1955) is an American role-playing and video game designer, director, writer, producer and production designer. He is known for creating immersive sim games, which give players a wide variety of choices in how ...

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 arcades to more mainstream locations, such as restaurants and

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

s, to ''Space Invaders''. Its popularity was such that it was the first game where an

arcade machine An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...

'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 Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

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

games, inspiring the development of arcade games, such as Atari's ''

Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

'',

Williams Electronics WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams ...

' '' Defender'', and

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

's ''

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, wh ...

'' and ''

Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to '' Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a star ...

'', 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 shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...

s (FPS) such as '' Wolfenstein'', ''

'', ''

Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

'' and '' Call of Duty''. ''Space Invaders'' also influenced other genres, including

maze games Maze game is a video game genre description first used by journalists during the 1980s to describe any game in which the entire playing field is a maze. Quick player action is required to escape monsters, outrace an opponent, or navigate the maz ...

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 A gremlin is a mischievous folkloric creature invented at the beginning of the 20th century to originally explain malfunctions in aircraft and later in other machinery and processes and their operators. Depictions of these creatures vary widel ...

's '' Head On'' (1979) which adopted the concept of "going round after round" instead of a timer, and early computer dungeon crawl games such as ''

Dungeons of Daggorath ''Dungeons of Daggorath'' is one of the first real-time, first-person perspective role-playing video games. It was produced by DynaMicro for the TRS-80 Color Computer in 1983. A sequel, ''Castle of Tharoggad'', was released in 1988. Gameplay ' ...

'', which used similar heartbeat sounds to indicate player

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

. The technology journalist Jason Whittaker credited ''Space Invaders'' with ending the

video game crash of 1977 In the history of video games, the first generation era refers to the video games, video game consoles, and handheld video game consoles available from 1972 to 1983. Notable consoles of the first generation include the Odyssey series (excludin ...

, caused by ''

Pong ''Pong'' is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Al ...

'' 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 ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', home console versions of ''Space Invaders'' were popular and encouraged users to learn to program; many became industry leaders. 1UP.com 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 An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...

'' 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 ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

'' considered it, along with '' Pac-Man'', 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 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 Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

'' 980" 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 ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' ranked it No. 1 on its list of "The ten most influential video games ever" in 2007.The ten most influential video games ever
''

'', 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 ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' listed it as the top-rated arcade game in technical, creative, and cultural impact. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' named ''Space Invaders'' one of the top ten games for the

Atari 2600 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 microprocesso ...

home console in 2013. In 2018, it was ranked 87th in Video Game Canon's statistical

meta-analysis A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting me ...

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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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

and updated versions of the original arcade game. Ported versions generally feature different graphics and additional

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 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, integrated musical elements into the standard gameplay. A 2008 spin-off for

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii ...

, ''

Space Invaders Get Even is a video game by Taito for the Wii. Originally intended as a retail release, the game was released as a downloadable WiiWare game instead. It was released in Japan on August 26, 2008, in Europe on November 7, 2008, and in North America on Decem ...

'', allows players to control the aliens instead of the laser cannon in a reversal of roles. In 1980, Bally-Midway released a

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

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

version was successful, while the Nintendo Entertainment System version was poorly received.

has released several arcade

sequels A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

. The first was ''

Space Invaders Part II is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was distributed by Midway Games as ''Space Invaders Deluxe''. It is the sequel to ''Space Invaders'' (1978). The player controls a laser base that must d ...

'' in 1979; it featured color graphics, an

attract mode This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

, 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 An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with an entr'acte ( ...

.Space Invaders Deluxe
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 ''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 ...

'' 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 DX'', 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 Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D computer graphics, 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. ...

reminiscent of ''Space Invaders''. The game and its related games have been included in video game compilation titles. '' Space Invaders Anniversary'' 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'', 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 game ...

'', 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 Raw Thrills, Inc. is an arcade game entertainment company based in Skokie, Illinois. It is best known for developing arcade games based on films. History Raw Thrills was founded in 2001 by Eugene Jarvis, Deepak Deo, and Andrew Eloff. The staff ...

, ''Space Invaders Frenzy'', was released. A stand-alone version was released by Super Impulse as part of its ''Tiny Arcade'' series, along with the

games '' Pac-Man'', ''

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 ''

''. A ''Space Invaders'' title for the

Atari Jaguar The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and th ...

was being worked on by Virtuality Entertainment, which would have featured support for the unreleased Jaguar VR peripheral; 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

alien

graphic Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

as an

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

for video games in general, including the video game magazine ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'', technology website Ars Technica, and concert event

Video Games Live Video Games Live (VGL) is a concert series created by Tommy Tallarico and originally founded by Tallarico and Jack Wall. The concerts consist of segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra with video footage and synchronized light ...

. There has also been ''Space Invaders-''themed

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more i ...

, including necklaces and puzzles. The trend continues to this day, with handmade sites like

Etsy Etsy, Inc. is an American e-commerce company focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. These items fall under a wide range of categories, including jewelry, bags, clothing, home décor and furniture, toys, art, as well as craft ...

and

Pinterest Pinterest is an American image sharing and social media service designed to enable saving and discovery of information (specifically "ideas") on the internet using images, and on a smaller scale, animated GIFs and videos, in the form of pinboard ...

showcasing thousands of handmade items featuring ''Space Invaders'' characters. Vgltoronto

The game—and references to it—has appeared in numerous facets of

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

. 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 Rebecca Ann Heineman is an American video game designer and programmer. Heineman was a founding member of video game companies Interplay Productions, Logicware, Contraband Entertainment, and Olde Sküül. She has been chief executive officer ...

, was the first

electronic sports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although org ...

(eSports) event, and attracted more than 10,000 participants, establishing

video gaming Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback ...

as a mainstream hobby. The Arcade Awards ceremony was created that same year to honor the best video games, with ''Space Invaders'' winning the first

Game of the Year Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given by various award events and media publications to a video game that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year. Events and ceremonies British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) ...

(GoTY) award. The impact of ''Space Invaders'' on the

has been compared to that of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

in the pop music industry. Considered "the first '

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

' video game," ''Space Invaders'' became synonymous with video games worldwide for some time. Within a year of the game's release, the Japanese PTA unsuccessfully attempted to ban the game for allegedly inspiring

truancy Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not refe ...

. 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 ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one. Hi ...

'' named a similar ailment the "''Space Invaders'' Wrist". ''Space Invaders'' was also the first game to attract

political controversy In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, uneth ...

when a 1981 Private Member's Bill known as the "Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill", drafted by

British Labour The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all gene ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) George Foulkes, attempted to allow local councils to restrict the game and those like it by

for its " addictive properties" and for causing " deviancy".

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP 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 Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

beliefs in restriction and control". A motion to bring the bill before

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

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 Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, 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

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

group

Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is cons ...

reproduced ''Space Invaders'' sounds in its 1978 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 " Space Invader" (1980) by

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

, "Space Invaders" (1980) by Uncle Vic, and the Australian hit "

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter an ...

" (1979) by Player One (known in the US as 'Playback'), which in turn provided the

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

for

Jesse Saunders Jesse Saunders (born March 10, 1962) is an American house music artist, DJ, record producer, film producer, and entrepreneur. His 1984 single, "On & On", co-written with Vince Lawrence, was the first record with a house DJ as the artist that ...

' "On and On" (1984), the first

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

track.

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

sampled sound effects from the game on the song "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe" from its 4th studio album, ''

Sandinista! ''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, g ...

performed audio from the game as part of a special

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

"Classic Arcade Medley" in 2007. In honor of the game's 30th anniversary,

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 PSP version of ''

''. Taito's store, Taito Station, also unveiled a ''Space Invaders''-themed

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

Television and film

In the 1982 original pilot of the series ''

The Powers of Matthew Star ''The Powers of Matthew Star'' is an American sci-fi television series that aired on NBC on Friday evenings from September 17, 1982 until April 8, 1983. It starred Peter Barton as the title character, the alien prince Matthew "E'Hawke" Star of ...

'', David Star uses his powers to cheat the game. The game is shown with a colored backdrop of the moon. Multiple

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

have aired episodes that either reference or parody the game and its elements; for example, '' Danger Mouse'', ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, ...

'', '' Scrubs'', ''

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

'', '' Robot Chicken'', ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'' and ''

The Amazing World of Gumball ''The Amazing World of Gumball'' is an animated sitcom created by Ben Bocquelet for Cartoon Network. The series concerns the lives of 12-year-old Gumball Watterson, an anthropomorphic blue cat, and adoptive goldfish brother Darwin, who attend ...

''. Elements are prominently featured in the "Raiders of the Lost Arcade" segment of " Anthology of Interest II", an episode of the animated series ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...

''. ''Space Invaders'' also appears in the films '' Cherry 2000'' (1987), '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), and ''

Pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...

'' (2015) while its ''Deluxe'' game made an appearance in ''

Fast Times At Ridgemont High ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story ...

'' (1982). A film adaptation of the game is in the works by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

with

Akiva Goldsman Akiva J. Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making motion pictures and adaptations of popular novels. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes '' The Client''; '' Batman Forever'' and its sequel '' ...

producing. On February 13, 2015, Daniel Kunka was set to write the script for the film. On July 12, 2019, Greg Russo was set to write the script for the film, with Goldsman still producing alongside

Safehouse Pictures Tory Tunnell is an American producer who runs Safehouse Pictures with her producing partner, Joby Harold. The company was co-founded in 2005. The duo currently have an overhead tv deal with Legendary TV and Amazon Prime for features. Career T ...

partners

Joby Harold Joby Harold is an English screenwriter, producer and director who runs Safehouse Pictures with his producing partner, Tory Tunnell. The company was co-founded in 2005. Career Harold's latest projects are the upcoming films ''Space Mountain' ...

and

Tory Tunnell Tory Tunnell is an American producer who runs Safehouse Pictures with her producing partner, Joby Harold. The company was co-founded in 2005. The duo currently have an overhead tv deal with Legendary TV and Amazon Prime for features. Career T ...

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 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 Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. That same year, ''Space Invaders'' was included in the London

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...

Game On exhibition Game On is a touring exhibition on the history and culture of computer games. The exhibition was first shown at the Barbican Centre in London in 2002, and has since been exhibited by Barbican International Enterprises to over 20 countries, where ...

, meant to showcase the various aspects of

video game history The history of video games began in the 1950s and 1960s as computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on minicomputers and mainframes. '' Spacewar!'' was developed by MIT student hobbyists in 1962 as one of the first su ...

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

, and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

. (The game is a part of the Barbican Centre's traveling

.) At the Belluard Bollwerk International 2006 festival in

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () ...

, 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 The Games Convention (GC), sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention, was an annual video game event held in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides video games, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware, and Edutainment. Its conce ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, Germany, included an

art game An art game (or arthouse game) is a work of interactive new media digital software art as well as a member of the "art game" subgenre of the serious video game. The term "art game" was first used academically in 2002 and it has come to be un ...

, ''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 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

in the United States. There is a bridge in

Cáceres, Spain Cáceres ( , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Cáceres. Cáceres lies at the feet of the Sierra de la Mosca, a modest hill range. It i ...

, 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 A street artist is a person who makes art in public places. Street artists include portrait artists, caricaturists, graffiti artists, muralists and people making crafts. Street artists can also refer to street performers such as musicians, acrob ...

Invader ''InVader'' is the fourth album by Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love, released on 4 March 2016 through Spinefarm Records. Track listing All songs written by Olli Herman, Pepe Reckless, and Ikka Wirtanen, unless otherwise noted. Reception Wr ...

, made a name for himself by creating mosaic artwork of ''Space Invader'' aliens around the world. In 2014, two Brazilian

zoologists This is a list of notable zoologists who have published names of new taxa under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. A * Abe – Tokiharu Abe (1911–1996) * Abeille de Perrin, Ab. – Elzéar Abeille de Perrin (1843–1910) * ...

described a new species of

arachnid Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegaroon ...

as ''Taito spaceinvaders.'' Kury & Barros, 2014, inspired by the game, because of the resemblance of a fleck in the dorsal

scutum The ''scutum'' (; plural ''scuta'') was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity, most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formati ...

of the animal to a typical alien in the game. The genus ''

'' is named for the company that produces ''Space Invaders''. In 2018,

Highways England National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all f ...

launched a

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

titled "Don't be a Space Invader, Stay Safe, Stay Back" to raise awareness on the dangers of

tailgating Tailgating is the action of a driver driving behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front stops suddenly. The safe distance for following another vehicle varies depend ...

. People were also able to order free car bumper stickers to raise awareness of the campaign.

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Game manual
for arcade game, stored at archive.org
Game manual
for Atari 2600 game, stored at archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT: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

Gameplay

Development

Hardware

Music

Reception and versions

Arcade version

Home versions

Legacy

Impact

Rankings

Remakes and sequels

In popular culture

Music

Television and film

Books

Miscellaneous

Notes

References

Further reading

External links