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Space invaders

Space Invaders
A promotional flyer for Space Invaders: an arcade display on the bottom-right corner is shown over a laser cannon surrounded by aliens and saucers; the background contains the screen against a background of a canyon and a block mountain; the Space Invaders and Taito logos are displayed on the top of the poster.
A promotional flyer for Space Invaders
Developer(s) Taito
Publisher(s)
Designer(s) Tomohiro Nishikado
Platform(s) Arcade, various
Release
  • JP: June 1978
  • NA: July 1978
  • PAL: 1978
Genre(s) Fixed shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Cabinet Upright, cocktail
Arcade system Taito 8080
CPU 8080 @ 2 MHz
Sound SN76477 @ 1.9968 MHz
Display Fujitsu MB14241,monochrome raster, vertical orientation, 224×256 resolution
Review score
Publication Score
AllGame Arcade: 5/5 stars
Atari 2600: 5/5 stars
Atari 5200: 4/5 stars
SNES: 4/5 stars
Awards
Publication Award
1st Arcade Awards Game of the Year
Guinness World Records Top Arcade Game
The Times Most Influential Video Game Ever

Space Invaders (Japanese: スペースインベーダー Hepburn: Supēsu Inbēdā?) is an arcade video game created by Tomohiro Nishikado and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to defeat waves of aliens with a laser cannon to earn as many points as possible. In designing the game, Nishikado drew inspiration from popular media: Breakout, The War of the Worlds, and Star Wars. To complete it, he had to design custom hardware and development tools.

It was one of the forerunners of modern video gaming and helped expand the video game industry from a novelty to a global industry (see golden age of video arcade games). When first released, Space Invaders was very successful.

The game has been the inspiration for other video games, re-released on numerous platforms, and led to several sequels. The 1980 Atari 2600 version quadrupled the system's sales and became the first "killer app" for video game consoles. Space Invaders has been referenced and parodied in multiple television shows, and been a part of several video game and cultural exhibitions. The pixelated enemy alien has become a pop culture icon, often used as a synecdoche representing video games as a whole.


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Wikipedia

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