View source for Space Invaders

{{Short description|1978 video game}}
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{{Featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Space Invaders
| image = Space Invaders flyer, 1978.jpg
| caption = Japanese arcade flyer
| alt = Portrait artwork depicting a barren alien planetscape with a large cannon at the bottom. Superimposed on the artwork is screenshot of Space Invaders' gameplay and an image of the arcade cabinet. In the top right corner is a "Taito Taitronics" logo.
| developer = [[Taito]]
| publisher = {{vgrelease|JP/AS/EU|Taito|NA/EU|[[Midway Games|Midway Manufacturing]]<ref name="ACE"/><ref>{{cite web| url = http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3306| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708165310/http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3306| archive-date=July 8, 2014| title = Space Invaders France Flyer| website = The Arcade Flyer Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3887| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708164931/http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3887| archive-date=July 8, 2014| title = Space Invaders Germany Flyer| website = The Arcade Flyer Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5738| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708165017/http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5738| archive-date=July 8, 2014| title = Space Invaders Spain Flyer| website = The Arcade Flyer Archive}}</ref>|AUS|[[LAI Games|Leisure & Allied Industries]]<ref>{{cite web| url = http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=4379| title = Space Invaders Australia Flyer| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626140208/http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=4379| archive-date=June 26, 2017| website = The Arcade Flyer Archive}}</ref>}}
| designer = [[Tomohiro Nishikado]]
| composer = Michiyuki Kamei<ref name="4gamer-kamei"/>
| series = ''[[List of Space Invaders video games|Space Invaders]]''
| platforms = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|[[Arcade video game|Arcade]]}}|[[Atari 2600]], [[Atari 8-bit]], [[Atari 5200]], [[MSX]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Handheld electronic game|handheld]], [[watch]], [[calculator]],<ref name="Cohen"/> [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Famicom]],<ref name="RG-41"/> {{nowrap|[[SG-1000]]}},<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://sega.jp/archive/segahard/sg1000/soft.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121035143/http://sega.jp/archive/segahard/sg1000/soft.html| url-status=dead| title=[セガハード大百科] SC/SG対応ソフトウェア| trans-title = "Sega Hardware Encyclopedia" SC/SG compatible software| archivedate=November 21, 2011| website=Sega}}</ref> [[WonderSwan]],<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gamespot.com/wonderswan/action/spaceinvaders/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040906133239/http://www.gamespot.com/wonderswan/action/spaceinvaders/index.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=September 6, 2004| title=Space Invaders for WS| website=[[GameSpot]]| access-date=September 3, 2008}}</ref> [[VG Pocket]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/08/30/vg-pocket-caplet-review| title = VG Pocket Caplet Review| last = Block| first = Gerry| date = September 26, 2006| website = IGN| access-date = September 7, 2008| archive-date = February 15, 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080215070704/http://gear.ign.com/articles/729/729205p1.html| url-status = live}}</ref> [[mobile phone]],<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.taito.co.jp/company/news/release/mobile/news_mc/2007/mc_04_08.html| archive-url = https://archive.today/20110527074800/http://www.taito.co.jp/company/news/release/mobile/news_mc/2007/mc_04_08.html| url-status = dead| archive-date = May 27, 2011| title = NTTドコモ「FOMAR 904i」向けに新コンテンツ提供！！| trans-title = New content available for NTT DoCoMo's "FOMAR 904i"!!| language = ja| publisher = Taito| access-date = June 29, 2009}}</ref> [[iOS]]<ref>{{cite web| url = http://kotaku.com/5328750/space-invaders-infinity-gene-micro+review-evolve-or-die| title = Space Invaders Infinity Gene Micro-Review: Evolve or Die| first = Brian| last = Crecente| website = Kotaku| date = August 30, 2012| access-date = June 25, 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100619230353/http://kotaku.com/5328750/space-invaders-infinity-gene-micro+review-evolve-or-die| archive-date = June 19, 2010| url-status = dead}}</ref>}}
| released = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|April 19, 1978}}|'''Arcade'''{{vgrelease|JP|April 19, 1978|NA|November 1978<ref name="arcade-game-list_124">{{cite book| last=Akagi| first=Masumi| title=アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005)| trans-title=Arcade TV Game List: Domestic {{*}} Overseas Edition (1971–2005)| date=October 13, 2006| publisher=Amusement News Agency| language=ja| location=Japan| isbn=978-4990251215| page=124|url=https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n125}}</ref><ref name="cash-box_42-24">{{cite magazine |title=Chicago Chatter: Happy Birthday "Space Invaders."| magazine=[[Cash Box]]| publisher = Cash Box Publishing Co| location = New York, New York, United States| volume = 42| number = 24| date=October 25, 1980| page=47| author = Staff| issn = 0008-7289| url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox42unse_22/page/47/mode/1up}}</ref>}} '''2600'''{{vgrelease||March 10, 1980<ref>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218223802/https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&Search%5FArg=TX0000452508&Search%5FCode=REGS&CNT=25&PID=Rq4iZlok88ZA-A_8bLdcnh-yZn6h75&SEQ=20240218173447&SID=1|url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&Search%5FArg=TX0000452508&Search%5FCode=REGS&CNT=25&PID=Rq4iZlok88ZA-A_8bLdcnh-yZn6h75&SEQ=20240218173447&SID=1|publisher=[[United States Copyright Office]]|title=Space Invaders|archivedate=February 18, 2024}}</ref>}} '''Atari 8-bit'''{{vgrelease||1980}} '''5200'''{{vgrelease||October 1982<ref>{{cite web |title=Atari 5200 game release dates |url=https://www.atariarchive.org/atari-5200-game-release-dates/ |website=Atari Archive}}</ref>}} '''Famicom'''{{vgrelease|JP|April 17, 1985<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.famitsu.com/schedule/recent/fc/|title=All Famicom games sorted from the latest release to the earliest|magazine=[[Famitsu]]|archive-date=October 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015061257/https://www.famitsu.com/schedule/recent/fc/|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} '''SG-1000'''{{vgrelease|JP|June 1985<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Home Video Games - 専用ゲームカートリッジ|magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]]|issue=239|publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]]|date=15 July 1985|pages=15-16|lang=ja|url=https://archive.org/details/game-machine-magazine-19850715p/page/n7/mode/2up}}</ref>}} '''WonderSwan'''{{vgrelease|JP|May 13, 1999<ref>{{cite web |title=Wonder Swan Software List 1999 |url=http://tk-nz.game.coocan.jp/gamedatabase/software/DB_BDM_WS1999.html |website=GAME Data Room |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001145152/http://tk-nz.game.coocan.jp/gamedatabase/software/DB_BDM_WS1999.html |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |language=ja}}</ref>}} '''iOS'''{{vgrelease|WW|February 27, 2009<ref>{{cite web |title=Space Invaders and Cooking Mama Coming to iPhone |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/02/27/space-invaders-and-cooking-mama-coming-to-iphone |website=[[IGN]] |date=February 27, 2009}}</ref>}}
}}
| genre = [[Fixed shooter]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]], [[multiplayer]]
}}

{{Nihongo foot|'''''Space Invaders'''''|スペースインベーダー|Supēsu Inbēdā|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is a 1978 [[shoot 'em up]] [[video game]] developed and published by [[Taito]] for [[Arcade video game|arcades]]. It was released in Japan in April 1978, and released overseas by [[Midway Manufacturing]] later that year. ''Space Invaders'' was the first video game with endless gameplay and the first [[fixed shooter]], setting the template for the genre. The goal is to defeat waves of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser cannon to earn as many points as possible. 

Designer [[Tomohiro Nishikado]] drew inspiration from video games such as ''[[Gun Fight]]'' and ''[[Breakout (video game)|Breakout]]'', [[Electro-mechanical game|electro-mechanical]] target [[shooting games]], and [[science fiction]] narratives such as the novel ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'', the anime ''[[Space Battleship Yamato]]'', and the film ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''. To complete development, he had to design custom hardware and [[development tools]] to use the features in microprocessor technology, which was new to him. Upon release, ''Space Invaders'' quickly became a commercial success worldwide; by 1982, it had grossed {{Nowrap|$3.8 billion}} (${{Inflation|US-GDP|3.8|1982|fmt=c}} billion in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}-adjusted terms),<ref name="Game On">{{cite book| title=Game On! Video Game History From Pong and Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft and More|date=2016| publisher=MacMillan Publishing Group, LLC| last =Hansen| first = Dusty| isbn=978-1-250-08095-0| page=11}}</ref> with a [[net profit]] of {{Nowrap|$450 million}} (${{Inflation|US-GDP|.450|1982|r=1|fmt=c}} billion in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}} terms). This made it the [[best-selling video game]] and [[List of highest-grossing arcade games|highest-grossing]] entertainment product at the time, and the highest-grossing video game of all time.

''Space Invaders'' is considered one of the most influential and [[List of video games considered the best|greatest video games of all time]], having ushered in the [[golden age of arcade video games]] and Japan's long-lasting global success in the [[video games industry]]. It inspired several prolific [[game designer]]s to join the industry and influenced numerous games across different genres. The game has been [[Porting of video games|ported]] and re-released in various forms, including the 1980 [[Space Invaders (Atari 2600 video game)|Atari 2600 version]], which quadrupled sales of the [[Atari 2600]] console and became the first [[killer app]] for [[video game consoles]]. The [[Pixelation|pixelated]] enemy alien has become a [[pop culture]] icon, often representing video games as a whole. The game has spawned dozens of sequels and remakes, been the inspiration for numerous pieces of art and music, been parodied across media, and been the focus of several pieces of legislation to limit access to video games.

==Gameplay==
[[File:SpaceInvaders-Gameplay.gif|thumb|left|alt=A vertical rectangular video game screenshot that is a digital representation of a battle between aliens and a laser cannon. The white aliens hover above four green, inverted U-shaped blocks. Below the blocks is a smaller horizontal block with a triangle on its top.|The player-controlled laser cannon (bottom center) shoots the aliens (center) as they descend. Game statistics, like the current score and remaining lives, are tracked above and below the playing field.]]

''Space Invaders'' is a [[fixed shooter]] in which the player moves a [[laser cannon]], referred to as a "Laser Base", horizontally across the bottom of the screen and fires at a group of the titular alien invaders overhead. The invaders begin as five rows of eleven—the amount differs in some versions—that move left and right as a group, advancing on the shooter by shifting downward each time they reach a screen edge. The goal is to eliminate all the invaders by shooting them. Regardless of how many [[Life (video games)|game lives]] remaining the player has, the [[Game over|game ends]] if the aliens reach the bottom of the screen.<ref name="RG-41">{{Cite magazine| title=The Definitive Space Invaders| magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]| publisher = Imagine Publishing| location = Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom| date=September 2007| issue=41| pages=24–33| first = Stuart| last = Campbell| issn = 1742-3155}}</ref><ref name="GS-SI-Hall" /><ref name="GWR08-3">{{cite book| editor-first=Craig| editor-last= Glenday| title=Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008| series=[[Guinness World Records]]| date=March 11, 2008 |publisher=Guinness| isbn=978-1-904994-21-3| page=237| chapter=Top 100 Arcade Games: Top 5 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0/page/237| url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0}}</ref><ref name="gamest-112">{{cite magazine| title = The Best Games・シューティングゲーム| trans-title = The Best Games・Shooting Games| magazine = ゲーメストムック| trans-magazine = [[Gamest]] Mook| publisher = [[Shinseisha]]| location = Tokyo, Japan| language = ja| issue = 112| date = January 17, 1998| author = Gacchan| page = 71| url = https://archive.org/details/vol.-112-2/page/n72/mode/1up}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| author= Staff| date= 1978| title=Space Invaders Service Instructions and Parts Catalog (SV070019)| chapter = Playing Instructions| type = Manual| page = 6| publisher= Taito Corporation| url= https://archive.org/details/space_invaders_service_instructions_and_parts_catalog_sv070019_ptm/page/n6/mode/1up| access-date= July 18, 2025}}</ref>

The aliens attempt to destroy the player's cannon by firing projectiles. The laser cannon is partially protected by stationary defense [[bunker]]s that are gradually destroyed from above by the invaders; the bottom will be destroyed if the player fires when beneath one. As the invaders are defeated, their movement, as well as the accompanying music, speeds up. Defeating all the aliens brings another wave that starts lower, a loop that can continue endlessly. A special "mystery ship" will occasionally move across the top of the screen and award bonus points if destroyed.<ref name="RG-41" /><ref name="GS-SI-Hall" /><ref name="GWR08-3" />

==Development==
[[File:Tomohiro-nishikado.jpg|thumb|alt=Portrait photo of a Japanese man with short black hair wearing a black business jacket sitting at an office desk.|Tomohiro Nishikado (shown in 2011) designed ''Space Invaders''{{'}} gameplay as well as the arcade cabinet's custom computing hardware.]]

''Space Invaders'' was developed by Japanese designer [[Tomohiro Nishikado]], who spent a year designing it and developing the necessary [[Computer hardware|hardware]] to produce it.<ref name="GI-177">{{Cite magazine| date=January 2008| title=Classic GI: Space Invaders| magazine=[[Game Informer]]| author= Staff| publisher=GameStop, Inc.| location = Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States| issue=177| pages=108–109| issn = 1067-6392| url = https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-177-january-2008/page/108/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name="new-yorker-interview">{{cite website| url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-space-invader| title=The Space Invader| last=Parkin| first=Simon| date=October 17, 2013| access-date=July 25, 2014| website=[[The New Yorker]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722212511/http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-space-invader| archive-date=July 22, 2014| url-status=dead}}</ref> Because he worked alone and handmade many of the development tools, the process incurred minimal costs.<ref name="Nikkei">{{cite news| title=スペースインベーダー・今明かす開発秘話――開発者・西角友宏氏、タイトー・和田洋一社長対談| trans-title=Space Invader, Development Secret Story Revealed Now―Interview With Developer Tomohiro Nishikado, Taito President Yoichi Wada| url=http://trendy.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/special/20080318/1008218/ |access-date=May 3, 2021| work=[[The Nikkei]]| first = Tetsuya| last = Inamoto| date=March 21, 2008| language=ja| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080323064622/http://trendy.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/special/20080318/1008218/| archive-date=March 23, 2008}}</ref> Taito originally did not credit a designer as anonymity was a required part of Nishikado's contract with the company.<ref name="new-yorker-interview"/> The game was a response to [[Atari, Inc.]]'s 1976 arcade game ''[[Breakout (video game)|Breakout]]''.<ref name="Nikkei"/><ref name="RG-3">{{cite magazine| author= Staff| title=Nishikado-San Speaks| magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]| publisher=Live Publishing| location = Macclesfield, Cheshire, United Kingdom| issue=3| date=April 15, 2004| page=35| issn = 1742-3155}}</ref><ref name="Williams">{{cite book| last =Williams| first =Andrew| title=History of Digital Games: Developments in Art, Design and Interaction| date=March 16, 2017| publisher=[[CRC Press]]| location = Boca Raton, Florida, United States| isbn=978-1-317-50381-1| pages=73–76}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/jun/04/space-invaders-at-40-tomohiro-nishikado-interview| title=Space Invaders at 40: 'I tried soldiers, but shooting people was frowned upon'| website=The Guardian | date=June 4, 2018 | last =Freeman | first =Will| access-date = July 27, 2025}}</ref> Nishikado noted that ''Breakout''-style games were very popular in Japan in 1977.<ref name="Nikkei"/><ref name="gamesbeat">{{cite web| url = https://gamesbeat.com/how-tomohiro-nishikado-created-space-invaders-46-years-ago-exclusive-interview/| title = How Tomohiro Nishikado created Space Invaders 46 years ago| website = GamesBeat| author = Staff| date = September 24, 2024| access-date = June 26, 2025}}</ref> He was a fan of the game and aimed to create something better.<ref name="new-yorker-interview"/> The developer wanted to adapt the same sense of achievement and tension from destroying targets one at a time, combining it with elements of target [[shooting games]].<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="new-yorker-interview"/><ref name="RG-3"/><ref name="Williams"/><ref name="auto"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-history-of-i-pong-i-avoid-missing-game-to-start-industry| title=The History of Pong: Avoid Missing Game to Start Industry| first1=Bill| last1 =Loguidice| first2 =Matt| last2 = Barton| website=[[Gamasutra]]| date=January 9, 2009| access-date=January 10, 2009| archive-date=January 12, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112004852/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3900/the_history_of_pong_avoid_missing_.php| url-status=live }}</ref>

To improve the design, Nishikado felt the targets should have an interesting shape.<ref name="new-yorker-interview"/> Early enemy designs included tanks, combat planes, and battleships.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="auto"/> Nishikado was not satisfied with the enemy movements; technical limitations made it difficult to animate flying.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="new-yorker-interview"/><ref name="Edge-Taito">{{Cite magazine| date=October 2005| title=A Making of ... Special: Taito Legends| magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]| publisher = Future Publishing| location = United Kingdom| issue=154| author = Staff| pages=108–109| issn = 1350-1593| url = http://www.edge-online.co.uk/archives/2005/10/taito_men_talk.php| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080512215315/http://www.edge-online.co.uk/archives/2005/10/taito_men_talk.php| archive-date = 2008-05-12}}</ref> The designer believed animating human characters would have been easier to program, but he considered shooting them immoral.<ref name="Edge-Taito" /><ref name="1UP-10things">{{cite web| url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3168373 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226064943/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3168373 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |title=Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Space Invaders |website=[[1UP.com]]| last =Edwards| first = Benj |access-date=July 11, 2008}}</ref> Nishikado also said that shooting people was frowned upon.<ref name="new-yorker-interview"/><ref name="auto"/> After seeing the release of the 1974 [[anime]] ''[[Space Battleship Yamato]]'' in Japan,<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Tomohiro Nishikado – 2000 Developer Interview| magazine=Game Maestro| date=2000| volume=1| url=http://shmuplations.com/nishikado/| access-date=March 4, 2018| archive-date=June 8, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608174731/http://shmuplations.com/nishikado/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="kohler-2016_p19">{{cite book |last=Kohler |first=Chris |title=Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life |date=2016 |publisher=[[Courier Dover Publications]] |isbn=9780486801490 |page=19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lD4fDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA19}}</ref> and seeing a magazine feature about the 1977 ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'', he thought of using a space theme.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="RG-3" /> Nishikado drew inspiration for the aliens from the novel ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' and created initial [[bitmap]] images after the octopus-like aliens.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="RG-3" /><ref name="auto"/><ref name="Edge-Taito" /> Other alien designs were modeled after squids and crabs.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="auto"/><ref name="Edge-Taito" /> After creating the pixel art, Nishikado created a tool to animate two frames of movement for each character and adjusted the design on-screen with a [[light pen]].<ref name="Nikkei"/> He added the bunkers and the mystery ship to the playing field afterward.<ref name="gamesbeat"/>

Nishikado added several interactive elements that he found lacking in earlier video games, such as enemies reacting to the player's movement and returning fire, and a [[game over]] triggered by the enemies killing the player character rather than simply a timer running out.<ref name="RG-3"/> 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 remained for the player.<ref name="Williams"/> During the process, Nishikado wanted the game's difficulty to increase the longer the game progressed; he reasoned this kept the gameplay fresh and that the game would earn less if players could play for extended periods.<ref name="gamesbeat"/> He relied on feedback from his coworkers to balance the difficulty; in retrospect, Nishikado stated that without their input he would have made the game less challenging because he struggled to play it.<ref name="new-yorker-interview"/> The game was originally titled ''Space Monsters'' after a popular song in Japan at the time, "<!--[[-->Monster<!--Need verification (Pink Lady song)| ]]-->", but was changed to ''Space Invaders'' by the designer's superiors.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="RG-3" />

===Hardware===
[[File:Intel 8080 open-closed.jpg|thumb|alt=Close up of two small white rectangular microprocessor chips with small gold-colored metallic prongs extending from the side downward. The top left chip has a gold covering on the top middle portion that reads "C8080B, ES 1274, KI984". The bottom right chip has the cover removed exposing the die of semiconducting material.|Nishikado adopted the [[Intel 8080]] microprocessor (pictured) into development in order to display improved graphics and animation.]]

Nishikado designed his own custom hardware and development tools for ''Space Invaders''.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="Edge-Taito" /> The game uses an [[Intel 8080]] [[central processing unit]] (CPU) and displays [[raster graphics]] on a [[CRT monitor]] using a [[bitmap]]ped [[framebuffer]].<ref name="1UP-10things" /><ref name="KLOV-SI">{{cite web |url=http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9662 |title=Space Invaders Videogame by Bally Midway (1978) |publisher=[[Killer List of Videogames]] |access-date=May 12, 2008 |archive-date=November 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125042142/http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9662 |url-status=live }}</ref> The game outputs [[monaural sound]] hosted by a combination of [[analog circuitry]] and a [[Texas Instruments SN76477]] [[sound chip]].<ref name="1UP-10things" /><ref name="KLOV-SI"/><ref>{{cite book| title = Midway's Space Invaders Parts Catalog| publisher = Midway Manufacturing Co.| type = Booklet| format = PDF| page = 13| date = October 1978| url = https://www.arcade-museum.com/manuals-videogames/S/Space-Invaders-Upright--Midway.pdf| access-date = June 25, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Art of Game Worlds| publisher=[[HarperCollins|Harper Design International]]| location = New York, New York, United States| first1 =Dave| last1 =Morris| first2 = Leo| last2 = Hartas| author-link1 = Dave Morris (game designer)| chapter = Funky Town: 12| page=166| year=2004| isbn=0-06-072430-7| edition = 1st| quote = The audio for early arcade games like Pong and Space Invaders was built from analog circuitry, more of a job for an engineer than a sound designer.}}</ref> The adoption of a microprocessor was inspired by the 1975 arcade game ''[[Gun Fight]]'', [[Midway Games|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.<ref name="new-yorker-interview"/><ref name="powerup19"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Atari Inc.: Business is Fun| publisher=Syzygy Company Press| location = Carmel, New York, United States| date= November 2012| last1=Goldberg| first1=Marty| last2=Vendel| first2=Curt| page = 511| isbn=978-0-9855974-0-5}}</ref> At the time, Taito had licensed Midway's technology to use in its games. Nishikado used Midway's arcade [[Printed circuit board|board]] as a [[motherboard]] and created additional boards and circuitry to expand the capabilities.<ref name="4gamer-kamei">{{cite web| url = https://www.4gamer.net/games/464/G046469/20200324041/| title = タイトーサウンドかく発祥せり。「スペースインベーダー インヴィンシブルコレクション」発売を記念し亀井道行氏＆今村善雄氏にインタビュー| trans-title = This is the origin of Taito Sound. Interview with Michiyuki Kamei and Yoshio Imamura to commemorate the release of "Space Invaders Invincible Collection"| author = Hally| language = ja| website = [[4Gamer.net]]| publisher = Aetas| date = 2020-04-15| accessdate = 2025-10-10}}</ref> 

As microprocessors were manufactured in the United States, Nishikado had to rely on his English skills, which he described as limited, to translate the reference material.<ref name="Nikkei"/> He dedicated about six months to studying American games and mastering using a microcomputer. While planning the game, Nishikado made iterative improvements to the hardware.<ref name="wired-2023">{{cite web| url = https://www.wired.com/story/space-invaders-45-years-tomohiro-nishikado/| title = The Space Invaders Creator Reveals the Game’s Origin Story| website = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]| first = Craig| last = Grannell| date = April 12, 2023| access-date = July 26, 2025| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250705233729/https://www.wired.com/story/space-invaders-45-years-tomohiro-nishikado/| archive-date = July 5, 2025}}</ref> He attributes his previous experience working with [[integrated circuits]] and learning [[assembly language]] during his university studies with helping him learn how to interact with the new hardware.<ref name="Nikkei"/><ref name="gamesbeat"/>

[[File:Ti 556.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Close up of a small black rectangular microprocessor chips with small gold-colored metallic prongs extending from the side downward. The top middle portion that reads "59C70JN, NE556N".|Michiyuki Kamei used the 556 timer IC (pictured), which he used previously in ''Super Speed Race'', to generate the sound of the invaders' movement.]]

To add audio, Nishikado worked with Michiyuki Kamei, who created sound effects for Taito's games.<ref name="4gamer-kamei"/><ref name="igcc-invader-house">{{cite web| title = 昭和の風景インベーダーハウスが平成最後の年に復活！| trans-title = The Showa-era landscape Invader House makes a comeback in the last year of the Heisei era!| url = https://igcc.jp/invader-house2018/| website = Institute of Game Culture Conservation| first = Yuichi| last = Toyama| language = ja| date = September 7, 2018| access-date = October 10, 2025}}</ref> Kamei spent four to five months on the audio circuitry for ''Space Invaders'' while also working on another game, ''Blue Shark''. As management had prioritized ''Blue Shark'', his work on ''Space Invaders'' was hurried in order to have both games ready for an unveiling event in the summer of 1978. Kamei decided to reuse parts and designs from other Taito games to meet the deadline. He replaced [[resistor]]s and [[capacitor]]s to adjust the [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] and duration of sound effects he created for ''Blue Shark''. To create the invaders' moving sound effect, Kamei reused the [[555 timer IC|556 timer integrated circuit]] from ''[[Speed Race|Super Speed Race]]''.<ref name="4gamer-kamei"/> Kamei felt the first invader sound effects were too comical and changed it after seeing the monster on the cabinet artwork and receiving feedback from Nishikado.<ref name="4gamer-kamei"/><ref name="igcc-invader-house"/> Aiming to emulate the ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' shark theme, he added resistors to the circuit in order to lower the effect's pitch. Texas Instruments had recently provided Taito free samples of the SN76477 sound chip, which Kamei inspected. Despite the higher cost, he chose it to produce the mystery ship's sound effects because the smaller chip saved space on the board.<ref name="4gamer-kamei"/>

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 considered the development of the hardware the most difficult part of the process.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="Edge-Taito" /> While programming, Nishikado discovered that the processor was able to [[Rendering (computer graphics)|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 were destroyed;<ref name="RG-3" /><ref name="ieee-spectrum">{{cite magazine| title = Space Invaders: the sound of success| magazine = [[IEEE Spectrum]]| publisher = [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]]| location = New York, New York, United States| volume = 19| number = 12| first = Carol| last = Truxal| date = December 1982| p = 24| issn = 0018-9235| url = https://spectrum.ieee.org/space-invaders| access-date = 2025-06-23}}</ref> the accompanying audio sped up as well.<ref name="ieee-spectrum"/><ref name="pac-man-to-pop"/> Rather than design a compensation for the speed increase, he decided to keep this [[undocumented feature]] as a [[gameplay]] mechanism.<ref name="RG-3" /> In retrospect, Nishikado noted that this aspect made the game more interesting and compensated for the hardware's limitations.<ref name="wired-2023"/>

The cabinet artwork features large [[humanoid]] [[monster]]s absent from the game, which Nishikado attributed to the artist basing the designs on the original "''Space Monsters''" title rather than referring to the in-game graphics.<ref name="GI-177" /> In the upright cabinets, the 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 [[Natural satellite|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'' releases have black-and-white graphics with strips of transparent orange and green [[cellophane]] over certain portions of the screen to add color to the image. Later Japanese releases feature a rainbow-colored cellophane overlay; later versions had a color monitor and an electronically generated color overlay.<ref name="RG-41" />

== Release ==
{{multiple image
| footer = Taito released ''Space Invaders'' in several types of arcade cabinets, some of which have since become collector's items.
<!--image 1-->
| image1 = Space Invaders.JPG
| caption1 = Cocktail [[table arcade cabinet]]
<!--image 2-->
| image2 = Tilt byte - 10.jpeg
| caption2 = Modified upright [[arcade cabinet]]
}}

Taito first published ''Space Invaders'' on April 19, 1978.<ref>{{cite web| title=Space Invaders (Registration Number PA0000120007)| url=https://publicrecords.copyright.gov/detailed-record/voyager_10979754 |website=U.S. Copyright Office Public Records System| publisher = [[United States Copyright Office]]| access-date=June 1, 2021}}</ref> The company unveiled the game to businesses in June 1978. The focus of the event was ''Blue Shark'', which Taito management believed would be more successful, and ''Space Invaders'' was included later during the event planning.<ref name="4gamer-kamei"/> By July 1978, the company began mass-producing the game.<ref>{{cite book| editor-last=Akagi| editor-first=Masumi| title=アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005)| trans-title=Arcade TV Game List: Domestic {{*}} Overseas Edition (1971–2005)| date=October 13, 2006| publisher=Amusement News Agency| language=ja|location=Japan| isbn=978-4990251215| pages=40–41 |url=https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n41/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name="FT">{{cite news| last =Shibata| first =Yoko| title=Electronic Games: Japan converts its Pachinko parlours| department = International Companies and Finance| url=https://archive.org/details/FinancialTimes1979UKEnglish/Jun%2028%201979%2C%20Financial%20Times%2C%20%2327901%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n34/mode/1up| work=[[Financial Times]]| publisher = The Financial Times Ltd.| location = London, United Kingdom| date=June 28, 1979| page =35}}</ref> Taito first released an [[Arcade cabinet#Upright cabinets|upright arcade cabinet]], which it announced in August 1978.<ref>{{cite magazine| title = 話題のマシン| trans-title = Popular Machine| magazine = Game Machine| publisher = Amusement Press| location = Osaka, Japan| date = August 15, 1978| issue = 102| page = 17| editor-last = Akagi| editor-first = Masumi| language = ja| url = https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19780815p.pdf#page=9| access-date = October 9, 2025}}</ref> The next month, the company released a [[Arcade cabinet#Cocktail cabinets|cocktail-table cabinet]] version, which was named ''T.T. Space Invaders'' in Japan to indicate it was a "table-top" version.<ref name="KLOV-SI"/><ref>{{cite magazine| title = 話題のマシン| trans-title = Popular Machine| magazine = Game Machine| publisher = Amusement Press| location = Osaka, Japan| date = September 15, 1978| issue = 104| page = 10| editor-last = Akagi| editor-first = Masumi| language = ja| url = https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19780915p.pdf#page=6| access-date = October 9, 2025}}</ref> Taito then submitted a [[trademark]] request for the game's name with the [[Japan Patent Office]] on September 18, 1978.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1801/TR/JP-1978-068397/40/en| title = Space Invaders Trademark| website = Japan Platform for Patent Information| publisher = [[Japan Patent Office]]| date = September 28, 2022| access-date = October 8, 2025}}</ref> 

Soon after release, the developers became aware of a [[Bug (engineering)|bug]] with the coin mechanism. Since only a few hundred units had been released at the time, Taito was able to apply a fix by replacing the machines' [[read-only memory]] (ROM).<ref name="igcc-invader-house"/> Taito also received requests to repair the game's audio, which Kamei discovered resulted from the [[loudspeaker]]'s paper [[Diaphragm (acoustics)|diaphragm]] breaking from usage. The company replaced the diaphragms in existing machines with a more durable version and included the upgrade in future arcade cabinets.<ref name="4gamer-kamei"/> A [[Software bug|gameplay bug]] was discovered that prevented the invaders' attacks from harming the laser cannon at very close range.<ref name="GI-177"/><ref name="igcc-invader-house"/> Although a programming fix was possible, Taito's management decided against a second ROM replacement; by then, the game's wide-spread popularity made it cost prohibitive.<ref name="igcc-invader-house"/> Players eventually adopted the bug as a strategy and named it "Nagoya shooting" and "Wall of Death".<ref name="GI-177"/><ref name="igcc-invader-house"/> 

The company had installed over 100,000 machines in Japan by the end of the year.<ref name="Cohen">{{cite book| last=Cohen| first=Daniel| title=Video Games| date=1982| publisher=[[Pocket Books]]| location=New York, New York, United States| isbn=0-671-45872-8| chapter = The Sons and Daughters of King Pong| pages=15–17| url=https://archive.org/details/book_video_games/page/n21/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name="eg_1_31">{{cite magazine| title=Can Asteroids Conquer Space Invaders?| magazine=Electronic Games| publisher = Reese Publishing Company| location = New York, New York, United States| date=Winter 1981| volume=1| issue=1| page =31| url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf#page=31| access-date=February 1, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319212242/http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf| archive-date=March 19, 2012| url-status=live}}</ref> To cope with the demand, Taito licensed the overseas rights to Midway for distribution outside of Japan near the end of 1978.<ref name="arcade-game-list_124"/><ref name="cash-box_42-24"/><ref name="ACE">{{cite magazine| title=After ''Pong''| magazine=[[ACE (magazine)|ACE]]| publisher = [[Future plc|Future Publishing Ltd.]]| location = Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom| date=February 4, 1988 |issue=6 (March 1988)| author = Staff| page = 29| issn = 0954-8076| url=https://archive.org/details/ACE_Issue_06_1988-03_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n28/mode/1up}}</ref> Midway released upright and cocktail versions.<ref name="PriceGuide2">{{cite book| title=Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games| last=Ellis| first=David| publisher=[[Random House]]| year=2004| isbn=0-375-72038-3| pages=411–412| chapter=Arcade Classics| url=https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi| chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi/page/411}}</ref> By December 1978, Taito had to import Midway cabinets into Japan to meet the country's demand. It added Japanese instruction cards to the cabinets and referred to them as ''Space Invaders M''.<ref name="igcc-invader-house"/><ref name="game-machine-109">{{cite magazine| title = 話題のマシン| trans-title = Popular Machine| magazine = Game Machine| publisher = Amusement Press| location = Osaka, Japan| date = December 1, 1978| issue = 109| page = 11| editor-last = Akagi| editor-first = Masumi| language = ja| url = https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19781201p.pdf#page=6| access-date = October 9, 2025}}</ref> The company also released a color version of ''T.T. Space Invaders'' that same month.<ref name="game-machine-109"/> Success prompted Taito to invest in manufacturing and expand globally, leading the company to found a subsidiary, Taito America, in the United States in 1979.<ref>{{Cite magazine| title= Taito's 'F' Series Jamma Hardware| magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]| publisher = Imagine Publishing| location = Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom| date=January 2008| first = Mike| last = Bevan| issue=45| department = Arcade Inspection|page=40| issn = 1742-3155}}</ref> Taito then filed a trademark request for its arcade game with the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] on December 10, 1979.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=90814728&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch| title = Trademark Status & Document Retrieval - 90814728| website = USPTO Trademark Status & Document Retrieval| publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office| date = February 28, 2023| access-date = October 8, 2025}}</ref> The company produced 200,000–300,000 units for the Japanese market by June 1979 and increased production to 25,000–30,000 units per month with Taito projecting to manufacture 400,000 machines in Japan by the end of 1979.<ref name="FT"/> By the end of 1979, an estimated 750,000 ''Space Invaders'' machines were installed worldwide, including 400,000 in Japan and 85,000 in the United Kingdom.<ref name="ACE"/> Within a year of releasing in the United States, 60,000 units were in the country;<ref name="Peterson-175">{{cite book| title=Genesis II, creation and recreation with computers| first =Dale| last = Peterson| publisher=[[Reston Publishing]]| year=1983 |isbn=0-8359-2434-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DL1YAAAAMAAJ |access-date=May 1, 2011 |page=175 |quote=By 1980, some 300,000 Space Invader video arcade games were in use in Japan, and an additional 60,000 in the United States.|author-link=Dale Peterson}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games| first=David| last=Ellis| chapter=Arcade Classics| page=[https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi/page/345 345]| publisher=[[Random House]] | location = New York, New York, United States| isbn=0-375-72038-3|year=2004| chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi| url=https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi/page/345 }}</ref><ref name="powerup19">{{cite book| last=Kohler| first=Chris| title=Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life| year=2004| publisher=BradyGames| location=Indianapolis, Indiana, United States| isbn=0-7440-0424-1| chapter=Chapter 2: An Early History of Cinematic Elements in Video Games| page=19| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=auMTAQAAIAAJ| access-date=March 27, 2011| quote=Within one year of its US release, an additional 60,000 machines had been sold. One arcade owner said of Space Invaders that it was the first arcade game whose intake "represented a significant portion of the cost of [buying] the game in any one week." That is, it was the first video game that paid for itself within about a month.}}</ref> the number of units in the United States eventually reached 72,000 by 1982.<ref>{{cite magazine| last=Stone| first=Andrea| title=The House That Pac Built: Midway Manufacturing is king of the coin-op hill and loving it! |magazine=Video Games| date=December 1982| volume=1| issue=3| publisher=Pumpkin Press| location = New York, New York, United States| page=54| url=https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_Volume_1_Number_03_1982-12_Pumpkin_Press_US/page/n53}}</ref> Nishikado wanted to design newer hardware to stay competitive, but the widespread demand led Taito to support the existing ''Space Invaders'' hardware by creating new games compatible with it. This provided other companies time to develop technology that could match Taito's.<ref name="new-yorker-interview"/> ''Space Invaders'' cabinets have since become [[collector's items]], with the [[Cocktail arcade cabinet|cocktail]] and [[Arcade cabinet#Mini or cabaret cabinets|cabaret]] versions the rarest.<ref name="PriceGuide2"/> At the end of 2003, Taito announced plans to produce 10,000 ''Space Invaders'' cabinets to sell again for the game's 25th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games/12/05/space.invaders.reut/| title = Space Invaders game set for new U.S. invasion| publisher = [[Reuters]]| via = [[CNN]]| author = Staff| date = December 5, 2003| access-date = July 1, 2025| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160409184350/http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games/12/05/space.invaders.reut/| archive-date = April 9, 2016}}</ref>

The [[Space Invaders (Atari 2600 video game)|1980 port]] to the [[Atari 2600]] was the first official [[licensing]] of an arcade game for consoles and became the first [[killer app]] for [[home video game console]]s after quadrupling the system's sales.<ref name="RG-41" /><ref>{{cite book |title=[[Ultimate History of Video Games]] |first=Steven |last=Kent | author-link = Steven L. Kent|page=190 |publisher=[[Three Rivers Press]] |isbn=0-7615-3643-4 |year=2001}}</ref> Other official home releases include a [[Space Invaders (Atari 8-bit video game) |1980 conversion]] for [[Atari 8-bit computers]] and a 1982 release for the [[Atari 5200]] console. Taito released its own version for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo Famicom]] in 1985 exclusively in Japan. By 1982, versions of ''Space Invaders'' were available for [[handheld electronic game]] devices, tabletop [[dedicated console]]s, [[home computer]]s, [[watch]]es and [[pocket calculator]]s.<ref name="Cohen"/>

[[File:Epoch-TV-Vader.jpg|thumb|In Japan, [[Epoch Co.]] released the [[Epoch TV Vader]] in 1980 as a ''Space Invaders'' [[Clone (video game)|clone]] that could be played at home.]]

More than a hundred ''Space Invaders'' [[video game clone]]s were released for various platforms.<ref name="smithsonianmag history">{{cite web| url = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/original-space-invaders-icon-1970s-America-180969393/ | title = The Original 'Space Invaders' Is a Meditation on 1970s America's Deepest Fears| first = Lindsay| last = Grace| date = June 19, 2018| access-date = April 22, 2021| work = [[Smithsonian Magazine]]| archive-date = April 22, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210422215437/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/original-space-invaders-icon-1970s-America-180969393/| url-status = live}}</ref> At the time, software and video games were not formally recognized as copyrighted works under [[Copyright law of Japan|Japanese copyright law]].<ref name="igcc-invader-house"/><ref name="radiant-18"/> After the company won a case involving a sequel (''[[Space Invaders Part II]]'') in the [[Tokyo District Court]] in December 1982, Taito could pursue legal action against unauthorized reproductions.<ref name="radiant-18"/><ref>{{cite book| title = International Computer Law: A Practical Guide to International Information Technology Law| publisher = [[LexisNexis|Matthew Bender]]| location = United States| year = 2004| chapter = 7| page = 165| first1 = Ernst J.| last1 = Louwers| first2 = Jozef A.| last2 = Keustermans| first3 = Ingrid M.| last3 = Arckens| first4 = Corien| last4 = Prins| isbn = 9780820513188}}</ref> Clone examples include the 1979 ''[[Super Invader]]'' for [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] computers, [[Epoch Co.]]'s 1980 ''TV Vader'' [[Dedicated console|dedicated home console]], and the 1981 ''[[TI Invaders]]'' for the [[TI-99/4A]] computer;<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Super Invader Is Reader's Choice| magazine=[[Softalk]]| date=April 1981| issue=13| issn = 0274-9629| url=http://apple2history.org/appendix/aha/aha78/ |access-date=February 10, 2012| archive-date=February 7, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207130344/http://apple2history.org/appendix/aha/aha78/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wiiu/thewonderful101/0/0/| title = Iwata Asks: The Wonderful 101: Hideki Kamiya| work = Iwata Asks| interviewer-last1= Iwata| interviewer-first1= Satoru| interviewer-link1 = Satoru Iwata| publisher = Nintendo| date = August 11, 2013| access-date = July 14, 2025| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220614112710/https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wiiu/thewonderful101/0/0/| archive-date = June 14, 2022}}</ref><ref name="black-enterprise-12-5">{{cite magazine| title=Cash In On the Video Game Craze| magazine=[[Black Enterprise]]| publisher = Earl G. Graves Publishing Co., Inc.| location = New York, New York, United States| last =Hillard| first = S. Lee| date=December 1982| volume=12| issue=5| issn= 0006-4165| pages=41–42| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N6pacvfrf0wC&pg=PA41 |access-date=May 1, 2011}}</ref> the latter became the [[List of best-selling PC games|top-selling game]] for its platform by the end of 1982.<ref name="black-enterprise-12-5"/> Prior to its industry dominance, Nintendo's foray into arcade games consisted of clones of existing popular games, including the 1979 ''Space Invader'' clone ''[[Space Fever]]''.<ref name="game-studies_picard">{{cite journal| title = The Foundation of Geemu: A Brief History of Early Japanese video games| first = Martin| last = Picard| journal = Game Studies| volume = 13| issue = 2| date = December 2013| issn = 1604-7982| url = https://gamestudies.org/1302/articles/picard| access-date = 2025-06-20}}</ref> The influx of clones led to the term "Invader game" to identify the generic classification of games.<ref name="game-studies_picard"/><ref name="radiant-18">{{cite journal| title = The Future of Rights over Digital Games| journal = Radiant| publisher = [[Ritsumeikan University]]| location = Kyoto, Japan| issue = 18| date = July 2022| first = Masaharu| last = Miyawaki| url = https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/research/radiant/eng/game/story7.html/| access-date = July 14, 2025}}</ref> Unofficial copies dominated the video game market in South Korea, and the market demand for the machine's hardware spurred the early growth of [[Semiconductor industry in South Korea|Korea's semiconductor industry]].<ref name="game-studies_jo">{{cite journal| title = "Bursting Circuit Boards": Infrastructures and Technical Practices of Copying in Early Korean Video Game Industry| first = Dongwon| last = Jo| journal = Game Studies| volume = 20| issue = 2| date = June 2020| issn = 1604-7982| url = https://gamestudies.org/2002/articles/jo| access-date = 2025-06-20}}</ref>

==Reception==

''Space Invaders'' initially received mixed responses from within Taito and little interest from Japanese [[amusement arcade]] owners.<ref name="new-yorker-interview"/><ref name="Barton">{{cite book| last=Barton| first=Matt| chapter=''Space Invaders'': The Japanese Invasion| title=Vintage Games 2.0: An Insider Look at the Most Influential Games of All Time| date=May 8, 2019| publisher=[[CRC Press]]| isbn=978-1-000-00092-4| pages=21–27 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fU-fDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21}}</ref> Nishikado's colleagues praised it, applauding his achievement while queuing up to play, whereas his bosses predicted low sales as games often ended more quickly than timer-based arcade games. While [[amusement arcade]] owners initially rejected it, [[pachinko]] parlors and [[bowling alley]]s adopted the game; ''Space Invaders'' caught on in those businesses, with many parlors and alleys installing additional cabinets.<ref name="Barton"/> Within months, the game became so popular that specialty [[video arcade]]s, referred to as "''Space Invaders'' Parlours" and "''Space Invaders'' Houses", opened with nothing but ''Space Invaders'' cabinets.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="1UP-10things" /><ref name="game-developer_shump">{{cite web| title = The Origin of The 'Shmup' Genre: A Historical Study| website = [[Game Developer (website)|Game Developer]]| first = Luke| last = McMillan| url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-origin-of-the-shmup-genre-a-historical-study| date = February 6, 2013| access-date = June 25, 2025}}</ref>

A year after its release, ''Space Invaders'' became the [[arcade game]] industry's all-time best-seller.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=1979: The Year in Review|magazine=[[Cash Box]]| publisher = Cash Box Publishing Co.| location = New York, New York, United States| department = Coin Machine| first = Camille| last = Compasio| date=December 19, 1979| page=114| issn = 0008-7289| url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox41unse_31/page/n131}}</ref> It remained the top arcade game for three years through 1980.<ref name="Cohen" /> By the end of 1978, the game had [[Gross revenue|grossed]] Taito {{US$|670 million|link=yes}} (equivalent to {{US$|{{inflation|US|0.67|1978|r=1}} billion|long=no}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}) in Japan alone.<ref name="Cohen" /><ref name="eg_1_31" /> By June 1979, each arcade machine was earning an average of {{US$|{{To USD|10000|JPN|year=1979|round=yes}}|long=no|1979|round=0}} per day.<ref name="FT" /> ''Space Invaders''{{'}} popularity propelled it to become the first game that recouped a United States arcade machine's owner within a month of purchasing;<ref name="powerup19" /> prices ranged from $2,000 to $3,000 per machine in 1982.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Video arcades rival Broadway theatre and girlie shows in NY| magazine=[[InfoWorld]]| location = Palo Alto, California, United States| first = Deborah| last = Wise| date=April 12, 1982| volume=4| issue=14|issn=0199-6649| page=15| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15 |access-date=May 1, 2011}}</ref> It had grossed more than {{US$|1 billion|long=no}} by 1979 (equivalent to {{US$|{{inflation|US|1|1978|r=1}} billion|long=no}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sullivan |first1=George |chapter=The First Big Hits |title=Screen Play: The Story of Video Games |date=1983 |publisher=[[F. Warne]] |isbn=978-0-7232-6251-0 |pages=38–47 (40) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ScreenPlaytheStoryofVideoGames/page/n49}}</ref> In 1981, the game earned {{US$|7.7 million|long=no}} weekly in arcades in the United States, second only to ''[[Pac-Man]]''.<ref>{{cite news| title=Arcade games a bigger draw than the movies|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5P0hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0KQFAAAAIBAJ&dq=arcade%20game&pg=922%2C2509334| access-date=March 6, 2022| work=[[The Gazette (Montreal)|The Gazette]]| publisher = The Gazette Printing Company| location = Montreal, Quebec, Canada| department = Business| author = Field News Staff| page = 28| date=July 27, 1981| archive-date=March 6, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306000720/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5P0hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0KQFAAAAIBAJ&dq=arcade%20game&pg=922%2C2509334| url-status=live| quote = In fact, figures compiled last year by Replay magazine indicate that the remarkably popular Pac Man created by Midway Manufacturing Co., a subsidiary of Bally Manufacturing Co., singlehandedly earns about $8.1 million a week. That sum would place it about $2 million ahead of movie record-breaker Superman II on Variety's most recent top-grossing films chart. Even its nearest Midway competitor, the legendary Space Invaders game, grosses about $7.7 million.}}</ref> The [[Electronic_Games#Arcade_Awards|Arcade Awards]] ceremony was created that same year to honor the best video games, with ''Space Invaders'' winning the first Best Coin-Op Electronic Game award.<ref name="award">{{cite magazine |title=The Arcade Awards |magazine=Electronic Games| publisher = Reese Publishing Company| location = New York, New York, United States| date=Winter 1981|volume=1| issue=1| pages=38–39| url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf|access-date=February 1, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319212242/http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf| archive-date=March 19, 2012| url-status=live}}</ref> By 1982, it had grossed $2&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|2000000000|1982}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}),<ref name="CBC-1982">{{cite web| date=November 23, 1982| title=Making millions, 25 cents at a time| url=https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/video-games-making-millions-25-cents-at-a-time| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222152117/http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/media/clips/15869/ <!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20081222152117/http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/media/clips/15869/ -->| archive-date=December 22, 2008| access-date=April 30, 2011| website=[[The Fifth Estate (TV)|The Fifth Estate]]|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation| first = Hana| last = Gartner}}</ref><ref name="Executive">{{cite magazine| title=Space Invaders vs. Star Wars| magazine=Executive| volume=24|publisher=Southam Business Publications| year=1982| page=9| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-KwTAQAAMAAJ |access-date=April 30, 2011| quote=According to TEC, Atari's arcade game Space Invaders has taken in $2&nbsp;billion, with net receipts of $450 million. ... They compare this to the box office movie top blockbuster Star Wars, which has taken in only $486 million, for a net of $175 million.}}</ref> with a [[net profit]] of $450&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|450000000|1978}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref name="Executive" /> This made it the [[best-selling video game]] and [[List of highest-grossing arcade games|highest-grossing]] "entertainment product" of its time,<ref name="CBC-1982" /> with comparisons made to the then [[highest-grossing film]] ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'',<ref name="CBC-1982" /><ref name="Executive" /> which had grossed $486&nbsp;million, with a net profit of $175&nbsp;million in the early 1980s.<ref name="Executive" /> By 1982, it had grossed {{US$|3.8 billion|long=no}}, equivalent to over {{US$|13 billion|long=no}} as of 2016.<ref name="Game On" /> ''Space Invaders'' earned Taito profits of over $500 million by 2008 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|500|2008}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref name="GI-177" /><ref>{{cite web| title=The Gamespy Hall of Fame: Space Invaders| website=[[GameSpy]]| first =Kevin| last = Bowen| url=http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/halloffame/spaceinvaders.shtm| access-date=April 30, 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408152913/http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/halloffame/spaceinvaders.shtm| archive-date=April 8, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Atari Video Computer System VES Atari 2600 (1977) 2.jpg|thumb|alt=Closeup of a black flat electronic device with a black plastic video game cartridge inserted into the receptacle slot on top. The slot is flanked on both sides by sets of two switches. The cartridge's label reads "Space Invaders".|Atari 2600 home console with a ''Space Invaders'' cartridge, one of the system's best selling games, at the [[Etopia Centre for Arts & Technology]].]]

Ports have received mixed reviews; the [[Atari 2600]] version was successful, while the Famicom version was poorly received.<ref name="RG-41" /> After selling over {{nowrap|1.0 million}} units its first year, the Atari 2600 port sold over {{nowrap|4.2 million}} copies by the end of 1981, becoming the [[List of best-selling Atari 2600 video games|best-selling Atari 2600 game]] until the 1982 [[Pac-Man (Atari 2600 video game)|Atari version of ''Pac-Man'']] released. By 1983, the Atari 2600 version had sold almost {{nowrap|6.1 million}} <!-- 6.1 million calculation 1318655+2964137+1373033+435353 -->cartridges.<ref name="Atari">{{cite episode |title=The Agony & The Ecstasy |series=Once Upon Atari |date=August 10, 2003 |number=4 |minutes=23 |publisher=Scott West Productions| credits = Warshaw, Howard Scott, director}}</ref> [[Bill Kunkel (journalist)|Bill Kunkel]] and Frank Laney in ''[[Video (magazine)|Video]]'' magazine found the variants on the arcade game interesting but suggested that purists will probably focus on the original version of the game included.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Arcade Alley: A Critical Look at Video Cartridge Games & Programs| magazine=[[Video (magazine)|Video]]| publisher = Reese Publishing Company| location = New York, New York, United States| issue=7| volume=4| date=October 1980| authorlink1=Bill Kunkel (journalist)| last1=Kunkel| first1=Bill| last2=Laney| first2=Frank| page = 18| issn=0147-8907}}</ref> Media writer [[Howard Blumenthal|Howard J. Blumenthal]] suggested that it requires skilled agility and hand-eye coordination and concluded that it was "a highly competitive reaction game, and one of the best available."<ref>{{cite book| title=The Complete Guide to Electronic Games| last=Blumenthal| first=Howard J.| authorlink=Howard Blumenthal| date=June 1981| publisher=[[Plume (publisher)|Plume]]| pages =256–257| isbn=0-452-25268-7}}</ref> ''[[Electronic Games]]'' magazine writers rated the game a perfect ten overall, noting high rankings for single-player gameplay, while only finding the game's graphics and sound to be merely good.<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine=[[Electronic Games]] 1983 Software Encyclopedia| year=1983| volume=1| issue=1| publisher=Reese Publications| title=Atari 2600 (VCS)| editor1-last=Katz| editor1-first=Arnie| pages = 30–31}}</ref> The writers also reviewed the port for Atari's 8-bit home computers, complimenting the game for its excelling gameplay while finding its graphics and sound and enjoyment as a one-player game to be merely "good".<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine=[[Electronic Games]] 1983 Software Encyclopedia| year=1983| volume=1| issue=1| publisher=Reese Publications| title=Atari 2600 (VCS)| editor1-last=Katz| editor1-first=Arnie| pages = 83-84}}</ref> Conversely, an editor for the ''Personal Computers & Games'' book found this version to be unfaithful to the original game, recommending Roklan's ''Deluxe Invaders'' for an experience more attuned to Taito's arcade game.<ref>{{cite book| title=Personal Computers & Games| year=1983|publisher=Publications International| page=47| isbn=0-517-41595-X}}</ref>

=== Retrospective ===
{{Video game reviews
| Allgame = Arcade: 5/5<ref name="allgame-arcade">{{cite web| last=Weiss| first=Brett Alan| title=Space Invaders|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=4717&tab=review| website=AllGame| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114110545/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=4717&tab=review| archive-date=November 14, 2014| access-date=March 2, 2021}}</ref><br />{{nowrap|Atari 5200:}} 4/5<ref name="allgame-atari-5200">{{cite web| last=Weiss| first=Brett Alan| title=Space Invaders| url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=15766&tab=review| website=AllGame| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114125957/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=15766&tab=review| archive-date=November 14, 2014| access-date=March 2, 2021}}</ref><br />SNES: 4/5<ref name="allgame-snes">{{cite web| last=Weiss |first=Brett Alan | title=Space Invaders| url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=7469&tab=review| website=AllGame| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114195553/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=7469&tab=review| archive-date=November 14, 2014| access-date=March 2, 2021}}</ref>
| EuroG = Arcade: 9/10<ref name="eurogamer-review">{{cite web| url = https://www.eurogamer.net/space-invaders-review| title = Space Invaders review| website = EuroGamer| first = Spanner| last = Spencer| date = October 25, 2007| access-date = 2025-08-10}}</ref>
| rev1 = ''[[Games World]]''
| rev1Score = Game Boy: 80%<ref name="games-world-gameboy">{{cite magazine| last1=Perry| first1=Dave| author1-link=Dave Perry| last2=Walkland| first2=Nick| last3=Roberts| first3=Nick| last4=Price|first4=Adrian| title=Reviews| magazine=[[Games World]]| date=November 1994| issue=7 (January 1995)| publisher=[[Paragon Publishing]]| location = Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom| page=23| url=https://archive.org/details/games-world-07/page/n22}}</ref>
| award1Pub = [[Arcade Awards]]
| award1 = Best Coin-Op Electronic Game (1980)<ref name="award" />
| award2Pub = ''[[VideoGames]]''
| award2 = {{nowrap|Runner-up}} for Best Game Boy Game (1994)<ref name="VG74">{{cite magazine| title=VideoGames Best of '94| magazine=[[VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine]] | publisher = [[Larry Flynt Publications|L.F.P., Inc.]]| location = Beverly Hills, California, United States| date=February 1995| issue=74 (March 1995)| author = Staff| pages=44–47| issn = 1059-2938| url=https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_The_Ultimate_Gaming_Magazine_Issue_74_March_1995/page/n45/mode/2up}}</ref>
| award3Pub = ''[[Guinness World Records]]''
| award3 = Top Arcade Game of All Time (2008)<ref name="GWR08-3" />
| award4Pub = ''[[The Times]]''
| award4 = Most Influential Video Game Ever (2007)<ref name="the-times" />
}}

The game has received a positive retrospective reception decades after its release. In rating the arcade release a perfect five stars, Brett Alan Weiss of ''[[Allgame]]'' noted ''Space Invaders''{{'}} groundbreaking features and quick success in the United States.<ref name="allgame-arcade"/> While he pointed out the arcade version's simple graphics and level of engagement haven't aged well, Spanner Spencer of ''[[Eurogamer]]'' lauded the game's historical impact. He further described ''Space Invaders'' as the epitome of fundamental gameplay with "no frills" that retro game enthusiasts seek.<ref name="eurogamer-review"/> 

Ports of the original received generally positive reviews from video game publications. Weiss rated two of the console ports favorably but slightly lower than the arcade. Comparing it to the Atari 2600 version, Weiss complemented the gameplay of the Atari 5200 release, commenting that the different gameplay is a welcome change from the arcade game, but questioned why both Atari console versions were so similar.<ref name="allgame-atari-5200"/> Writing for ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', Aaron Morales ranked it the third top game for the Atari 2600 in 2013, citing how it demonstrated that good ports were possible on the console.<ref>{{cite web| last=Morales| first=Aaron| title=The 10 best Atari games| website=[[Entertainment Weekly]]| date=January 25, 2013| url=https://www.ew.com/article/2013/01/25/the-10-best-atari-games| access-date=July 20, 2025}}</ref> Reviewing the Super Nintendo Entertainment System release, Weiss praised the quality of the graphic's reproduction as well as how enjoyable the different modes are to play. Conversely, he noted how simplistic the visual are by contemporary standards and commented that players unfamiliar with older games would find it "archaic".<ref name="allgame-snes"/> ''[[Games World]]'' magazine's four reviewers—Dave Perry, Nick Walkland, Nick Roberts, and Adrian Price—praised the release for the [[Game Boy]] handheld console. While several noted the nostalgia as a major selling point, they also said that the basic gameplay was dated. Perry and Roberts drew attention to its improved graphics when played on the [[Super Game Boy]], which they considered the best way to play it.<ref name="games-world-gameboy"/> Writing for ''[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]'' in 2019, Jeremy Parish ranked this version the 21st greatest title on the handheld system.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.polygon.com/features/2019/4/19/18412987/game-boy-best-games-nintendo-pokemon-tetris/| title = The 30 greatest Game Boy games| website = Polygon| first = Jeremy| last = Parish| date = April 19, 2019| access-date = August 10, 2025}}</ref> 

Numerous publications have ranked ''Space Invaders'' among the most important video games. Editors from ''[[Flux (magazine)|Flux]]'' and ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' magazines listed it on their respective lists of top video games in 1995 and 1996. ''Flux'' magazine staff ranked ''Space Invaders'' the top game and lauded the scenario for deviating from the contemporary trend of reality-based simulations. They noted that while most games are classics for being either revolutionary or pure, ''Space Invaders'' was both.<ref>{{Cite magazine| date=April 1995| title=Top 100 Video Games| url=https://archive.org/details/flux-issue-4/page/n23/mode/2up| magazine=Flux| publisher=Harris Publications, Inc.| location = New York, New York, United States| first1 = Dan| last1 = Amrich| first2 = Ralph| last2 = Barbagallo| first3 = Mark| last3 = East| first4 = Chris| last4 = Hudak| first5 = Jeff| last5 = Kitts| first6 = Zach| last6 = Meston| first7 = Jeff| last7 = Yang| issue=4| pages=25| issn = 1074-5602}}</ref> In placing the game at number 97, ''Next Generation'' editors wrote that it "provides an elegance and simplicity not found in later games."<ref>{{cite magazine| date=September 1996| title=Top 100 Games of All Time| magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]| publisher = Imagine Media| location = Brisbane, California, United States| issue=21| page=38| author = Staff| issn = 1078-9693| url = https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-021/page/n41/mode/1up}}</ref> Over a decade later, ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' considered ''Space Invaders'' the top-rated arcade game in terms of technical, creative, and cultural impact as well as one of the most successful arcade shooting games.<ref name="GWR08-3" /><ref name="GWR08-2" /> In 2021, Keith Stuart of ''[[The Guardian]]'' listed it as the third-greatest [[1970s in video games|video game of the 1970s]].<ref>{{cite web| title=The 15 greatest video games of the 70s – ranked!| url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/may/13/15-greatest-video-games-of-the-70s-ranked| access-date=May 23, 2021| website=[[The Guardian]]| first = Keith| last = Stuart| date=May 13, 2021|archive-date=August 1, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801003901/https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/may/13/15-greatest-video-games-of-the-70s-ranked| url-status=live}}</ref> 

Several publications have regarded ''Space Invaders'' as an influential game. Ryan Geddes and Daemon Hatfield of ''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 [[Shooter game|shooting genre]].<ref name="IGN-10" /> Writing for ''[[The Times]] Online'', Michael Moran ranked it the "most influential video game ever" in 2007, citing its "immensely addictive" gameplay and explosive effect on the industry's growth.<ref name="the-times">{{cite web| title = The ten most influential video games ever| website = [[The Times]]| first = Michael| last = Moran| date = September 20, 2007| url = http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article2455080.ece| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110902230443/http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article2455080.ece| archive-date = September 2, 2011}}</ref> In describing it as a "seminal arcade classic", ''IGN''{{'}}s Levi Buchanan listed the game as the number eight "classic shoot 'em up" that same year.<ref name="10ShootEmUp">{{cite web| url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/04/08/top-10-classic-shoot-em-ups| title=Top 10 Classic Shoot 'Em Ups| last=Buchanan| first = Levi| date=April 8, 2008| website=[[IGN]]| access-date=September 7, 2008| archive-date=September 24, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924201901/http://retro.ign.com/articles/865/865346p1.html| url-status=live}}</ref> ''1UP.com''{{'}}s Rowan Kaiser ranked it the third "Most Influential Game of All Time" in 2011, calling ''Space Invaders'' "the first video game as a video game, instead of merely a [[Simulation video game|playable electronic representation]] of something else" like earlier arcade games.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.1up.com/features/most-influential-games?pager.offset=12| title=The 60 Most Influential Games of All Time| last=Kaiser| first=Rowan| date=May 10, 2011| website=[[1UP.com]]| page=13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109194732/http://www.1up.com/features/most-influential-games?pager.offset=12| archive-date=November 9, 2012| url-status=dead| access-date=December 25, 2011}}</ref> ''Space Invaders'' was inducted into the [[World Video Game Hall of Fame]] in 2016.<ref name="2016Inductees">{{cite web| url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gta-iii-the-sims-among-2016-world-video-game-hall-of-fame-inductees| title=GTA III, The Sims among 2016 World Video Game Hall of Fame inductees| last=Brightman| first=James| date=May 5, 2016| website=GamesIndustry.biz| publisher=[[Gamer Network]]| access-date=June 22, 2025| archive-date=December 26, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226063035/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gta-iii-the-sims-among-2016-world-video-game-hall-of-fame-inductees| url-status=live}}</ref> Nishikado noted that he had little attachment to the game for twenty years following its release.<ref name="wired-2023" /> He previously considered an earlier game, the 1974 ''[[Speed Race]]'', his favorite project over ''Space Invaders''.<ref name="GI-177" /> After learning how much the game is still played and appreciated decades later, he changed his opinion in the 2010s, recognizing ''Space Invaders'' as his best work.<ref name="wired-2023" />

== Legacy ==
===Remakes and sequels===
{{main|List of Space Invaders video games|l1=List of ''Space Invaders'' video games}}

''Space Invaders'' has been remade on numerous platforms and spawned many sequels. Re-releases include [[ported]] and updated versions of the original arcade game, some of which feature different graphics and additional [[gameplay]] options. Sequels feature several modes of gameplay and integrate new elements into the original design.<ref name="RG-41" /> [[Bally Manufacturing|Bally]] released a [[pinball]] version in 1980 with no elements of the arcade game present and the aliens resembling the [[xenomorph]]s from the film ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]''; Bally was successfully sued over the resemblance to [[H. R. Giger]]'s designs.<ref>{{Cite magazine| title=A Whole Different Ball Game| magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]| publisher = Imagine Publishing| location = Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom| date=January 2008| first = Stuart| last = Campbell| issue=45| page=47| issn = 1742-3155}}</ref> It became the third highest-grossing pinball machine of 1980 in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Adlum |first=Eddie |title=The Replay Years: Reflections from Eddie Adlum |magazine=RePlay |date=November 1985 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=134-175 (160-3) |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-11-issue-no.-2-november-1985-600DPI/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2011%2C%20Issue%20No.%202%20-%20November%201985/page/162/mode/2up}}</ref> Super Impulse released a miniature version in 2017 as part of its ''Tiny Arcade'' series.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/18/16791012/tiny-arcade-machines-walmart-think-geek-cracker-barrel| title= These tiny, fully-functional arcade machines for $20 are perfect stocking stuffers| first = Ben| last = Kuchera| website = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]| date=December 18, 2017| access-date=July 16, 2025}}</ref> Numskull Designs created another miniature arcade cabinet in 2023, released in the company's Quarter Arcades line.<ref name="wired-2023"/>

[[File:SPACE INVADERS FRENZY.jpg|thumb|alt=Two red chairs mounted on a base face a large screen displaying "Space Invaders Frenzy". Plastic toy cannons with lights are placed in front of the chairs aimed at the screen.|The 2017 ''Space Invaders Frenzy'' integrated electro-mechanical gameplay in a sit-down arcade machine.]]

[[Taito]] has released several arcade [[Video game sequel|sequels]]. The first was ''[[Space Invaders Part II]]'' in 1979<ref>{{cite web |title=Space Invaders Part II |url=http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=1036| website=The Arcade Flyer Archive |publisher=[[Killer List of Videogames]] |access-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-date=July 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708165320/http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=1036 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="gamespy-pocket">{{cite web| last=Davies| first=Jonti| title=Space Invaders Pocket| url=http://uk.psp.gamespy.com/playstation-portable/space-invaders-pocket/614422p1.html|website=[[GameSpy]]| access-date=September 27, 2011| date=May 16, 2005| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331231442/http://uk.psp.gamespy.com/playstation-portable/space-invaders-pocket/614422p1.html| archive-date=March 31, 2012}}</ref> featuring color graphics, an [[attract mode]], new gameplay elements, and added an [[Cut scene|intermission between gameplay]].<ref name="GWR08-2" /><ref name="klov_deluxe">{{cite web| url = http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=12743| title = Space Invaders Deluxe| website = Killer List of Videogames | access-date = March 28, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225045946/http://arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=12743 | archive-date=December 25, 2010| url-status = live}}</ref> This was released in the United States as ''Deluxe Space Invaders'' (also known as ''Space Invaders Deluxe''), but featured a different graphical color scheme and a lunar-city background. Another arcade sequel, ''[[Space Invaders II]]'', was released exclusively in the United States. It was in a [[Cocktail arcade cabinet|cocktail-table format]] with very fast alien firing and a competitive [[Two-player game|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.<ref name="RG-41" /> Subsequent arcade sequels included ''[[Super Space Invaders '91]]'', ''[[Space Invaders DX]]'', and ''[[Space Invaders '95|Space Invaders {{'}}95]]'', each introducing minor gameplay additions to the original design. Several of the arcade sequels have become collector's items, though some are considered rarer.<ref name="PriceGuide2" /> In 2002, Taito released ''[[Space Raiders (video game)|Space Raiders]]'', a [[third-person shooter]] reminiscent of ''Space Invaders''.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.gamespot.com/games/space-raiders-2002/| title=Space Raiders: Release Summary |website=[[GameSpot]] |access-date=April 30, 2008| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317105157/http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/spaceraiders/similar.html?mode=versions |archive-date=March 17, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-first = Rico| editor-last = Komanoya| title=Japanese Game Graphics: Behind the Scenes of Your Favorite Games| year=2004| publisher=Harper Design International| location=New York, New York, United States| isbn=0-06-056772-4|pages=116–121| chapter=[[Space Raiders (video game)|Space Raiders]]}}</ref> ''[[Space Invaders Extreme]]'', released on the [[Nintendo DS]] and [[PlayStation Portable]] in 2008, integrates musical elements into the standard gameplay.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/04/02/space-invaders-arkanoid-set-for-us| title=Space Invaders Extreme Set for US| website=[[IGN]]| last=Hatfield| first = Daemon| date=April 2, 2008| access-date=June 7, 2008| archive-date=January 26, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126080255/http://psp.ign.com/articles/863/863894p1.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine| date=May 2008| magazine=[[Official Nintendo Magazine]]| publisher = Future plc| title=Space Invaders| issue=29|page=46| issn = 1750-9998}}</ref> A 2008 [[Spin-off game|spin-off]] for [[WiiWare]], ''[[Space Invaders Get Even]]'', allows players to control the aliens instead of the laser cannon in a reversal of roles.<ref>{{cite web| date=June 17, 2008| title=Space Invaders Set for WiiWare| url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/17/space-invaders-set-for-wiiware| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516231912/http://wii.ign.com/articles/882/882265p1.html| archive-date=May 16, 2009| access-date=August 19, 2008| website=[[IGN]]| author = Staff}}</ref> Later arcade releases include ''Space Invaders Frenzy'' in 2017 and ''Space Invaders Counter Attack'' in 2020.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.siliconera.com/space-invaders-counter-attack-brings-back-the-classic-shooter-with-a-big-twist/| title = Space Invaders: Counter Attack Brings Back the Classic Shooter With a Big Twist| website = Siliconera| first = Alistair| last = Wong| date = February 10, 2020| access-date = August 22, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.siliconera.com/japan-amusement-expo-2021-canceled-physically/| title = Japan Amusement Expo 2021 Canceled Physically| website = Siliconera| first = Kite| last = Stenbuck| date = October 1, 2020| access-date = August 22, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.arcade-museum.com/Arcade/space-invaders-frenzy| title = Space Invaders Frenzy| website = Museum of the Game| access-date = August 22, 2025}}</ref> Both games feature two-player [[Electro-mechanical game|electro-mechanical]] gameplay with a large amount of invaders.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.4gamer.net/games/408/G040819/20180210049/| title = ［JAEPO2018］頭をカラッポにして，インベーダーを撃ちまくれ！「SPACE INVADERS FRENZY」プレイレポート| trans-title = JAEPO 2018: Clear your mind and shoot down the invaders! 'SPACE INVADERS FRENZY' Play Report| website = [[4Gamer.net]]| language = ja| first = Shinichi| last = Yakimoto| date = February 10, 2018| access-date = August 22, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.4gamer.net/games/999/G999905/20200207145/| title = ［JAEPO2020］実物のボールを発射してインベーダーを撃退せよ！「スペースインベーダー カウンターアタック」プレイレポート| trans-title = JAEPO2020: Fire real balls and repel the invader! "Space Invaders Counter Attacks" Play Report| website = 4Gamer.net| language = ja| first = Tetsuya| last = Inamoto| date = February 7, 2020| access-date = August 22, 2025}}</ref>

''Space Invaders'' and its related games have been included in [[video game compilation]]s. ''[[Space Invaders Anniversary]]'' was released in 2003 for the [[PlayStation 2]] and included nine ''Space Invader'' variants.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/spaceinvadersanniversary/news.html?sid=6086826| title=Empire signs Space Invaders titles| last=Calvert| first = Justin| website=[[GameSpot]]| date=January 22, 2004| access-date=May 10, 2008| archive-date=March 17, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317105202/http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/spaceinvadersanniversary/news.html?sid=6086826| url-status=live}}</ref> A similar game for the PlayStation Portable, ''[[Space Invaders Pocket]]'', was released in 2005.<ref name="gamespy-pocket"/><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/05/13/boot-to-the-head-for-bootleggers| title=Boot to the Head for Bootleggers| website=[[IGN]]| author=Nix| date=May 12, 2005| access-date=June 7, 2008| archive-date=May 12, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512222832/http://psp.ign.com/articles/613/613267p1.html| url-status=live}}</ref> ''Space Invaders'', ''Space Invaders Part II'' and ''Return of the Invaders'' are included in ''[[Taito Legends]]'', a compilation of Taito's classic arcade games released in 2005 on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.2sega.com/corporate/corporate.php?item=pr_20051025c |title=Sega and Empire Interactive Launch Taito Legends for PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC |website=[[Sega]] |date=October 25, 2005 |access-date=May 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512103357/http://www.2sega.com/corporate/corporate.php?item=pr_20051025c |archive-date=May 12, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/taitolegends/news.html?sid=6133138 |title=Sega goes old school with Taito| last =Surette| first = Tim| website=[[GameSpot]]| date=August 13, 2005| access-date=May 10, 2008| archive-date=March 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317105145/http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/taitolegends/news.html?sid=6133138| url-status=live}}</ref> ''Super Space Invaders '91'', ''Space Invaders DX'', and ''Space Invaders {{'}}95'' were included in ''[[Taito Legends 2]]'', a sequel compilation released in 2006.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/more-taito-legends-headed-to-us/1100-6168839/| title=More Taito Legends headed to US| last = Sinclair| first = Brendan| website=[[GameSpot]]| date=April 10, 2007| access-date=May 10, 2008| archive-date=May 13, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513034652/http://www.gamespot.com/news/6168839.html| url-status=live}}</ref> In 2025, Blaze Entertainment announced it would release a Taito-themed Alpha bartop arcade and a Taito cartridge for the [[Evercade]] handheld game console, both which include ''Space Invaders'' among other classic Taito games.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/05/taito-joins-the-evercade-range-with-two-carts-and-an-alpha-bartop-arcade| title = Taito Joins The Evercade Range With Two Carts And An 'Alpha' Bartop Arcade| website = Time Extension| first = Damien| last = McFerran| date = May 29, 2025| access-date = July 14, 2025| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250529213540/https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/05/taito-joins-the-evercade-range-with-two-carts-and-an-alpha-bartop-arcade| archive-date = May 29, 2025}}</ref>

===Industry impact===
{{Quote box| quote = "''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 artifact, no less than the silent films of the early twentieth century or early printed books."| width=35%| source = Video game developer [[Warren Spector]] on ''Space Invaders''{{'}} industry impact<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22714047|title=Space Invaders keeps on blasting|last=Betters|first=Elyse|date=May 31, 2013|work=BBC News|access-date=June 8, 2018|language=en-GB|archive-date=January 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110085711/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22714047|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

Figures in the video game industry have highlighted ''Space Invaders''{{'s}} milestones and the impact they have had. [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], the longtime general manager of [[Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development]], considers ''Space Invaders'' the [[video game industry]]'s most revolutionary title.<ref name="Shigeru" /> Video game historian Alexander Smith described Nishikado's design of "allowing targets to attack the player" without a timer as "a new paradigm in video games."<ref>{{cite book| last =Smith| first =Alexander| title=They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Vol. I: 1971-1982| date=November 19, 2019| publisher=[[CRC Press]]| isbn=978-0-429-75261-2|page=391| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cxy_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT391}}</ref> Developer [[Eugene Jarvis]] noted that many games "still rely on the multiple life, progressively difficult level paradigm" of Space Invaders<ref name="halcyon-days_jarvis">{{cite book| editor-first = James| editor-last = Hague |chapter=Eugene Jarvis |title-link=Halcyon Days (book) |title=Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers |date=March 1997 |publisher=Dadgum Games |chapter-url=https://dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/JARVIS.HTM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020622145031/http://dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/JARVIS.HTM |archive-date=June 22, 2002 |access-date=September 15, 2025}}</ref> and that the game's characters, story, and action "laid the groundwork for a whole generation" of video games.<ref name="wired1">{{cite magazine| first=Chris| last = Kohler| url=https://www.wired.com/2013/12/eugene-jarvis-pioneer/ |title=This Game Industry Pioneer Never Gave Up on the Video Arcade |magazine=WIRED |date=December 18, 2013| access-date=September 15, 2016 |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130200802/https://www.wired.com/2013/12/eugene-jarvis-pioneer/| url-status=live}}</ref> Parish credits ''Space Invaders'' as the first to capitalize on quirky characters, noting that the alien characters' "charm" and "rudimentary sense of personality" helped video games break away from a "realistic simulation" design style—previous games were predominantly inspired by sports and racing.<ref name="1UP-50">{{cite web| title=Essential 50: Space Invaders| website=[[1UP.com]]| first = Jeremy| last = Parish| url=http://www.1up.com/features/essential-50-space-invaders| access-date=March 26, 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108123019/http://www.1up.com/features/essential-50-space-invaders| archive-date=January 8, 2016}}</ref> Video game journalists Brian Ashcraft and Jean Snow attribute the introduction of multiple [[Life (video games)|video game lives]] to ''Space Invaders''.<ref>{{cite book| title=Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan's Game Centers| first1=Brian| last1 = Ashcraft| first2=Jean| last2 = Snow| name-list-style=amp| publisher=[[Kodansha International]]| year=2008| isbn=978-4-7700-3078-8| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wX8kAQAAIAAJ| access-date=May 1, 2011| quote=''Space Invaders'' offered a novelty: players had three lives. Those who got good at the game could play for as long as they could keep from being blown to bits.}}</ref> While several publications have credited the game for introducing the concept of saving high scores, ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' recognizes the 1976 arcade game ''[[Sea Wolf (video game)|Sea Wolf]]'' as the first to implement the feature.<ref name="GS-SI-Hall"/><ref name="IGN-10"/><ref name="GWR08-2" /> 

[[Technology journalist]] Jason Whittaker noted that ''Space Invaders'' helped action games become the dominant [[Video game genre|genre]] in arcades and on consoles, and he attributes the popularity of shoot 'em ups to the game's simple gameplay rules.<ref name="cyberspace_129">{{cite book| title=The Cyberspace Handbook| first=Jason| last=Whittaker| publisher=[[Routledge]]| location = London, United Kingdom| year=2004| isbn=0-415-16835-X| page=129}}</ref> ''[[Electronic Games]]'' writers observed an increase of [[science fiction]] and space-themed games following ''Space Invaders''{{'}} release. They noted that many built upon its gameplay through [[Iteration|iterative]] changes, like ''[[Galaxian]]'' and derivatives with a similar style, while others drew inspiration from ''Space Invaders'' but took the design in new directions, such as Atari's ''[[Asteroids (video game)|Asteroids]]'' and Activision's ''[[Laser Blast]]''.<ref name="eg_2_36">{{cite magazine| title=Players Guide To Electronic Science Fiction Games| magazine=[[Electronic Games]]| publisher = Reese Publishing Company, Inc.| location = New York, New York, United States| date=March 1982| volume=1| issue=2| author = Staff| pages=35–45|url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGames/Electronic%20Games%20Issue%202%20%28March%201982%29/page/n41/mode/1up |access-date=February 1, 2012}}</ref> Scott Osborne of ''GameSpy'' noted the derivative design of [[Namco]]'s 1979 ''Galaxian'' and 1981 ''[[Galaga]]'' games but acknowledged that their innovative changes and refinements made the games very successful in their own right.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gamespy.com/articles/493/493431p1.html| title=Hall of Fame: Galaxian and Galaga |last=Osborne| first = Scott| publisher=[[GameSpy]]| date=June 1, 2001| access-date=April 30, 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225124740/http://www.gamespy.com/articles/493/493431p1.html| archive-date=December 25, 2007}}</ref> The game's influence extended to the development of [[Williams Electronics]]'s first game, the 1981 ''[[Defender (video game)|Defender]]''; early versions drew heavily from ''Space Invaders'' before its developer, Jarvis, took it a different direction.<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]| publisher = Imagine Publishing| location = Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom| title=The Making of Defender| issue=55| pages=34–39| date=October 2008| issn = 1742-3155}}</ref> Outside shooting games, [[Gremlin Industries|Sega/Gremlin]]'s 1979 ''[[Head On (video game)|Head On]]'' adopted the concept of "going round after round" in lieu of a timer after a senior developer from its parent company, [[Sega]], had seen ''Space Invaders''. The game's designer, Lane Hauck, credits this change to ''Head On''{{'}}s success.<ref name="SDR">{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1982/jul/15/cover-exactly-zaxxon/|title=San Diego's Gremlin: how video games work|work=[[San Diego Reader]]|date=July 15, 1982|access-date=October 25, 2020|archive-date=January 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117222922/https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1982/jul/15/cover-exactly-zaxxon/|url-status=live}}</ref> 

==== Shooting games ====
McCarthy considered ''Space Invaders'' an early game that shaped the wider shooter genre.<ref>{{cite book| editor-first=Craig| editor-last= Glenday| title=Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008| series=[[Guinness World Records]]| date=March 11, 2008| publisher=Guinness| isbn=978-1-904994-21-3| page=88| chapter=Record Breaking Games: Shooting Games |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0/page/88}}</ref> In listing it as one of the ten most influential games, Geddes and Hatfield credited ''Space Invaders'' for introducing design elements that became common place in the industry. The two attributed the popularity of shooting-endless-waves-of-enemies gameplay to the creation of the shoot 'em up subgenre, citing titles like ''Galaga'', ''[[Centipede (video game)|Centipede]]'', and ''[[Ikaruga]]'' as its lineage.<ref name="IGN-10">{{cite web| url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/12/11/igns-top-10-most-influential-games|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211223739/http://games.ign.com/articles/840/840621p1.html| url-status=live| archive-date=December 11, 2007| title=IGN's Top 10 Most Influential Games| website=[[IGN]]| last1 =Geddes| first1 = Ryan|last2 =Hatfield| first2 = Daemon| date=December 10, 2007| access-date=July 11, 2008}}</ref> Kevin Bowen of ''GameSpy'' noted that numerous titles, like ''Galaga'' and ''[[Gradius (video game)|Gradius]]'', have been influenced by the gameplay established by ''Space Invaders''.<ref name="GS-SI-Hall">{{cite web| url=http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/halloffame/spaceinvaders.shtm| title=The Gamespy Hall of Fame: Space Invaders| website=[[GameSpy]]| first =Kevin| last = Bowen| access-date=January 27, 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408152913/http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/halloffame/spaceinvaders.shtm| archive-date=April 8, 2008}}</ref> Edwards also credited it for spawning the shoot 'em up subgenre, which was very prominent in Japan during the 1980s and early 1990s. He noted that though there were several notable shooting games before it, ''Space Invaders'' "put it all together" in way unseen before.<ref name="1UP-10things" /> ''[[Gamest]]'' magazine staff also considered it the beginning of the shooting game genre, outlining the evolution of titles from fixed shooters, like ''Space Invaders'' and ''Galaga'', to scrolling shooters, like ''[[Scramble (video game)|Scramble]]'' and the [[Gradius|''Gradius'' series]].<ref name="gamest-112_evolution">{{cite magazine| title = シューティングゲームの進化| trans-title = The Evolution of Shooting Games| magazine = ゲーメストムック| trans-magazine = [[Gamest]] Mook| publisher = [[Shinseisha]]| location = Tokyo, Japan| language = ja| issue = 112| date = January 17, 1998| author = Staff| pages = 68–69| url = https://archive.org/details/vol.-112-2/page/n69/mode/1up}}</ref>

Writing for ''[[Game Developer (website)|GameSetWatch]]'' in 2010, [[Simon Carless]] noted a similar influence on contemporary [[first-person shooter]]s like ''[[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2]]'', commenting that it and ''Space Invaders'' share core principles: take cover behind walls and shoot enemies to obtain a high score.<ref>{{cite web| website=GameSetWatch |date=November 16, 2010 |title=No More Russian – Infinity Ward's ''Modern Warfare 2'', One Year On| first=Simon| last = Carles| url=http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/11/no_more_russian_infinity_wards.php |access-date=April 9, 2011 |archive-date=November 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122170415/http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/11/no_more_russian_infinity_wards.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ashcraft credits the game with the origin of the [[cover system]] of gameplay, as well as the use of [[Destructible environment|destructible barriers]].<ref>{{cite web| first=Brian| last = Ashcraft| url=http://kotaku.com/5452654/how-cover-shaped-gamings-last-decade| title=How Cover Shaped Gaming's Last Decade| publisher=[[Kotaku]]| date=January 20, 2010| access-date=March 26, 2011|archive-date=June 30, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630080500/http://kotaku.com/5452654/how-cover-shaped-gamings-last-decade| url-status=live}}</ref> Video game journalist Craig Granell noted that since its introduction in ''Space Invaders'', the destructible shields concept has become a common-place element in games.<ref name="wired-2023"/> In observing the lineage between ''Space Invaders'' and ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'', English professor Ronald Strickland commented that the two, as well as all previous first-person shooting games, were grounded on the same theme of "kill or be killed".<ref>{{cite book| title=Growing Up Postmodern: Neoliberalism and the War on the Young| editor-first=Ronald| editor-last=Strickland| publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]| location = Lanham, Maryland, United States| year=2002| isbn=0-7425-1651-2| pages=112–113| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oxsj7-aTN9IC&pg=PA112| access-date=April 10, 2011}}</ref> Interactive media professor Frans Mäyrä made a similar comparison to ''[[Doom (series)|Doom]]'', commenting that both present a clear challenge to survive by "shooting everything that moves."<ref>{{cite book |title=An Introduction to Games Studies: Games in Culture |first=Frans |last=Mäyrä | publisher=[[SAGE Publishing|SAGE]]| year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4129-3445-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iI0kAQAAIAAJ |access-date=April 10, 2011 |page=104 |quote=The gameplay of ''Doom'' is at its core familiar from the early classics like ''Space Invaders'' ... it presents the player with the clear and simple challenge of surviving while shooting everything that moves.}}</ref> Nishikado attributed the game's popularity among younger players to these elements, commenting that the more interactive attacks from enemies, coupled with the requirement to defeat them all, made the gameplay more thrilling.<ref name="RG-3" />

==== Video game audio ====
{{Listen| pos = left| filename = Space Invaders Music.ogg| header = Recording of ''Space Invaders''{{'}} music, as heard during gameplay| title = ''Space Invaders'' music| description = The game's signature looping four-note bassline has been recognized as an early innovation in video game music}}

Music scholar Andrew Schartmann wrote that the fundamental audio techniques ''Space Invaders'' introduced shaped the industry and that the game's immense popularity facilitated a widespread adoption of those techniques. Prior to ''Space Invaders'', music typically played during introductions or closings. Its [[Loop (music)|looped music]] plays during gameplay while the game's interactions generate sound effects, which together Schartmann described as a "rich sonic landscape". He further noted that while the four-note loop seemed "pedestrian", its ability to stir a reaction from players moved video games closer to an art form. The title's changing tempo popularized variability in game music; developers later applied the strategy to pitch, rhythm, form, and other parameters to accommodate nonlinear aspects of games.<ref name="MaestroMario">{{cite book| title = Maestro Mario| publisher = [[Thought Catalog]]| location = Brooklyn, New York, United States| year = 2013| first = Schartmann| last = Andrew| url = http://thoughtcatalog.com/book/maestro-mario-how-nintendo-transformed-videogame-music-into-an-art/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823064005/http://thoughtcatalog.com/book/maestro-mario-how-nintendo-transformed-videogame-music-into-an-art/| archive-date=August 23, 2013| url-status=dead}}</ref> Karen Collins, a professor of interactive media, echoed similar statements, noting that the combination of introducing continuous [[Video game music|background music]] and [[Adaptive music|dynamically changing]] the pace during gameplay was itself a worthy milestone.<ref name="pac-man-to-pop">{{Cite book| title=From Pac-Man to Pop Music| first=Karen| last = Collins| publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing|Ashgate]]| year=2008| page=2| isbn=978-0-7546-6200-6| doi = 10.4324/9781351217743| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFEYAQAAIAAJ |access-date=April 8, 2011}}</ref> 

''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' editor Neil West cited ''Space Invaders''{{'s}} 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.<ref>{{cite magazine| last=West| first=Neil| date=November 1997| title=The Way Games Ought to Be...: Great Videogame Art (with No Pictures)| url=https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_35/page/n157/mode/2up|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]| publisher = Imagine Media| location = Brisbane, California, United States| issue=35| page=157| issn = 1078-9693}}</ref> [[Tommy Tallarico]], a video game composer and sound designer, cited ''Space Invaders'' as an example of how video game music is "not a passive linear medium", stating that the interaction elevates the experience to a higher level for the senses. He echoed West's assessment, commenting that the simple beats increased the player's heart rate—instilling a sense of panic—as the invaders approached the bottom of the screen.<ref name="NPR-VGMusic">{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2008/04/14/89612882/replay-the-evolution-of-video-game-music| title=Replay: the Evolution of Video Game Music| publisher=[[National Public Radio]]| work=[[All Things Considered]]| last=Seabrook| first= Andrea| date=April 12, 2008 |access-date=June 17, 2025 |author-link=Andrea Seabrook}}</ref> In describing the audio's increasing pace, video game journalist and historian Bill Loguidice likened the background music to the [[Heart sounds|sound of a heartbeat]]. He noted that the effect carried forward into other games; for example, ''[[Dungeons of Daggorath]]'' features a similar [[Heart sounds|heartbeat sound]] to indicate [[Health (gaming)|player health]].<ref name="Barton-232">{{cite book|title=Vintage games: an insider look at the history of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the most influential games of all time| first1 =Bill| last1 = Loguidice| first2=Matt| last2 = Barton |name-list-style=amp| publisher=[[Focal Press]]| year=2009| isbn=978-0-240-81146-8| page=232| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_bFdsP9L7oC&pg=PA232| access-date=May 1, 2011}}</ref> Writing for ''[[GameSpot]]'', Glenn McDonald made similar observations about the effect the game's audio and noted a similar technique used in ''Asteroids''.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-history-of-video-game-music/1100-6092391/| title = A History of Video Game Music| website = GameSpot| publisher = CNET| first = Glenn| last = McDonald| date = March 28, 2005| access-date = July 8, 2025}}</ref>

==== Growth of industry ====
''Space Invaders''{{'s}} success is considered a watershed moment for the Japanese video game industry. Parish called ''Space Invaders'' Japan's first "hit game".<ref name="1UP-50"/> Whittaker remarked that the game was the start of Japanese developers obtaining market success, a trend that culminated in the country's dominance of the industry in mid-1980s.<ref name="cyberspace_122">{{cite book| title=The Cyberspace Handbook| last=Whittaker| first=Jason| publisher=[[Routledge]]| location = London, United Kingdom| year=2004| isbn=0-415-16835-X| page=122| quote = By the mid-1970s every videogame manufacturer in the world released a Pong clone so that the glut of hardware led to the first crash in 1977. As quickly as they arrived, computer games appeared to be on the edge of extinction, but the arcade market was really only on the verge of a golden age. The renaissance came with Taito's release of Space Invaders in 1978. ... While Taito, a pachinko manufacturer, had kick started the revolution with Space Invaders, most successful games were being manufactured in the USA at this point. From the mid-1980s, however, arcade games and then consoles were dominated for a decade by the Japanese company Nintendo and its rival Sega.}}</ref> Martin Picard, a scholar of Japanese culture, called the game's release the turning point for the Japanese video game industry, which led to the global spread of the country's gaming creativity.<ref name="game-studies_picard"/>

Numerous publications pointed to the game's success as a catalyst for the video game industry's growth. ''[[Electronic Games]]''{{'}}s editors called ''Space Invaders'' the impetus behind video gaming becoming a rapidly growing hobby in 1981 and "the single most popular coin-operated attraction of all time."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Atari Offers Largest Game Library| url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf| magazine=[[Electronic Games]]| publisher = Reese Publishing Company, Inc.| location = New York, New York, United States| author = Staff| volume=1| issue=1| date=Winter 1981| page = 41| access-date=February 1, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319212242/http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf| archive-date=March 19, 2012| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Edge (magazine)|''Edge'']] staff ascribed the shift of games from [[Bar (establishment)|bar]]s and [[amusement arcade]]s to more mainstream locations, such as restaurants and [[department store]]s, to ''Space Invaders'';<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/30-defining-moments-gaming| title=The 30 Defining Moments in Gaming| author=Staff| date=August 13, 2007|publisher = [[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]| via = [[Next Generation (magazine)|Next-Gen.biz]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029232528/http://www.next-gen.biz/features/30-defining-moments-gaming| archive-date=October 29, 2011| url-status=dead| access-date=September 18, 2008}}</ref> by the end of the 1970s, arcade games began appearing in hotel lobbies, airports, and convenience stores.<ref name="price-guide-3">{{cite book| title=Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games| last=Ellis| first=David| publisher=[[Random House|House of Collectibles]]| location = New York, New York, United States| year=2004| isbn=0-375-72038-3| page=5| chapter=A Brief History of Video Games| url=https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi}}</ref> Writing for ''[[IGN]]'', Levi Buchanan attributed the launch of the "arcade phenomenon" in North America in part to the title.<ref name="10ShootEmUp" /> Whittaker credited ''Space Invaders'' with ending the [[video game crash of 1977]] and ushering in the [[golden age of video arcade games]].<ref name="cyberspace_122"/> Staff for ''[[Game Informer]]'' magazine considered it, along with ''[[Pac-Man]]'', one of the most popular arcade games for tapping into popular culture and generating excitement during the golden age of arcades.<ref>{{Cite magazine| date=February 2008| title=Classic GI: King of the Hill| magazine=[[Game Informer]]| publisher=GameStop, Inc.| location = Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States| issue=178| author = Staff| page=108| issn = 1067-6392| url = https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-178-february-2008/page/108/mode/1up}}</ref> Benj Edwards of ''1UP.com'' wrote that ''Space Invaders'' demonstrated video games could compete against the major entertainment media at the time: films, music, and television.<ref name="1UP-10things" />

In 1980, Atari sponsored a nation-wide ''Space Invaders'' tournament in the United States.<ref name="eg_2_36" /><ref name="creative-computing-7-3">{{cite magazine| title = The First National Space Invaders Competition| magazine = [[Creative Computing (magazine)|Creative Computing]]| publisher = Creative Computing | location = Morris Plains, New Jersey, United States| volume = 7| number = 3| first = Matt| last = Mihovich| pages = 44–46| date = March 1981| issn = 0097-8140| url = https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1981-03/page/n43/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="star-press_tourament">{{cite news| title = 100,000 points Qualifies in Space Invaders Superbowl| work = [[The Star Press]]| publisher = Central Newspapers, Inc.| location = Muncie, Indiana, United States| page = 20| author = [[United Press International|UPI]] Staff| date = November 10, 1980| url = https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/11/09/Space-Invaders-Superbowl-Ive-heard-of-a-guy-with-an-80-a-night-habit/9704342594000/| access-date = July 25, 2025| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210621000000/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/11/09/Space-Invaders-Superbowl-Ive-heard-of-a-guy-with-an-80-a-night-habit/9704342594000/| archive-date = June 21, 2021}} [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-star-press-space-invaders-championsh/80000335/ Alt URL]</ref> Media coverage of the tournament helped establish [[Video game culture|video gaming]] as a mainstream hobby.<ref name="eg_2_36" /> Video game journalist David McCarthy noted that players continued competing to achieve the highest score for ''Space Invaders'' decades after its release.<ref name="GWR08-2" /> [[Twin Galaxies]], who officiated and tracked competitive high scores for players, recorded high scores for the arcade version and some of its handheld ports into the 2000s.<ref>{{cite book| editor-first=Craig| editor-last = Glenday| title=Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008| series=[[Guinness World Records]]| date=March 11, 2008| publisher=Guinness| isbn=978-1-904994-21-3|page= 248| chapter=Record Breaking High Scores}}</ref> 

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Several [[Video game developer|game developers]] cited ''Space Invaders'' as their introduction to video games. Miyamoto—the creator of ''[[Donkey Kong]]'', ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'', and ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]''—commented that the game incited his interest in video games, leading him to pursue it as a profession.<ref name="Shigeru">{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1645158,00.html|title=10 Questions for Shigeru Miyamoto|author=Sayre, Carolyn|date=July 19, 2007| website=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| publisher = Time Warner| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826025748/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1645158%2C00.html| archive-date=August 26, 2007| url-status=dead| access-date=September 4, 2007}}</ref> During his time in [[Middle school|junior high school]], ''[[Pokémon]]'' creator [[Satoshi Tajiri]] felt inspired to make a ''Space Invaders'' sequel after playing it.<ref>{{cite web| last =Petit| first=Carolyn| title=This 2004 Interview With The Creator Of Pokémon Is Full Of Details I Love| url=https://kotaku.com/this-2004-interview-with-the-creator-of-pokemon-is-full-1847495348| access-date=November 16, 2021| website=[[Kotaku]]| date=August 16, 2021| archive-date=November 16, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116010111/https://kotaku.com/this-2004-interview-with-the-creator-of-pokemon-is-full-1847495348| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title = Game On: The History and Culture of Videogames| publisher = Universe Pub.| location = New York, New York, United States| year = 2002| editor-first = Lucien| editor-last = King| page = 36| isbn = 9780789307781}}</ref> [[Hideo Kojima]], creator of ''[[Metal Gear]]'', cites ''Space Invaders'' as the first game that "pulled him in".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/03/the-things-that-made-the-man-who-made-metal-gear/254831/|title=How Hideo Kojima Became a Legendary Video-Game Designer|last=Snyder| first=Daniel D.| date=March 21, 2012| work=[[The Atlantic]]| access-date=March 22, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323215936/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/03/the-things-that-made-the-man-who-made-metal-gear/254831/| archive-date = 2012-03-23}}</ref> Jarvis began his career at Williams Electronics developing pinball games but pursued arcade games after seeing ''Space Invaders''{{'s}} gameplay, leading him to work on ''Defender''.<ref name="wired1"/><ref name="halcyon-days_jarvis"/> He described the industry scene at the time as an "incredible universe now open to video game designers", citing the hype of ''Space Invaders'' and other popular space games released around 1979.<ref name="halcyon-days_jarvis"/> The creators of ''[[Doom (franchise)|Doom]]'', [[John Romero]] and [[John Carmack]], have named it as their introduction to video games.<ref name="retro-gamer-75_romero">{{cite magazine| title = In The Chair Special With... John Romero| magazine = [[Retro Gamer]]| publisher = Imagine Publishing, Ltd.| location = Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom| issue = 75| year = 2010| page = 78| issn = 1742-3155| url = http://www.retrogamer.net/profiles/developer/john-romero/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022063046/http://www.retrogamer.net/profiles/developer/john-romero/| archive-date=October 22, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.bethblog.com/2011/01/26/all-the-rage-john-carmack/| title = All the RAGE: John Carmack| website = [[Bethesda Softworks]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320052321/http://www.bethblog.com/2011/01/26/all-the-rage-john-carmack/ | archive-date=March 20, 2017}}</ref> Romero commented that he thought games like ''Space Invaders'' and ''[[Targ (video game)|Targ]]'' opened up creative possibilities because they were not limited by physical materials like pinball and electromagnetic games.<ref name="retro-gamer-75_romero"/> [[Oliver Twins|Andrew and Philip Oliver]], the creators of the [[Dizzy (series)|''Dizzy'' series]], ascribed their initial desire for video games to ''Space Invaders''.<ref name"lets-go-dizzy">{{cite book| title = Let’s Go Dizzy| publisher = Fusion Retro Books| location = Kenilworth, Warwickshire, United Kingdom| year = 2016| first1 = Chris| last1 = Wilkins| first2 = Roger| last2 = Kean| chapter = Part One: How It All Started| pages = 10–11| edition = 1| isbn = 9780993131585}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The Observer]]'', Giles Richards attributed the popularity of the game's home console versions to encouraging users to learn programming, many of which later becoming industry leaders.<ref name="guardian" />

=== In media ===

Musicians have drawn inspiration for their music from ''Space Invaders''. Soon after the game's arcade release, the [[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";<ref name="the-wire_221">{{cite magazine| title = Cross Platform: A new exhibition of videogames scores high on the music content| magazine = [[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]| publisher = The Wire Magazine Ltd.| location = London, United Kingdom| first = Ken| last = Hollings| editor-first = Anne Hilde| editor-last = Neset| date = July 2002| issue = 221| page = 78| issn = 0952-0686}}</ref><ref name="the-wire_224">{{cite magazine| title = Video Arcadia| magazine = [[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]| publisher = The Wire Magazine Ltd.| location = London, United Kingdom| first = Ken| last = Hollings| date = October 2002| issue = 224| page = 44| issn = 0952-0686}}</ref> the latter sold over 400,000 copies in the United States.<ref>{{cite news| title=Computer rock music gaining fans| work=[[Sarasota Journal]]| date=August 18, 1980| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7s4mAAAAIBAJ&pg=4481,2128223| access-date=May 25, 2011| page=8| archive-date=April 9, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409150919/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7s4mAAAAIBAJ&pg=4481,2128223| url-status=live}}</ref> The next year, the band Funny Stuff released "Disco Space Invaders" in Japan and songwriters [[Russell Dunlop]] and Bruce Brown released "[[Space Invaders (Player One song)|Space Invaders]]" in Australia as the group Player One.<ref name="the-wire_224"/><ref name="sydney-morning">{{cite news| url = http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/a-drummer-for-all-times-20090618-clxo.html| first = Pat| last = Sheil| title = A drummer for all times| work = [[Sydney Morning Herald]]| publisher = [[Fairfax Media]]| date = June 19, 2009| access-date = June 20, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| author = Staff| title = Space invaders / words and music by Bruce Brown and Russell Dunlop| publication-date = 1979 | website = [[Trove]]| publisher = [[National Library of Australia]]| url = http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/30001792| access-date = June 20, 2025}}</ref> The trend continued in 1980 with two more songs titled "Space Invaders"; one on [[The Pretenders]]' [[Pretenders (album)|self-titled album]] and another by [[WNCX|WGCL]] disc jockey Victor Blecman.<ref name="the-wire_224"/><ref name="kafm-notes_waka">{{cite news| last=Lovelace| first=Craven| title=Take a waka-waka-waka on the wild side| url=http://www.gjfreepress.com/article/20100827/COMMUNITY_NEWS/100829973| work=Grand Junction Free Press| series = [[KAFM]] Notes| access-date=July 15, 2011| date=August 27, 2010| archive-date=September 27, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927233952/http://www.gjfreepress.com/article/20100827/COMMUNITY_NEWS/100829973| url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Taito Station Akihabara -01.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Photograph of numerous people walking by the storefront and into the entrance of a Japanese business. The sign above the entrance reads in English "TAITO STATION" with a pixelated alien character to the left of the words.|As part of the game's 30th anniversary, Taito showcased a music video for the 30th Anniversary Special Compilation Album in its Taito Station stores. Shown is the Taito Station in [[Akihabara]].]]

Decades later, [[Video Games Live]] performed audio from ''Space Invaders'' as part of a special [[Retrogaming|retro]] "Classic Arcade Medley" in 2007.<ref>{{cite press release| url=http://games.ign.com/articles/816/816582p1.html | title=Microsoft Brings Video Games Live to London| via=[[GameSpot]]| publisher =Microsoft| date=August 28, 2007| access-date=September 7, 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301003229/http://games.ign.com/articles/816/816582p1.html| archive-date=March 1, 2012}}</ref> In honor of the game's 30th anniversary, [[Taito]] produced an album titled ''Space Invaders 2008'' that features music inspired by the game. Released by [[Avex Trax]] in December 2008, the album includes six songs that were originally in the [[PlayStation Portable|PSP]] version of ''[[Space Invaders Extreme]]''.<ref>{{cite web| trans-title = 30th Anniversary Special Compilation Album Released!| url=http://spaceinvaders.jp/news/detail/1188686_1819.html| title = 30周年記念 スペシャルコンピレーションアルバム発売！| publisher=Taito| year=2008| language=ja|access-date=April 6, 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127063447/http://spaceinvaders.jp/news/detail/1188686_1819.html| archive-date=January 27, 2012}}</ref> Taito produced a ''Space Invaders''-themed animated [[music video]] to promote the album. Initially showcased only in its chain of stores (Taito Station) starting in April 2008, the company later released the video on DVD in October 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spaceinvaders.jp/blog/blog_detail/1186880_2321.html |language=ja| title= 店舗限定で配信中のアニメーションPVを大公開しちゃいます！| trans-title = We're Going to Reveal the Animated PV that's Only Available in Stores!| website = Space Invaders| publisher = Taito| author=弓削 |date=October 21, 2008 |access-date=April 6, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403071159/http://spaceinvaders.jp/blog/blog_detail/1186880_2321.html |archive-date=April 3, 2009}}</ref>

Multiple [[television series]] have aired episodes that either reference or parody ''Space Invaders'', such as ''[[Danger Mouse (1981 TV series)|Danger Mouse]]'',<ref>{{cite episode |title=Custard |episode-link=List of Danger Mouse episodes#Series 2 (Spring 1982) |series=Danger Mouse |series-link=Danger Mouse (1981 TV series) |network=ITV |air-date=January 4, 1982 |season=2 |number=12}}</ref> ''[[That '70s Show]]'',<ref>{{cite episode |title=Donna's Story |episode-link=List of That '70s Show episodes#Season 4: 2001–2002 |series=That '70s Show |series-link=That '70s Show |network=Fox Broadcasting Company |air-date=November 20, 2001 |number=84}}</ref> ''[[Scrubs (TV series)|Scrubs]]'',<ref>{{cite episode |title=[[My Bad Too]] |series=Scrubs |series-link=Scrubs (TV series) |network=NBC |air-date=April 10, 2008 |season=7 |number=7}}</ref> ''[[Chuck (TV series)|Chuck]]'',<ref>{{cite episode |title=Spy to you |episode-link=List of Chuck episodes#Season 3: 2009 |series=Chuck |series-link=Chuck (TV series) |network=NBC |air-date=March 3, 2009 |season=3 |number=11}}</ref> ''[[Robot Chicken]]'',<ref>{{cite episode |title=Suck It |episode-link=List of Robot Chicken episodes#Season 2: 2006 |series=Robot Chicken |series-link=Robot Chicken |network=Cartoon Network (US) |air-date=April 2, 2006 |season=2 |number=1}}</ref> ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]''<ref>{{cite episode |title=Graduation Day: Class of 2105 |episode-link=Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series, season 6) |series=Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) |series-link=Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series) |network=4Kids Entertainment (US) |air-date=March 24, 2007 |season=6 |number=15}}</ref> and ''[[The Amazing World of Gumball]]''.<ref>{{cite episode |title=The Phone |episode-link=The Amazing World of Gumball (season 2) |series=The Amazing World of Gumball |series-link=The Amazing World of Gumball |network=Cartoon Network (US) |air-date=September 18, 2012 |season=2 |number=7}}</ref> Elements are prominently featured in the "Raiders of the Lost Arcade" segment of "[[Anthology of Interest&nbsp;II]]", an episode of ''[[Futurama]]''.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Anthology of Interest II |episode-link=Anthology of Interest II |series=Futurama |series-link=Futurama |network=Fox Broadcasting Company |air-date=January 6, 2002 |season=3 |number=18}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/12/video-games-fut.html |title=Videogames & Futurama, Part 1: Raiders of the Lost Arcade |last = Baker| first = Chris |magazine=[[Wired News]] |date=December 17, 2007 |access-date=May 12, 2008 |archive-date=August 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804234344/http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2007/12/video-games-fut/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''Space Invaders'' aliens appear in the French online [[short film]] ''[[Pixels (2010 film)|Pixels]]'', which [[Happy Madison Productions]] adapted into a [[Pixels (2015 film)|feature film by the same name]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/03/03/space-invaders-the-movie| title = Pixels Feature Planned| website = IGN| first = Chris| last = Tilly| date = May 13, 2010| access-date = June 25, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.philstar.com/movies/2014/07/23/1349432/classic-video-game-characters-unite-film-pixels| first = Chris| last = Kohler| title=Classic video game characters unite via film 'Pixels'| website=Philstar| date=July 23, 2014 |access-date=July 23, 2014 |archive-date=July 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723010101/http://www.philstar.com/movies/2014/07/23/1349432/classic-video-game-characters-unite-film-pixels |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2010, [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] approached Taito for the film rights to the video game, with [[Mark Gordon (producer)|Mark Gordon]], [[Jason Blum]], and [[Guymon Casady ]] attached as producers.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/03/03/space-invaders-the-movie| title = Space Invaders: The Movie| website = IGN| first = Orlando| last = Parfitt| date = Mar 3, 2010| access-date = June 25, 2025}}</ref> By the time Warner Bros. acquired the rights in 2014, [[Akiva Goldsman]] was slated to produce.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thewrap.com/akiva-goldsman-to-produce-space-invaders-for-warner-bros-exclusive/ |first = Jeff| last = Sneider |title=Akiva Goldsman to Produce 'Space Invaders' for Warner Bros. (Exclusive)| website=The Wrap| date=July 18, 2014| access-date=July 18, 2014| archive-date=July 20, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720045226/http://www.thewrap.com/akiva-goldsman-to-produce-space-invaders-for-warner-bros-exclusive/| url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2015, Daniel Kunka was set to write the script for the production company, [[Safehouse Pictures]].<ref>{{cite news| last =Fleming| first =Mike Jr.| title='Space Invaders' Lands Dan Kunka To Script |url=https://deadline.com/2015/02/space-invaders-dan-kunka-warner-bros-1201364892/| access-date=February 14, 2015| website = Deadline |date=February 13, 2015| archive-date=February 14, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214003954/http://deadline.com/2015/02/space-invaders-dan-kunka-warner-bros-1201364892/| url-status=live}}</ref> The project stalled until July 2019, when Warner Bros.'s subsidiary, [[New Line Cinema]], announced that [[Greg Russo]] would write the script. Goldsman remained the producer alongside Safehouse Pictures partners [[Joby Harold]] and [[Tory Tunnell]].<ref>{{cite news| last = Fleming| first = Mike Jr.| title='Space Invaders' On New Line Launchpad; 'Mortal Kombat's Greg Russo To Script Alien-Invasion Pic| url=https://deadline.com/2019/07/space-invaders-movie-new-line-taito-arcade-game-new-line-greg-russo-mortal-kombat-1202645635/|access-date=July 12, 2019| website=Deadline| date=July 12, 2019| archive-date=July 12, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712193449/https://deadline.com/2019/07/space-invaders-movie-new-line-taito-arcade-game-new-line-greg-russo-mortal-kombat-1202645635/| url-status=live}}</ref> Taito filed the name ''Space Invaders'' for film production with the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] on July 07, 2021.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=90814728&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch| title = Trademark Status & Document Retrieval - 90814728| website = USPTO Trademark Status & Document Retrieval| publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office| date = February 28, 2023| access-date = October 8, 2025}}</ref> Years later, Safehouse Pictures brought in Ben Zazove and Evan Turner in August 2025 to write a new script.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2025/08/space-invaders-movie-new-line-ben-zazove-evan-turner-1236482473/| title=Ben Zazove & Evan Turner Tapped To Pen ‘Space Invaders’ Film For New Line Based On Taito Arcade Game| website = Deadline Hollywood| publisher = Penske Media Corporation| last=Gorbar| first=Matt| date=August 8, 2025| access-date=August 8, 2025}}</ref>

''Space Invaders'' has been the subject of several books, such as the 1980 ''Space Invaders'' by [[Mark Roeder]] and Julian Wolanski, the 1982 ''[[Invasion of the Space Invaders]]'' by [[Martin Amis]], and the 2006 ''Tomb Raiders and Space Invaders'' by Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska.<ref>{{cite book| title = Space Invaders| first1 = Mark| last1 = Mendick| author1-link = Mark Roeder| first2 = Julian| last2 = Wolanski| publisher = Murray| year = 1981| isbn = 9780855668228| url = https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/25404943}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last = Shippey| first = Tom| author-link = Tom Shippey| title=Vidkids |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v04/n24/tom-shippey/vidkids |access-date=January 26, 2024 |work=London Review of Books |date=December 30, 1982 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126021625/https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v04/n24/tom-shippey/vidkids |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title = Tomb Raiders and Space Invaders: Videogame Forms and Contexts| publisher = I. B. Tauris| first1 = Geoff| last1 = King| first2 = Tanya| last2 = Krzywinska| date = January 2006| isbn = 978-1845111083| doi = 10.5040/9780755695546}}</ref> It has been recreated in other video games. Players have used the gameplay mechanics in the [[sandbox game]]s ''[[Minecraft]]'' and ''[[Astroneer]]'' to reproduce ''Space Invaders''.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.wired.com/2016/12/minecraft-atari-2600-emulator/| title = Super-Hacker Builds Atari 2600 Emulator... In Minecraft?!| website = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]| first = Chris| last = Kohler| date = December 7, 2016| access-date = June 26, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.pcgamesn.com/astroneer/space-invaders| title = Someone got Space Invaders playable in Astroneer| website = [[PCGamesN]]| first = Chris J.| last = Capel| date = September 5, 2021| access-date = June 26, 2025}}</ref> [[Epic Games]] included a hidden game in ''[[Fortnite]]'' that features gameplay similar to ''Space Invaders''.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.vg247.com/fortnite-how-to-access-konami-code-minigame| title = Fortnite: how to access the Konami code minigame| website = VG247| first = Lauren| last = Aitken| date = October 14, 2019| access-date = June 26, 2025}}</ref> In 2020, Taito made the [[HTTP 404|error page]] of its website an interactive version of ''Space Invaders''.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.siliconera.com/taito-websites-404-error-page-lets-you-play-space-invaders/| title = Taito Website’s 404 Error Page Lets You Play Space Invaders| website = Siliconera| first = Kite| last = Stenbuck| date = October 22, 2020| access-date = August 22, 2025}}</ref>

===Cultural impact===
{{Multiple image
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<!--image 1-->| image1            = Vgltoronto.jpg
| alt1              = A photograph of an orchestra on a dimly lit stage. Above the group is a projection screen with a black, white, and green image of pixel art. The pixel art is an oval object wearing headphones with eyes and four tentacles. Below the pixel art is the phrase "Video Games Live".
| caption1          = A [[Pixelation|pixelated]] alien graphic on display at the [[Video Games Live]] concert event
<!--image 2-->| image2            = Taito adrik (10.11646-zootaxa.4729.1.7) Figure 1 (cropped).png
| alt2              = Photograph of a dark brown spider walking along leaves and branches. The spider's back has a white oval spot with four small shapes protruding along the surface that resemble short arms.
| caption2          = ''[[Taito (harvestman)|Taito adrik]]'', a species of [[Opiliones|harvestman]], has a fleck resembling a ''Space Invaders'' alien.

<!-- Footer -->| footer            = The ''Space Invaders'' alien characters have permeated several facets of culture.
}}

Writing for ''The New York Times'', Jeremy Horwitz compared ''Space Invaders''{{'s}} impact on the [[video game industry]] to that of [[The Beatles]] in the pop music industry.<ref>{{cite news |last=Horwitz |first=Jeremy |title=Technology: Mortal Apathy? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/08/technology/08MIDW.html |access-date=March 4, 2012 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 8, 2002 |archive-date=October 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003002950/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/08/business/technology-mortal-apathy.html?pagewanted=2 |url-status=live }}</ref> Video game journalist Chris Kohler considers ''Space Invaders'' "the first '[[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]]' video game", stating that it became synonymous with video games worldwide for some time.<ref>{{cite book| last=Kohler| first=Chris| title=Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life| year=2004| publisher=BradyGames| location=Indianapolis, Indiana, United States| isbn=0-7440-0424-1| chapter=Chapter 2: An Early History of Cinematic Elements in Video Games| page=18| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=auMTAQAAIAAJ| access-date=March 27, 2011}}</ref> Many publications and websites use the [[Pixelation|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]].<ref name="1UP-10things" /> Brazilian [[zoologists]] Adriano Kury and Carla Barros named a new species of [[arachnid]] ''Taito spaceinvaders'' in 2014 due to the resemblance of the species' fleck on its dorsal [[Scute|scutum]] to a ''Space Invaders'' alien.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A new genus and eight new species of Amazonian cosmetines (Opiliones, Laniatores, Cosmetidae) |first1=Adriano B. |last1=Kury |first2=Carla ML |last2=Barros |date=May 28, 2014 |journal=Zoological Studies |volume=53 |page=25 |doi=10.1186/s40555-014-0024-4|doi-access=free }}</ref> The invader character was adapted into the "alien monster" [[emoji]] in version 10 of the [[Unicode]] standard in 2017.<ref name="wired-2023"/><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/Unicode-10.0/U100-1F300.pdf| title = Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs Range: 1F300–1F5FF| website = [[Unicode Consortium]]| year = 2017| author = Staff| access-date = July 27, 2025}}</ref>

The game has permeated numerous cultural aspects of society. In 1981, "''Space Invaders'' Wrist" was documented as an ailment in ''[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]''.<ref>{{cite news| title=The Video Game Invasion: What Is It Doing To Children?| department = Entertainment| newspaper=[[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]]| publisher = [[Public Welfare Foundation]]| location = Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States| date=December 18, 1981| author = Staff| page = D1| url-status=live| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q4MsAAAAIBAJ&pg=4620,4423386| access-date=March 5, 2012| archive-date=April 14, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414071941/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q4MsAAAAIBAJ&pg=4620,4423386}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last1=| first1=| last2=| first2=| date= May 28, 1981| title= Space-Invaders Wrist| journal= [[The New England Journal of Medicine]] | volume= 304| issue= 22| publisher= Massachusetts Medical Society| pages= | doi= 10.1056/NEJM198105283042228}}</ref> Technology author and lecturer Tom Forester noted that North American doctors had identified a condition called "''Space Invaders'' elbow" as a complaint in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite book| last=Forester| first=Tom| title=High-tech society: the story of the information technology revolution| year=1988| publisher=[[MIT Press]]| location= Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States| isbn=0-262-56044-5| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gqgb946KPfQC&pg=PA155| edition=1st MIT Press paperback| page=155}}</ref> The game became the center of an [[urban legend]] that its popularity led to a shortage of [[100 yen coin|100-yen coins]] in Japan,<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="GWR08-2">{{cite book| editor-first=Craig| editor-last = Glenday| title=Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008| series=[[Guinness World Records]]| date=March 11, 2008| publisher=Guinness| isbn=978-1-904994-21-3|pages= 106–107| chapter=Record Breaking Games: Shooting Games Roundup| chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0/page/106}}</ref><ref name="guardian">{{cite web| url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/jul/24/games.shopping| title=A life through video games| website=The Observer| location=United Kingdom| last = Richards| first =Giles| date=July 24, 2005| access-date=May 22, 2008| archive-date=June 12, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143942/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/jul/24/games.shopping| url-status=live}}</ref> but reports from those living in Japan at the time indicate "nothing out of the ordinary" around ''Space Invaders''{{'s}} release<ref name="WCN39-2" /> and Nishikado expressed skepticism.<ref name="Barton"/> [[Numismatist]] Mark Fox noted that arcade operators would have regularly emptied their machines, keeping the [[currency in circulation]]<ref name="WCN39-2" /> and attributed the myth to lower 100-yen coin productions in 1978 and 1979.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ngccoin.com/poplookup/WorldCoinPrices.aspx?category=54449&worldcoinid=147774| title=JAPAN 100 Yen Y# 82 Yr.42(1967)-Yr.63(1988)| publisher=[[Numismatic Guaranty Corporation]]| website =World Coin price Guide| access-date=February 27, 2013| archive-date=October 17, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017181935/https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="WCN39-2">{{cite magazine| last=Fox| first=Mark| year=2012| title=Space Invaders targets coins| magazine=World Coin News| volume=39| issue=2| pages=35–37| publisher=Krause Publications| url=https://www.academia.edu/2568838| access-date=March 11, 2013| archive-date=February 26, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226135339/https://www.academia.edu/2568838| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Highways England]] launched a [[Advertising campaign|safety campaign]] in 2018 titled "Don't be a Space Invader, Stay Safe, Stay Back"—featuring the game's logo and alien character—to raise awareness on the dangers of [[tailgating]].<ref name="highway-england">{{cite web |url=https://highwaysengland.co.uk/staysafestayback/ |title=Stay Safe, Stay Back |work=Highways England Improvements and major road projects |date=August 6, 2020 |publisher=Highways England |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107104049/https://highwaysengland.co.uk/staysafestayback/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/space-invaders-used-in-anti-tailgating-campaign-by-road-chiefs-254142| title = Space Invaders used in anti-tailgating campaign by road chiefs| website = [[Sunderland Echo]]| publisher = JPI Media| location = Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom| author = Staff| date = September 16, 2018| access-date = July 3, 2025}}</ref> 

Several politicians have lobbied to restrict children from accessing the game. In the United Kingdom, [[George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock|George Foulkes]] proposed a [[Private Member's Bill]] in 1981 titled "Control of Space Invaders and other Electronic Games Bill" to allow [[City council|local councils]] to restrict it and similar games via [[licensing]] for its "[[Video game addiction|addictive properties]]" and for causing "[[deviancy]]".<ref name="new-yorker-interview"/><ref name="screen-29-2">{{cite journal| title=Electronic and Computer Games: The History of an Interactive Medium |journal=[[Screen (journal)|Screen]] |year=1988 |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=52–73 |doi=10.1093/screen/29.2.52 |quote=In the UK, the Labour MP George Foulkes led a campaign in 1981 to curb the 'menace' of video games, maintaining that they had addictive properties. His 'Control of Space Invaders and other Electronic Games Bill' was put to the Commons and only narrowly defeated.|last1=Haddon |first1=L.}}</ref><ref name="house-commons-invaders">{{Cite Hansard| house=House of Commons| url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1981/may/20/control-of-space-invaders-and-other#S6CV0005P0_19810520_HOC_167| title=Control of Space Invaders and Other Electronic Games| date=May 20, 1981| column_start=287| column_end=291| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131013911/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1981/may/20/control-of-space-invaders-and-other#S6CV0005P0_19810520_HOC_167| archive-date=January 31, 2015}}</ref><ref name="cvg_gwr-2009">{{cite web| title=30 Great Gaming World Records| url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/207943/features/30-great-gaming-world-records/| website=[[Computer and Video Games]]| first = Tom| last = Ivan| access-date=January 26, 2012| date=February 14, 2009| archive-date=February 19, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219055853/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/207943/features/30-great-gaming-world-records/| url-status=dead}}</ref> The bill was never considered by [[Parliament]], as a motion to bring it up was defeated 114 votes to 94 votes.<ref name="screen-29-2"/><ref name="house-commons-invaders"/><ref name="cvg_gwr-2009"/> ''Guinness World Records'' recognized this as the "First arcade videogame debated in Parliament".<ref name="cvg_gwr-2009"/><ref>{{cite book| editor-first=Craig| editor-last= Glenday| title=Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition| series=[[Guinness World Records]]| year = 2009| publisher=Guinness| isbn=978-1-904994-45-9| page=98| chapter= Record Breaking Games: Space Games| url= https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/88971-first-arcade-videogame-debated-in-parliament| access-date = July 11, 2025}}</ref> In 1981, the [[Irvington, New York]] board of trustees proposed a resolution to place age restrictions on ''Space Invaders'' and other arcade games as well as limit the quantity in businesses.<ref>{{cite news| last=Whitehouse| first=Franklin| title=Village Zeros in on Space Invaders| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/15/nyregion/village-zeros-in-on-space-invaders.html| access-date=September 24, 2021| work=[[The New York Times]]| publisher = [[The New York Times Company]]| location = New York, New York, United States| date=June 15, 1981| archive-date=September 24, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924001750/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/15/nyregion/village-zeros-in-on-space-invaders.html| url-status=live}}</ref> A similar restriction occurred in [[Mesquite, Texas]], resulting in a court case that was appealed to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], who ruled the city ordinance unconstitutional in 1982.<ref name="1UP-10things" /><ref>{{cite news| title = Issue and Debate; Should Video Games be Restricted by Law?| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/03/garden/issue-and-debate-should-video-games-be-restricted-by-law.html| work = [[The New York Times]]| location = New York, New York, United States| first = Pete| last = Kerr| date = June 3, 1982| page = C1| access-date = June 30, 2025}}</ref> 

{{Multiple image|total_width = 400
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<!--image 1-->
| image1            = Space invaders avignon.jpg
| alt1              = Photograph of the sides of two stone buildings, with a tan building close up in the foreground and a white one in the background. On the tan building is a mosaic made of colored tiles that form a pixelated "Space Invaders" alien.
| caption1          = A tile [[mosaic]] of a ''Space Invader'' alien on a building in [[Avignon]], France by anonymous French street artist [[Invader (artist)|Invader]]
<!--image 2-->
| image2            = Space Invaders on Games Convention 2008 (2781858269).jpg
| alt2              = Photograph of two people standing on a open area with a dark carpet. In front of the carpet is a large screen with a Space Invaders-inspired game featuring a large tower being attacked by aliens.
| caption2          = The interactive ''Invaders!'' art game at the 2008 [[Games Convention]] prior to the artist removing it following backlash.

<!-- Footer -->
| footer            = The video game has inspired several pieces of art across different mediums.
}}

''Space Invaders'' has been the subject and inspiration for multiple pieces of art and endeavors. As part of the [[Japan Media Arts Festival]]'s 10th anniversary in 2006, ''Space Invaders'' was one of several video game-related media selected to represent Japanese entertainment; the media were on display at a special exhibit at [[The National Art Center, Tokyo|The National Art Center]] in Tokyo. The project selections were compiled by Japan's [[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] via a mix of polling from the general public and industry professionals.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/japan-honors-nes-ps2-mario/1100-6159315/| title=Japan honors NES, PS2, Mario| last = Wyman| first = Walt | website=[[GameSpot]]| date=October 4, 2006| access-date=May 9, 2008| archive-date=March 17, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317105153/http://www.gamespot.com/arcade/action/alieninvasionpart2/news.html?sid=6159315}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/hundred/hundred.html| script-title=ja:日本のメディア芸術100選| trans-title = 100 Selected Works of Japanese Media Arts| language=ja| publisher = [[Agency for Cultural Affairs]]| website = Japan Media Arts Plaza| author = Staff| access-date=May 5, 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415195329/http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/hundred/hundred.html| archive-date=April 15, 2009}}</ref> That same year, ''Space Invaders'' was included in the London [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]]'s [[Game On exhibition]], meant to showcase aspects of [[video game history]], [[Video game development|development]], and [[Video game culture|culture]],<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/london-museum-showcases-games/1100-6159465/|title=London museum showcases games|last = Boyes| first = Emma| website=[[GameSpot]]| date=October 9, 2006| access-date=May 9, 2008| archive-date=March 17, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317105149/http://www.gamespot.com/arcade/action/alieninvasionpart2/news.html?sid=6159465}}</ref> and included in the [[Barbican Centre]]'s traveling exhibition.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.barbican.org.uk/hire/exhibition-hire-barbican-immersive/game-on| title= Exhibition hire (Barbican Immersive): Game On| website=[[Barbican Centre]]| publisher = [[City of London Corporation]]| author = Staff| access-date=June 3, 2010| url-status = live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100909203416/http://www.barbican.org.uk/bie/exhibitions/game-on| archive-date=September 9, 2010}}</ref> At the Belluard Bollwerk International 2006 festival in [[Fribourg]], Switzerland, Guillaume Reymond made a three-minute [[stop motion]] video recreation of a game of ''Space Invaders'' as part of the "Gameover" project using people sitting in auditorium seats as pixels.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.notsonoisy.com/spaceinvaders/ |title=Space Invaders—Guillaume Reymond—video performance| website =NOTsoNOISY| year=2006| access-date=May 22, 2008| archive-date=February 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201034900/http://www.notsonoisy.com/spaceinvaders/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.wired.com/2008/01/human-scale-gam/| title = Human-Scale Game of Tetris Unfolds in Stop-Motion Video| website = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]| first = Jenna| last = Wortham| date = January 3, 2008| access-date = July 18, 2025}}</ref> The GH ART exhibit at the 2008 [[Games Convention]] in [[Leipzig]], Germany, included an [[art game]] named ''Invaders!'', which featured ''Space Invaders''{{'s}} gameplay with references to the [[September 11 attacks]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://kotaku.com/artist-explains-wtc-space-invaders-exhibit-at-games-con-5039580| title = Artist Explains WTC Space Invaders Exhibit at Games Convention| first = Brian| last = Crecente| website = Kotaku| date = August 20, 2008| access-date = July 18, 2025}}</ref><ref name="gamasutra-invaders">{{cite web| url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/creator-of-i-space-invaders-i--based-9-11-art-piece-pulls-exhibit|title=Creator of Space Invaders-Based 9/11 Art Piece Pulls Exhibit |website=[[Gamasutra]] |last = Remo| first = Chris| date=August 25, 2008| access-date=August 25, 2008| archive-date=February 14, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214073938/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19972}}</ref> The game attracted criticism online and a response from Taito stating that it was "considering all available options – including legal actions." In response, the creator asked for ''Invaders!'' to be removed from the exhibit.<ref name="gamasutra-invaders"/> A bridge in [[Cáceres, Spain]], projected by engineers Pedro Plasencia and Hadrián Arias, features a pavement design based on ''Space Invaders'', with the laser cannon, shots, and several figures visible on the deck.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Lozano| first1=Pedro Plasencia| last2=Durán| first2=Hadrián Arias |year=2013 |chapter=La Ribera del Marco en Cáceres, un problema aún no resuelto de ordenación territorial | page=186 |title=Agua, Cultura y Sociedad, [Vigo 20-21 de mayo de 2013]| trans-title = Water, Culture and Society [Vigo, May 20-21, 2013] |series=II Congreso Internacional de Ingeniería Civil y Territorio de Galicia-Norte de Portugal |language=es}}<!-- The ISBN printed in the document (978-84-380-0464-4) is invalid, causing a checksum error.--></ref> Anonymous French [[street artist]] [[Invader (artist)|Invader]] has created [[Mosaic|mosaic artwork]] of ''Space Invader'' aliens around the world,<ref name="1UP-10things" /><ref>{{cite web| url=http://swindlemagazine.com/issue03/space-invader-2/ |title=Space Invader |last = Fairey| first = Shepard| website=[[Swindle Magazine]]| access-date=May 6, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316032403/http://swindlemagazine.com/issue03/space-invader-2/<!--Added by H3llBot-->| archive-date=March 16, 2008}}</ref> including the [[International Space Station]] and [[European Space Agency]] installations.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.space.com/28888-space-invaders-art-esa-photos.html| title = Photos: 'Space Invaders' on the International Space Station| website = [[Space.com]]| author = Staff| date = March 23, 2015| access-date = June 26, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.esa.int/Highlights/Space_Invaders| title = Space Invaders| website = [[European Space Agency]]| author = Staff| date = March 11, 2015| access-date = June 26, 2025}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links | wikt=no | commons=Category:Space Invaders | v=no | q=no | s=no | b=no | display=''Space Invaders'' }}
* {{Official website|http://www.spaceinvaders.net/}}
* [https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameManualSpaceinv2ckt/ Game manual], for arcade game, stored at the [[Internet Archive]]
* [https://archive.org/details/Space_Invaders_1978_Atari/ Game manual] for Atari 2600 game, stored at the Internet Archive

{{Space Invaders}}
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