Editing Space Invaders (section)

{{Short description|1978 video game}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Space Invaders
| image = Space Invaders flyer, 1978.jpg
| caption = Arcade flyer
| alt = A flyer for Space Invaders: An arcade display on the bottom-right corner is shown over a laser cannon surrounded by aliens and saucers; The background contains the screen against a background of a canyon and a block mountain; The Space Invaders and Taito logos are displayed on the top of the poster.
| developer = [[Taito]]
| publisher = {{vgrelease|JP/AS/EU|Taito|NA/EU|[[Midway Games|Midway]]<ref name="ACE"/><ref>European releases:
* http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3306 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708165310/http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3306 |date=July 8, 2014 }}
* http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3887 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708164931/http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3887 |date=July 8, 2014 }}
* http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5738 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708165017/http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5738 |date=July 8, 2014 }}</ref>
|AUS|Leisure & Allied Industries<ref>[http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=4379 Space Invaders (AU)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626140208/http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=4379 |date=June 26, 2017 }}, The Arcade Flyer Archive</ref>}}[[Atari, Inc.]] (home)
| designer = [[Tomohiro Nishikado]]
| platforms = [[Arcade video game|Arcade]], [[Atari 2600]], [[Atari 5200]], [[Atari 8-bit]], [[MSX]], [[Handheld electronic game|handheld]], [[Dedicated console|tabletop]], [[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|archivedate=November 21, 2011|website=sega.jp}}</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 |publisher=[[GameSpot]] |access-date=September 3, 2008 }}</ref> [[VG Pocket]],<ref>{{cite web| url = http://gear.ign.com/articles/729/729205p1.html| title = VG Pocket Caplet Review| author = Block, Gerry| date = September 26, 2006| publisher = 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 game|mobile]],<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！！| 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 = pace Invaders Infinity Gene Micro-Review: Evolve or Die| first = Brian| last = Crecente| publisher = Kotaku| date = August 3, 2009| access-date = June 15, 2010| 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 = {{vgrelease
 |JP|April 1, 1978{{efn|name=Release|''Space Invaders'' was first published on April 1, 1978,<ref>{{cite web |title=Space Invaders (Registration Number PA0000120007) |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov/ |website=[[United States Copyright Office]] |access-date=June 1, 2021 |archive-date=May 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531152425/https://cocatalog.loc.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> before entering mass-production in July 1978.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Akagi |first1=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=40–1 |url=https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n41/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name="FT">{{cite news |last1=Shibata |first1=Yoko |title=Electronic Games: Japan converts its Pachinko parlours |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]] |date=June 28, 1979 |language=English}}</ref>}}
 |NA|November 1978<ref>{{cite book |last1=Akagi |first1=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>{{cite magazine |title=Chicago Chatter: Happy Birthday "Space Invaders." |magazine=[[Cash Box]] |date=October 25, 1980 |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox42unse_22/page/47/mode/1up}}</ref>}}
| genre = [[Fixed shooter]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]. [[multiplayer]]
| series = ''[[List of Space Invaders video games|Space Invaders]]''
}}

{{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, with the game being released by [[Midway Manufacturing]] overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first [[fixed shooter]] and the first video game with endless gameplay (meaning there was no final level or endscreen) and set the template for the genre. The goal is to defeat wave after wave 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]]'' (1975) and ''[[Breakout (video game)|Breakout]]'' (1976), [[Electro-mechanical game|electro-mechanical]] target [[shooting games]], and [[science fiction]] narratives such as the novel ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' (1897), the anime ''[[Space Battleship Yamato]]'' (1974), and the film ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977). To complete development, he had to design custom hardware and [[development tools]]. Upon release, ''Space Invaders'' was an immediate commercial success; by 1982, it had [[Gross revenue|grossed]] $3.8&nbsp;billion (${{Inflation|US-GDP|3.8|1978|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|author=Hansen, Dusty|isbn=978-1-250-08095-0|page=11}}</ref> with a [[net profit]] of $450&nbsp;million (${{Inflation|US-GDP|.450|1978|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]]. It was the inspiration for numerous [[video game]]s and [[game designer]]s across different genres, and has been [[Porting of video games|ported]] and re-released in various forms. The 1980 [[Space Invaders (Atari 2600 video game)|Atari VCS version]] quadrupled sales of the [[Atari VCS]], thereby becoming the first [[killer app]] for [[video game consoles]]. More broadly, the [[Pixelation|pixelated]] enemy alien has become a [[pop culture]] icon, often representing video games as a whole.