Editing Space Invaders

{{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.

==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]] horizontally across the bottom of the screen and fires at aliens overhead. The aliens begin as five rows of eleven that move left and right as a group, shifting downward (advancing on the shooter) each time they reach a screen edge. The goal is to eliminate all of the aliens by shooting them. Regardless of how many lives remaining the player has, the game ends immediately if the invaders reach the bottom of the screen.<ref name="GS-SI-Hall" /><ref name="GWR08-3" /><ref name="RG-41" /><ref name="NPR-VGMusic" /> The aliens attempt to destroy the player's cannon by firing projectiles. The laser cannon is partially protected by stationary defense [[bunker]]s which are gradually destroyed from the top by the aliens and, if the player fires when beneath one, the bottom gets destroyed.

As aliens are defeated, their movement and the music both speed up. Defeating all the aliens brings another wave which starts lower, a loop which can continue endlessly.<ref name="GS-SI-Hall" /><ref name="GWR08-3">{{cite book |editor=Craig 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=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0/page/237 237] |chapter=Top 100 Arcade Games: Top 5 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0 |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0/page/237 }}</ref><ref name="RG-41">{{Cite magazine|date=September 2007|title=The Definitive Space Invaders|url=https://archive.org/stream/retro_gamer/RetroGamer_041#page/24/mode/2up|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|issue=41|pages=24–33}}</ref><ref name="NPR-VGMusic">{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89612882 |title=Replay: the Evolution of Video Game Music |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |work=[[All Things Considered]] |author=Seabrook, Andrea |date=April 12, 2008 |access-date=May 12, 2008 |author-link=Andrea Seabrook}}</ref> A special "mystery ship" will occasionally move across the top of the screen and award bonus points if destroyed.

==Development==
''Space Invaders'' was developed by Japanese designer [[Tomohiro Nishikado]], who spent a year designing 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=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=Game Stop |issue=177 |pages=108–109}}</ref> The game was a response to [[Atari, Inc.]]'s arcade video game ''[[Breakout (video game)|Breakout]]'' (1976). Nishikado 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="RG-3">{{cite magazine|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Nishikado-San Speaks|url=https://archive.org/stream/retro_gamer/RetroGamer_003#page/34/mode/2up|magazine=[[Retro Gamer]]|publisher=Live Publishing|issue=3|date=April 15, 2004|page=35}}</ref><ref name="Williams">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Andrew |title=History of Digital Games: Developments in Art, Design and Interaction |date=March 16, 2017 |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |isbn=978-1-317-50381-1 |pages=73–6}}</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' | work=The Guardian | date=June 4, 2018 | last1=Freeman | first1=Will }}</ref> 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 |first=Bill |last=Loguidice |author2=Matt 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>

Nishikado added several interactive elements that he found lacking in earlier video games, such as the ability for enemies to react to the player's movement and fire back, and a [[game over]] triggered by the enemies killing the player (either by getting hit or enemies reaching the bottom of the screen) rather than simply a timer running out.<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 the player had left.<ref name="Williams"/>

Early enemy designs included tanks, combat planes, and battleships.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="auto"/> Nishikado, however, was not satisfied with the enemy movements; technical limitations made it difficult to simulate flying.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="Edge-Taito">{{Cite magazine |date=October 2005 |title=The Creation of Space Invaders |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |issue=154 |author1=Kiphshidze, N |author2=Zubiashvili, T |author3=Chagunava, K |pages=7–13}}</ref> Humans would have been easier to simulate, but the designer 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]] |author=Edwards, Benj |access-date=July 11, 2008}}</ref> Nishikado also said that shooting people was frowned upon.<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>{{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 ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977), he thought of using a space theme.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="RG-3" /> Nishikado drew inspiration for the aliens from a novel by [[H. G. Wells]], ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'', and created initial [[bitmap]] images after the octopus-like aliens.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="RG-3" /><ref name="Edge-Taito" /><ref name="auto"/> Other alien designs were modeled after squids and crabs.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="Edge-Taito" /><ref name="auto"/> 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===
{{multiple image
<!--image 1-->| image1            = Space Invaders.JPG
| caption1          = Cocktail [[table arcade cabinet]]
<!--image 2-->| image2            = Tilt byte - 10.jpeg
| caption2          = A modified Space Invaders [[arcade cabinet]]
}}

Nishikado designed his own custom hardware and development tools for ''Space Invaders''.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="Edge-Taito" /> It uses an [[Intel 8080]] [[central processing unit]] (CPU), displays [[raster graphics]] on a [[CRT monitor]] using a [[bitmap]]ped [[framebuffer]], and uses [[monaural sound]] hosted by a combination of [[analog circuitry]] and a [[Texas Instruments SN76477]] [[sound chip]].<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><ref name="1UP-10things" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Art of Game Worlds |first=Dave |last=Morris |page=166 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=0-06-072430-7 |year=2004}}</ref> The adoption of a microprocessor was inspired by ''[[Gun Fight]]'' (1975), [[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>{{citation |author=Chris Kohler |year=2005 |title=Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life |chapter=Chapter 2: An Early History of Cinematic Elements in Video Games|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=auMTAQAAIAAJ |page=19 |publisher=[[BradyGames]] |isbn=0-7440-0424-1 |access-date=March 27, 2011}}</ref> '' Space Invaders'' also adopted the multi-chip [[barrel shifter]] circuit first developed by Midway for ''Gun Fight'', which had been a key part of that game's smoother animation. This circuit allowed the 8080 CPU to shift pictures in the graphics framebuffer faster than it could using only its own native instructions.<ref>In ''Gun Fight'', the bit-shifts performed by this circuit appear on the screen as horizontal offsets. The circuit in ''Space Invaders'' works the same, but the bit shifts it does are now '''vertical''' from the player's perspective because the entire screen has been rotated by 90 degrees.</ref>

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 and more were destroyed. Rather than design a compensation for the speed increase, he decided that it was a [[feature, not a bug]], and kept it as a challenging [[gameplay]] mechanism.<ref name="RG-3" />

Taito released ''Space Invaders'' in July 1978.<ref name="FT"/> They released both an [[Arcade cabinet#Upright cabinets|upright arcade cabinet]] and a so-called [[Arcade cabinet#Cocktail cabinets|"cocktail-table" cabinet]]; following its usual practice, Taito named the cocktail version ''T.T. Space Invaders'' ("T.T." for "table-top"). Midway released its upright version a few months later and its cocktail version several months after that. The cabinet artwork featured large [[humanoid]] [[monster]]s not present in the game; Nishikado attributes this to the artist basing the designs on the original title of "''Space Monsters''", rather than referring to the actual in-game graphics.<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.<ref name="RG-41" /> Both Taito's and Midway's first Space Invaders versions had black-and-white graphics with a transparent colored overlay using strips of orange and green [[cellophane]] over certain portions of the screen to add color to the image. Later Japanese releases used a rainbow-colored cellophane overlay,<ref name="RG-41" /> and these were eventually followed by versions with a color monitor and an electronically generated color overlay.<ref name="RG-41" />

===Music===
{{Listen
 |filename     = Space Invaders Music.ogg
 |title        = Space Invaders music
 |description  = The game's signature looping four-note bassline, as heard during gameplay
}}
Despite its simplicity, the music to ''Space Invaders'' was revolutionary for the gaming industry of the time. Video game scholar Andrew Schartmann identifies three aspects of the music that had a significant impact on the development of game music:
# Whereas video game music prior to ''Space Invaders'' was restricted to the extremities (i.e., a short introductory theme with game-over counterpart), the alien-inspired hit featured ''continuous music''{{tsp}}{{mdash}}{{tsp}}the well-known four-note loop, consisting of the first four notes of the descending D [[Natural minor scale|minor natural scale]]{{tsp}}{{mdash}}{{tsp}}throughout, uninterrupted by sound effects: "It was thus the first time that sound effects and music were superimposed to form a rich sonic landscape. Not only do players receive feedback related directly to their actions through sound effects; they also receive stimulus in a more subtle, non-interactive fashion through music."<ref name="MaestroMario">Schartmann, Andrew. [http://thoughtcatalog.com/book/maestro-mario-how-nintendo-transformed-videogame-music-into-an-art/ Maestro Mario: How Nintendo Transformed Videogame Music into an Art.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823064005/http://thoughtcatalog.com/book/maestro-mario-how-nintendo-transformed-videogame-music-into-an-art/ |date=August 23, 2013 }} New York: Thought Catalog, 2013.</ref>
# The music interacts with on-screen animation to influence the emotions of the player: "That seemingly pedestrian four-note loop might stir us in the most primitive of ways, but that it stirs us at all is worthy of note. By demonstrating that game sound could be more than a simple tune to fill the silence, ''Space Invaders'' moved video game music closer to the realm of art."<ref name="MaestroMario" />
# The music for ''Space Invaders'' popularized the notion of variability—the idea that music can change in accordance with the ongoing on-screen narrative. The variable in ''Space Invaders'', the [[tempo]], is admittedly simple, but its implications are not to be underestimated. "Over the years, analogous strategies of variation would be applied to pitch, rhythm, dynamics, form, and a host of other parameters, all with the goal of accommodating the nonlinear aspect of video games."<ref name="MaestroMario" />
{{Quotation|At the deepest of conceptual levels, one would be hard-pressed to find an arcade game as influential to the early history of video game music as ''Space Invaders''. Its role as a harbinger of the fundamental techniques that would come to shape the industry remains more or less unchallenged. And its blockbuster success ensured the adoption of those innovations by the industry at large.|Andrew Schartmann, ''Thought Catalog'' (2013)}}

''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' editor Neil West also cited the ''Space Invaders'' music as an example of great video game art, commenting on how the simple melody's increasing tempo and synchronization with the enemies' movement chills and excites the player.<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]]|issue=35|page=157}}</ref>

==Reception and versions==
{{Video game reviews
| Allgame = {{Rating|5|5}} (Arcade)<ref>{{cite web |last=Weiss |first=Brett Alan |title=Space Invaders |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=4717&tab=review |publisher=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 />{{Rating|4|5}} ({{nowrap|Atari 5200}})<ref>{{cite web |last=Weiss |first=Brett Alan |title=Space Invaders |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=15766&tab=review |publisher=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 />{{Rating|4|5}} (SNES)<ref>{{cite web |last=Weiss |first=Brett Alan |title=Space Invaders |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=7469&tab=review |publisher=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>
| rev1 = ''[[Games World]]''
| rev1Score = 80% (Game Boy)<ref>{{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]] |page=23 |url=https://archive.org/details/games-world-07/page/n22}}</ref>
| award1Pub = [[Arcade Awards]]
| award1 = [[List of Game of the Year awards|Game of the Year]]<ref name="award" />
| award2Pub = ''[[VideoGames]]''
| award2 = Best Game Boy Game ({{nowrap|runner-up}})<ref name="VG74">{{cite magazine |title=VideoGames Best of '94 |magazine=[[VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine]] |date=February 1995 |issue=74 (March 1995) |pages=44–7 |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<ref name="GWR08-3" />
| award4Pub = ''[[The Times]]''
| award4 = Most Influential Video Game Ever<ref name="the-times" />
}}

''Space Invaders'' initially received mixed responses from within Taito and [[amusement arcade]] owners. 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 other timer-based arcade games at the time. A number of [[amusement arcade]] owners initially rejected it, but some [[pachinko]] parlors and [[bowling alley]]s adopted it; it quickly caught on, with many parlors and alleys clearing space for more ''Space Invaders'' cabinets.<ref name="Barton">{{cite book |last1=Barton |first1=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=21–7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fU-fDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21}}</ref> In the first few months following its release in Japan, ''Space Invaders'' became popular,<ref name="1UP-10things" /> and specialty [[video arcade]]s opened with nothing but ''Space Invaders'' cabinets.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref name="1UP-10things" />

By the end of 1978, [[Taito]] had installed over 100,000 machines and grossed {{US$|670 million|long=no}} ({{US$|{{inflation|US|0.67|1978|r=1}} billion|long=no}} adjusted for inflation) in Japan alone.<ref name="Cohen">{{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Daniel |title=Video Games |date=1982 |publisher=[[Pocket Books]] |location=New York |isbn=0-671-45872-8 |pages=15–7 |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 |date=Winter 1981 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=30–33 [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> By June 1979, Taito had manufactured about 200,000–300,000 ''Space Invaders'' machines in Japan, with each unit earning an average of {{JPY|10,000}} or {{US$|{{To USD|10000|JPN|year=1979|round=yes}}|long=no|1979|round=0}} in [[100 yen coin]]s per day. However, this was not enough to meet the high demand, leading to Taito increasing production to 25,000–30,000 units per month and raising projections to 400,000 manufactured in Japan by the end of 1979.<ref name="FT"/> In order to cope with the demand, Taito licensed the overseas rights to Midway for distribution outside of Japan. By the end of 1979, an estimated 750,000 ''Space Invaders'' machines were installed worldwide, including 400,000 in Japan, 85,000 in the United Kingdom,<ref name="ACE">{{cite magazine |title=After ''Pong'' |magazine=[[ACE (magazine)|ACE]] |date=February 4, 1988 |issue=6 (March 1988) |pages=29–32 (29) |url=https://archive.org/details/ACE_Issue_06_1988-03_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n28/mode/1up}}</ref> and 60,000 within a year in the United States<ref name="Peterson-175">{{citation |title=Genesis II, creation and recreation with computers |author=Dale 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]] |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, Ind. |isbn=0-7440-0424-1 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=auMTAQAAIAAJ&q=%22represented+a+significant+portion+of+the+cost%22 19] |quote=Within one year of its US release, an additional 60,000 machines had been sold.<br />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> (where prices ranged from $2,000 to $3,000 for each machine);<ref>{{citation |title=Video arcades rival Broadway theatre and girlie shows in NY |work=[[InfoWorld]] |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> the game eventually sold 72,000 units in the United States by 1982.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Stone |first1=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 |pages=53–55 (54) |url=https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_Volume_1_Number_03_1982-12_Pumpkin_Press_US/page/n53}}</ref> By 1979, it had become the [[arcade game]] industry's all-time best-seller.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=1979: The Year in Review |magazine=[[Cash Box]] |date=December 19, 1979 |page=114 |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox41unse_31/page/n131 }}</ref>

''Space Invaders'' had about {{nowrap|8 million}} [[Active users|daily players]] in Japan, with daily revenue peaking at {{JPY|2.6 billion}} or {{US$|{{To USD|2600|JPN|year=1978|round=yes}},000,000|long=no|1978|round=-6}}.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Games Boom Rolls On |magazine=[[Asiaweek]] |date=May 1981 |volume=7 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QHQMAQAAMAAJ |publisher=Asiaweek Limited |quote=Roughly {{nowrap|8 million}} people played the game daily, spending {{nowrap|2.6 billion}} yen (US$114m.) a day and forcing the Bank of Japan to make three special mintings of 100-yen coins.}}</ref> ''Space Invaders'' machines had grossed more than four billion [[US quarters]] ({{US$|1 billion|long=no}} at the time, or {{US$|{{inflation|US|1|1978|r=1}} billion|long=no}} adjusted for inflation) by 1979.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sullivan |first1=George |chapter=The First Big Hits |title=Screen Play: The Story of Video Games |date=1983 |publisher=[[F. Warne]] |isbn=978-0-7232-6251-0 |pages=38–47 (40) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ScreenPlaytheStoryofVideoGames/page/n49}}</ref> It remained the top arcade game for three years through 1980.<ref name="Cohen"/> In 1981, several years after its release, it still had weekly earnings of {{US$|7.7 million|long=no}} 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 Montreal Gazette]] |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 }}</ref> By 1982, it had crossed $2&nbsp;billion in quarters<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=live|archive-url=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|work=[[The Fifth Estate (TV)|The Fifth Estate]]|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name="Executive">{{citation |title=Space Invaders vs. Star Wars |work=Executive |volume=24 |publisher=Southam Business Publications |year=1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-KwTAQAAMAAJ |access-date=April 30, 2011 |page=9 |quote=According to TEC, Atari's arcade game Space Invaders has taken in $2&nbsp;billion, with net receipts of $450 million.}}</ref> (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|2000000000|1978}}}} adjusted for inflation),<ref name="Inflation">{{cite web |title=CPI Inflation Calculator |publisher=[[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] |url=http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm |access-date=March 22, 2011 |archive-date=September 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917111520/https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> with a [[net profit]] of $450&nbsp;million<ref name="Executive" /> (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US|450000000|1978}}}} adjusted for inflation).<ref name="Inflation" /> 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-SW" /> which had grossed $486&nbsp;million,<ref name="Executive-SW" /> with a net profit of $175&nbsp;million.<ref name="Executive-SW">{{citation |title=Space Invaders vs. Star Wars |work=Executive |volume=24 |publisher=Southam Business Publications |year=1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-KwTAQAAMAAJ |access-date=April 30, 2011 |page=9 |quote=They compare this to the box office movie top blockbuster Star Wars, which has taken in only $486 million, for a net of $175 million.}}</ref> By 1982, it had [[Gross revenue|grossed]] {{US$|3.8 billion|long=no}}, equivalent to over {{US$|13 billion|long=no}} as of 2016.<ref name="Game On" /> ''Space Invaders'' earned Taito profits of over {{US$|500,000,000|long=no|1978|round=-8}}.<ref name="GI-177" /><ref>{{cite web |title=The Gamespy Hall of Fame: Space Invaders |work=[[GameSpy]] |author=Kevin 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>

===Home versions===
{{Further|Space Invaders (Atari 2600 video game)}}
The 1980 [[Atari VCS]] (Atari 2600) version 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> It sold over one million units in its first year, then over {{nowrap|4.2 million}} copies by the end of 1981, and over {{nowrap|5.6 million}} by 1982. It was the [[List of best-selling Atari 2600 video games|best-selling Atari 2600 game]] up until the [[Pac-Man (Atari 2600 video game)|Atari version of ''Pac-Man'']] (1982).<ref name="Atari">{{cite book |title=Cartridge Sales Since 1980 |publisher=[[Atari Corp.]]}} Via {{cite episode |title=The Agony & The Ecstasy |series=Once Upon Atari |date=August 10, 2003 |number=4 |minutes=23 |publisher=Scott West Productions}}</ref> ''Space Invaders'' for the Atari 2600 had sold {{formatnum:{{#expr:1318655+2964137+1373033+435353}}|}} cartridges by 1983,<ref name="Atari"/> and a further {{formatnum:{{#expr:(11523+6000)+65148+29717+36308+12355}}|}} between 1986 and 1990,<ref name="Vendel">{{Cite web|last=Vendel|first=Curt|date=May 28, 2009|title=Site News|url=http://www.atarimuseum.com/whatsnew/2009-MAY-28.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206090952/http://www.atarimuseum.com/whatsnew/2009-MAY-28.html|archive-date=December 6, 2010|access-date=November 27, 2021|website=Atari Museum}}</ref> for a total of over {{nowrap|{{#expr:6.091178+0.161051 round 2}} million}} cartridges sold by 1990.

Other official [[Video game conversion|conversions]] were released for the [[Atari 8-bit computers]] and [[Atari 5200]] console, while Taito later released it for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo Famicom]] in 1985, but only 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"/> The Atari VCS conversion was programmed by Richard Maurer,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Haque |first1=James |title=Reminiscing from Richard Maurer |url=https://dadgum.com/giantlist/archive/maurer.html |access-date=May 19, 2021 |work=Giant List of Classic Game Programmers |publisher=Dadgum Games |date=January 5, 1999 |archive-date=June 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622135928/https://dadgum.com/giantlist/archive/maurer.html |url-status=live }}</ref> while the Atari 5200 conversion was programmed by Eric Manghise and animated by Marilyn Churchill.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stilphen |first1=Scott |title=DP Interviews... Marilyn Churchill |url=https://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_marilyn_churchill.html |access-date=May 19, 2021 |work=Digital Press |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226230857/http://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_marilyn_churchill.html |archive-date=February 26, 2009}}</ref>

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> such as ''[[Super Invader]]'' (1979)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Super Invader Is Reader's Choice |magazine=[[Softalk]] |date=April 1981 |issue=13 |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> and ''[[TI Invaders]]'' (1981); the latter was the [[List of best-selling PC games|top-selling game]] for the [[TI-99/4A]] through at least 1982.<ref>{{citation |title=Cash In On the Video Game Craze |work=[[Black Enterprise]] |date=December 1982 |volume=12 |issue=5 |issn=0006-4165 |pages=41–2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N6pacvfrf0wC&pg=PA41 |access-date=May 1, 2011|last1=Earl g. Graves |first1=Ltd }}</ref>

== Legacy ==
As one of the earliest [[shooting games]], ''Space Invaders'' set precedents and helped pave the way for future games and for the shooting genre.<ref name="IGN-10">{{cite web |url=http://games.ign.com/articles/840/840621p1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211223739/http://games.ign.com/articles/840/840621p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 11, 2007 |title=IGN's Top 10 Most Influential Games |website=[[IGN]] |author=Geddes, Ryan |author2=Hatfield, Daemon |date=December 10, 2007 |access-date=July 11, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor=Craig 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=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0/page/88 88] |chapter=Record Breaking Games: Shooting Games |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0 |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0/page/88 }}</ref> ''Space Invaders'' popularized a more interactive style of [[gameplay]], with the enemies responding to the player-controlled cannon's movement,<ref name="RG-3" /> and was the first video game to popularize the concept of achieving a [[high score]],<ref name="GS-SI-Hall">{{cite web |url=http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/halloffame/spaceinvaders.shtm |title=The Gamespy Hall of Fame: Space Invaders |publisher=[[GameSpy]] |author=Kevin 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><ref name="GWR08-2" /><ref name="IGN-10" /> being the first to [[Saved game|save]] the player's score.<ref name="IGN-10" /> While earlier shooting games allowed the player to shoot at targets, ''Space Invaders'' was the first in which multiple enemies could fire back at the player,<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]] |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}}
*{{cite web |title=Space Invaders – 30th Anniversary Developer Interview |url=http://shmuplations.com/spaceinvaders/ |website=Shmuplations}}</ref> and in contrast to earlier arcade games which often had a timer, ''Space Invaders'' introduced the "concept of going [[Level (video games)|round]] after round."<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> It was also the first game where players were given multiple [[Life (video games)|lives]],<ref>{{citation |title=Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan's Game Centers |author1=Brian Ashcraft |author2=Jean 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> had to repel hordes of enemies,<ref name="1UP-10things" /> could [[Cover system|take cover]] from enemy fire, and use [[Destructible environment|destructible]] barriers,<ref>{{cite web |author=Brian 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> in addition to being the first game to use a continuous [[Video game music|background soundtrack]], with four simple [[diatonic]] descending [[bass note]]s repeating in a [[Loop (music)|loop]], which was [[Dynamic music|dynamic]] and [[Tempo|changed pace]] during stages,<ref>{{Cite book |title=From Pac-Man to pop music: interactive audio in games and new media |author=Karen Collins |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing|Ashgate]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7546-6200-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFEYAQAAIAAJ |access-date=April 8, 2011 |page=2}}</ref> like a [[Heart sounds|heartbeat sound]] that increases pace as enemies approached.<ref name="Barton-232" />

An [[urban legend]] states that ''Space Invaders''<nowiki/>' 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=Craig 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=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0/page/106 106–107] |chapter=Record Breaking Games: Shooting Games Roundup |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_0 |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 |work=The Observer |location=UK |author=Richards, 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> However, Nishikado himself was skeptical of the story.<ref name="Barton"/> In reality, 100-[[yen]] coin production was lower in 1978 and 1979 than in previous or subsequent years.<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]] |work=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> Additionally, arcade operators would have regularly emptied their machines and taken the coins to the bank, thus keeping them in [[Currency in circulation|circulation]].<ref name="WCN39-2" /> Reports from those living in Japan at the time indicate "nothing out of the ordinary ... during the height of the ''Space Invaders'' invasion".<ref name="WCN39-2" />

''Space Invaders'' was inducted into the [[World Video Game Hall of Fame]] in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.warpzoned.com/2016/05/world-video-game-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-announced-legend-of-zelda-gta3-sonic-space-invaders-oregon-trail-the-sims/|title=World Video Game Hall of Fame Class of 2016 announced: Legend of Zelda, GTA3, Sonic, Space Invaders, Oregon Trail, The Sims|last=Scalzo|first=John|date=May 5, 2016|website=Warp Zoned|language=en-US|access-date=December 5, 2018}}</ref> ''Space Invaders'' cabinets have become [[collector's items]], with the [[Cocktail arcade cabinet|cocktail]] and [[Arcade cabinet#Mini or cabaret cabinets|cabaret]] versions being the rarest.<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=[https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi/page/411 411–412] |chapter=Arcade Classics |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi |url=https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi/page/411 }}</ref>

=== Impact ===
[[Video game developer|Game developers]] including [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] (creator of the franchises ''[[Donkey Kong]]'', ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'', and ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]''),<ref name="Shigeru">{{cite magazine|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|magazine=Time|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> [[Hideo Kojima]] (''[[Metal Gear]]''),<ref>{{cite web|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}}</ref> [[Satoshi Tajiri]] (''[[Pokémon]]''),<ref>{{cite news |last1=Petit |first1=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 |work=[[Kotaku]] |date=August 16, 2021 |language=en-us |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> and [[John Romero]] and [[John Carmack]] (both ''[[Doom (franchise)|Doom]])'' have cited ''Space Invaders'' as their introduction to video games.<ref>[http://www.retrogamer.net/profiles/developer/john-romero/ JOHN ROMERO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022063046/http://www.retrogamer.net/profiles/developer/john-romero/ |date=October 22, 2021 }}, ''[[Retro Gamer]]'', issue 75</ref><ref>[http://www.bethblog.com/2011/01/26/all-the-rage-john-carmack/ All the RAGE: John Carmack] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320052321/http://www.bethblog.com/2011/01/26/all-the-rage-john-carmack/ |date=March 20, 2017 }}, [[Bethesda Softworks]]</ref> Miyamoto said ''Space Invaders'' had revolutionized the [[video game industry]].<ref name="Shigeru" /> According to Alexander Smith, by "allowing targets to attack the player and eliminating the timer, Nishikado created a new paradigm in video games."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=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> It also inspired [[Eugene Jarvis]] (''[[Defender (video game)|Defender]]'', ''[[Robotron: 2084]]'') to become a video game designer, stating it "laid the groundwork for a whole generation" of video games with the "animated characters, the story, this amazing crescendo of action and climax"<ref name="wired1">{{cite magazine |author=Obsessions |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> and that many games "still rely on the multiple [[Life (video games)|life]], progressively difficult [[Level (video games)|level]] paradigm" of ''Space Invaders''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hague |first1=James |chapter=Eugene Jarvis |title-link=Halcyon Days (book) |title=Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers |date=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=May 18, 2021}}</ref> ''[[Deus Ex]]'' creator [[Warren Spector]] said: "''Space Invaders'' and games like it represent the roots of everything we see today in gaming. It represents the birth of a new art form, one that literally changed the world. ''Space Invaders'' is important as an historical artefact, no less than the silent films of the early twentieth century or early printed books."<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>

[[Edge (magazine)|''Edge'']] attributed 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 magazine|url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/30-defining-moments-gaming|title=The 30 Defining Moments in Gaming|author=Edge Staff|date=August 13, 2007|magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]|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> Its popularity was such that it was the first game where an [[arcade machine]]'s owner could earn back the cost of the machine in under one month, or in some places within one week.<ref name="powerup19" />

''Space Invaders'' helped action games become the dominant [[Video game genre|genre]] in arcades and on consoles.<ref>{{cite book |title=The cyberspace handbook |first=Jason |last=Whittaker |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-415-16835-X |page=129}}</ref> ''Guinness World Records'' considered ''Space Invaders'' one of the most successful arcade shooting games by 2008.<ref name="GWR08-2" /> In describing it as a "seminal arcade classic", IGN listed it as the number eight "classic shoot 'em up".<ref name="10ShootEmUp">{{cite web|url=http://retro.ign.com/articles/865/865346p1.html|title=Top 10 Classic Shoot 'Em Ups|author=Buchanan, 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> ''Space Invaders'' set the template for the shoot 'em up genre.<ref name="1UP-50">{{cite web |title=Essential 50: Space Invaders |website=[[1UP.com]] |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> Its worldwide success created a demand for a wide variety of [[science fiction]] games, inspiring the development of arcade games, such as [[Atari|Atari's]] ''[[Asteroids (video game)|Asteroids]]'',<ref name="eg_2_36">{{cite magazine|title=Players Guide To Electronic Science Fiction Games |magazine=[[Electronic Games]] |date=March 1982 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=35–45 [36] |url=https://archive.org/stream/electronic-games-magazine-1982-03/Electronic_Games_Issue_02_Vol_01_02_1982_Mar#page/n35/mode/1up |access-date=February 1, 2012}}</ref> [[Williams Electronics]]' ''[[Defender (video game)|Defender]]'', and [[Namco]]'s ''[[Galaxian]]'' and ''[[Galaga]]'', which were modeled after ''Space Invaders''{{'}} gameplay and design.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespy.com/articles/493/493431p1.html |title=Hall of Fame: Galaxian and Galaga |author=Osborne, 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><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |title=The Making of Defender |issue=55 |pages=34–39 |date=October 2008}}</ref> This influence could be said to extend to most shooting games released to the present day,<ref name="1UP-10things" /> including [[first-person shooter]]s (FPS) such as ''[[Wolfenstein]]'',<ref>{{cite book |title=Growing Up Postmodern: Neoliberalism and the War on the Young |first=Ronald |last=Strickland |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |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><ref>{{cite book |title=What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy |first=James Paul |last=Gee |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2004 |isbn=1-4039-6538-2 |page=47 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BZIY7TGKySsC&pg=PA47 |access-date=April 10, 2011}}</ref> ''[[Doom (series)|Doom]]'',<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> ''[[Halo (series)|Halo]]''<ref>{{cite book |title=The Meaning of Video Games: Gaming and Textual Studies |first=Steven Edward |last=Jones |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-415-96055-7 |pages=84–85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7ACHel_UxcC&pg=PA84 |access-date=April 10, 2011 |quote=The developers of ''Halo'' are aware of their own place in gaming history, and one of them once joked that their game could be seen as "''Space Invaders'' in a tube." The joke contains a double-edged insight: on the one hand, Halo is first and finally about shooting aliens; on the other hand, even the 1978 2-D arcade shooter, Space Invaders, designed by Tomohiro Nishikado for the company Taito, is more interesting than that would suggest.}}</ref> and ''[[Call of Duty]]''.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=GameSetWatch |date=November 16, 2010 |title=No More Russian – Infinity Ward's ''Modern Warfare 2'', One Year On |author=Simon 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> ''Space Invaders'' also influenced other genres, including [[maze games]] such as [[Sega]]/[[Gremlin Industries|Gremlin]]'s ''[[Head On (video game)|Head On]]'' (1979) which adopted the concept of "going round after round" instead of a timer,<ref name="SDR"/> and early computer [[dungeon crawl]] games such as ''[[Dungeons of Daggorath]]'', which used similar [[Heart sounds|heartbeat sounds]] to indicate player [[Health (gaming)|health]].<ref name="Barton-232">{{citation |title=Vintage games: an insider look at the history of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the most influential games of all time |author1=Bill Loguidice |author2=Matt 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>

The [[technology journalist]] Jason Whittaker credited ''Space Invaders'' with ending the [[video game crash of 1977]], caused by ''[[Pong]]'' clones flooding the market, and beginning the [[golden age of video arcade games]] (1978–1980s).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cyberspace Handbook|last=Whittaker|first=Jason|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2004|isbn=0-415-16835-X|page=122}}</ref> According to ''[[The Observer]]'', home console versions of ''Space Invaders'' were popular and encouraged users to learn to program; many became industry leaders.<ref name="guardian" /> [[1UP.com]] stated that ''Space Invaders'' showed that video games could compete against the major entertainment media at the time: films, music, and television.<ref name="1UP-10things" /> ''[[IGN]]'' attributed the launch of the "arcade phenomenon" in North America in part to ''Space Invaders''.<ref name="10ShootEmUp" /> ''[[Electronic Games]]'' said it was the impetus behind video gaming becoming a rapidly growing hobby, and as "the single most popular coin-operated attraction of all time."<ref>{{cite magazine|date=Winter 1981|title=Atari Offers Largest Game Library|url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf|magazine=Electronic Games|volume=1|issue=1|pages=40–41 [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> ''[[Game Informer]]'' considered it, along with ''[[Pac-Man]]'', one of the most popular arcade games; it tapped into popular culture and generated excitement during the golden age of arcades.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=February 2008|title=Classic GI: King of the Hill|magazine=[[Game Informer]]|publisher=Cathy Preston|issue=178|page=108}}</ref>

=== Rankings ===
In 1995, [[Flux (magazine)|''Flux'']] magazine ranked Space Invaders #1 on their "Top 100 Video Games".<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 |issue=4 |pages=25}}</ref> In 1996, [[Next Generation (magazine)|''Next Generation'' magazine]] put ''Space Invaders'' at number 97 on their list of the "Top 100 Games of All Time", saying that it "provides an elegance and simplicity not found in later games like ''[[Phoenix (1980 video game)|Phoenix]]'' [1980]."<ref>{{cite magazine|date=September 1996|title=Top 100 Games of All Time|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=21|page=38}}</ref> 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" /> ''[[The Times]]'' ranked it No. 1 on its list of "The ten most influential video games ever" in 2007.<ref name="the-times">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110902230443/http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article2455080.ece The ten most influential video games ever], ''[[The Times]]'', September 20, 2007</ref> 1UP ranked it at No. 3 on its list of "The 60 Most Influential Games of All Time", stating that, in contrast to earlier arcade games which "were attempts to [[Simulation video game|simulate]] already-existing things," ''Space Invaders'' was "the first video game as a video game, instead of merely a playable electronic representation of something else."<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>

In 2008, ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' listed it as the top-rated arcade game in technical, creative, and cultural impact.<ref name="GWR08-3" /> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' named ''Space Invaders'' one of the top ten games for the [[Atari 2600]] home console in 2013.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Morales|first=Aaron|date=January 25, 2013|title=The 10 best Atari games|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2013/01/25/the-10-best-atari-games|access-date=April 17, 2016|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref> In 2018, it was ranked 87th in Video Game Canon's statistical [[meta-analysis]] of 48 "top games" lists published between 1995 and 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.videogamecanon.com/essays/space-invaders/|title=Space Invaders|date=February 17, 2017|website=Video Game Canon|language=en-US|access-date=December 5, 2018|archive-date=December 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205103435/https://www.videogamecanon.com/essays/space-invaders/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The list aggregator site Playthatgame currently ranks Space Invaders as the 57th top game of all time, game of the year, and game of the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jeroen te Strake |first1=Peter Searle |title=Thebiglist |url=http://playthatgame.co.uk/?action=mainlist |website=Playthatgame |access-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-date=June 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617145602/http://playthatgame.co.uk/?action=mainlist |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021, ''[[The Guardian]]'' listed it as the third-greatest [[1970s in video games|video game of the 1970s]], just below ''Galaxian'' and ''Asteroids''.<ref>{{cite news |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 |work=[[The Guardian]] |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>

===Remakes and sequels===
{{main|List of Space Invaders video games{{!}}List of ''Space Invaders'' video games}}
{{Video game timeline
| compressempty = yes
| 1978 = ''Space Invaders''
| 1979 = ''[[Space Invaders Part II]]''
| 1980 = ''Space Invaders II''
| 1984 = ''Return of the Invaders''
| 1990a = ''Majestic Twelve: The Space Invaders Part IV''
| 1990b = ''Mininvaders''
| 1990c = ''Space Invaders: Fukkatsu no Hi''
| 1990d = ''Space Invaders 90''
| 1993 = ''[[Space Invaders DX]]''
| 1995a = ''Space Invaders '95: The Attack of Lunar Loonies''
| 1995b = ''PD Ultraman Invaders''
| 1999 = ''Space Invaders X''
| 2002a = ''Space Invaders EX''
| 2002b = ''[[Space Raiders (video game)|Space Raiders]]''
| 2005a = ''Space Invaders Revolution''
| 2005b = ''Space Invaders Evolution''
| 2005c = ''Space Invaders × Pac-Man''
| 2006 = ''Yawaraka Sensha vs Space Invaders''
| 2007a = ''Space Invaders Pinball''
| 2007b = ''Minna de Invaders''
| 2008a = ''Space Invaders CX''
| 2008b = ''Space Invaders The Beat Attacker''
| 2008c = ''[[Space Invaders Get Even]]''
| 2008d = ''[[Space Invaders Extreme]]''
| 2008e = ''Space Invaders World War''
| 2009a = ''[[Space Invaders Extreme 2]]''
| 2009b = ''[[Space Invaders Infinity Gene]]''
| 2017a = ''Space Invaders Frenzy''
| 2017b = ''[[Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders]]''
| 2018 = ''Space Invaders Gigamax''
| 2020 = ''Space Invaders Counter Attack''
| 2021 = ''Space Invaders: Hidden Heroes''
| 2023 = ''Space Invaders: World Defense''
}}

''Space Invaders'' has been remade on numerous platforms and spawned many sequels. Re-releases include [[ported]] and updated versions of the original arcade game. Ported versions generally feature different graphics and additional [[gameplay]] options—for example, ''moving'' defense bunkers, zigzag shots, invisible aliens, and two-player cooperative gameplay.<ref name="RG-41" /> Ports on earlier systems like the Atari home consoles featured simplified graphics,{{Clarify|reason=simpler than the arcade?|date=March 2019}} while later systems such as the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] and [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] featured updated graphics. Later games include several modes of gameplay and integrate new elements into the original design. For example, ''[[Space Invaders Extreme]]'', released on the [[Nintendo DS]] and [[PlayStation Portable]], integrated musical elements into the standard gameplay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://psp.ign.com/articles/863/863894p1.html |title=Space Invaders Extreme Set for US |website=[[IGN]] |author=Hatfield, 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]] |title=Space Invaders |issue=29 |page=46}}</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=http://wii.ign.com/articles/882/882265p1.html|url-status=dead|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]]}}</ref>

In 1980, [[Bally Manufacturing|Bally]] released a [[pinball]] version. However, few elements from the original game are included, and the aliens instead resemble the [[xenomorph]]s from the film ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]''; Bally was later sued over the resemblance to the designs by [[H. R. Giger]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=January 2008 |title=A Whole Different Ball Game |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |issue=45 |page=47}}</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>

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

Ports have received mixed reviews; the [[Atari 2600]] version was successful, while the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Famicom]] version was poorly received.<ref name="RG-41" />

[[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 |work=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>{{cite web |last=Davies |first=Jonti |title=Space Invaders Pocket |url=http://uk.psp.gamespy.com/playstation-portable/space-invaders-pocket/614422p1.html |publisher=[[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> it featured color graphics, an [[attract mode]], new gameplay elements, and added an [[Cut scene|intermission between gameplay]].<ref name="klov_deluxe" /> According to the ''[[Killer List of Videogames]]'', this was the first video game to include an [[intermission]].<ref name="GWR08-2" /><ref name="klov_deluxe">[http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=12743 Space Invaders Deluxe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225045946/http://arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=12743 |date=December 25, 2010 }}, klov.com. Accessed on line March 28, 2011.</ref> The game also allowed the player with the top score to sign their name, which would appear at the top of the screen for as long as the game was powered on.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Definitive Space Invaders |url=http://www.nowgamer.com/features/894697/the_definitive_space_invaders_part_1.html |work=NowGamer |access-date=September 30, 2011 |date=January 19, 2009 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714114148/http://www.nowgamer.com/features/894697/the_definitive_space_invaders_part_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This version was released in the United States as ''Deluxe Space Invaders'' (also known as ''Space Invaders Deluxe''), but it featured a different graphical color scheme and a lunar-city background. Another arcade sequel, ''[[Space Invaders II]]'', 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 game introduced minor gameplay additions to the original design. Like the original game, several of the arcade sequels have become collector's items, though some are considered rarer.<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=http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/spaceraiders/similar.html?mode=versions |title=Space Raiders: Release Summary |website=[[GameSpot]] |access-date=April 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |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=Rico Komanoya |title=Japanese Game Graphics: Behind the Scenes of Your Favorite Games |year=2004 |publisher=Harper Design International |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-06-056772-4 |pages=116–121 |chapter=[[Space Raiders (video game)|Space Raiders]]}}</ref>

[[File:SPACE INVADERS FRENZY.jpg|thumb|''Space Invaders Frenzy'' machine]]

''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 |author=Calvert, 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>{{cite web |url=http://psp.ign.com/articles/613/613267p1.html |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 |publisher=[[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 |author=Surette, 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=http://www.gamespot.com/news/6168839.html |title=More Taito Legends headed to US |author=Sinclair, 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>

A stand-alone version was released by Super Impulse as part of its ''Tiny Arcade'' series, along with the [[Bandai Namco Entertainment|Namco]] games ''[[Pac-Man]]'', ''[[Ms. Pac-Man]]'', and ''[[Galaxian]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.superimpulse.com/our-brands/tiny-arcade-2/ |title=Miniature iconic arcade games are now available from Super Impulse. |date=October 14, 2017 |access-date=October 15, 2017 |archive-date=October 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015044455/http://superimpulse.com/our-brands/tiny-arcade-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A ''Space Invaders'' game for the [[Atari Jaguar]] was worked on by [[Virtuality Entertainment]], which would have featured support for the unreleased [[Jaguar VR]] [[Video game accessory#Add-ons/peripherals|peripheral]]; however, the project never entered full development beyond reaching pre-production stages, with the only remaining proof of its existence being a [[game design document]].<ref>{{cite web|author=JAYSMITH2000|url=http://members.cox.net:80/jmsmith8/photo.htm|title=Jaguar Photo Collection – My Photo Gallery|website=members.cox.net|date=January 2, 2004|access-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040823140032/http://members.cox.net/jmsmith8/photo.htm|archive-date=August 23, 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Buchanan|first=Adam|title=Incredibly Rare Working Prototype 'Atari Jaguar Virtual Reality Headset' Hardware Surfaces on eBay|url=http://www.retrocollect.com/News/incredibly-rare-working-prototype-atari-jaguar-virtual-reality-headset-hardware-surfaces-on-ebay.html|website=retrocollect.com|date=January 23, 2015|access-date=March 23, 2019|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323200514/http://www.retrocollect.com/News/incredibly-rare-working-prototype-atari-jaguar-virtual-reality-headset-hardware-surfaces-on-ebay.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
{{popcruft|date=May 2025}}

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" /> There has also been ''Space Invaders-''themed [[merchandising]], including necklaces and puzzles.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Paige |first=Earl |title=Children's Video Promotions Help Boost Volume |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=September 25, 1982 |volume=94 |issue=38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mSQEAAAAMBAJ&q=Space+Invaders&pg=PT19 |access-date=March 4, 2012 |page=19 |issn=0006-2510}}</ref> The trend continues to this day, with handmade sites like [[Etsy]] and [[Pinterest]] showcasing thousands of handmade items featuring ''Space Invaders'' characters.

[[File:Vgltoronto.jpg|thumb|left|alt=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".|A [[Pixelation|pixelated]] alien graphic from ''Space Invaders'' used at the [[Video Games Live]] concert event]]

''Space Invaders'' has appeared in numerous facets of [[popular culture]]. Soon after its release, hundreds of favorable articles and stories about the emerging video game medium as popularized by ''Space Invaders'' aired on television and were printed in newspapers and magazines. The Space Invaders Tournament, held by Atari in 1980 and won by [[Rebecca Heineman]],<ref>{{cite web |title=It is 1980 and the National Space Invader's Tournament Finals is Approaching… |url=http://www.retroist.com/2013/05/20/it-is-1980-and-the-national-space-invaders-tournament-finals-is-approaching |website=Retroist.com |date=May 20, 2013 |access-date=July 31, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808154915/http://www.retroist.com/2013/05/20/it-is-1980-and-the-national-space-invaders-tournament-finals-is-approaching/ |archive-date=August 8, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was the first [[electronic sports]] (eSports) event, and attracted more than 10,000 participants, establishing [[Video game culture|video gaming]] as a mainstream hobby.<ref name="eg_2_36" /> The [[Electronic Games|Arcade Awards]] ceremony was created that same year to honor the best video games, with ''Space Invaders'' winning the first [[List of Game of the Year awards|Game of the Year]] (GoTY) award.<ref name="award">{{cite magazine |title=The Arcade Awards |magazine=Electronic Games |date=Winter 1981 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=38–9 |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> The impact of ''Space Invaders'' on the [[video game industry]] has been compared 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> Considered "the first '[[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]]' video game", ''Space Invaders'' became synonymous with video games worldwide for some time.<ref>{{citation |author=Chris Kohler |year=2005 |title=Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life |page=18 |publisher=[[BradyGames]] |isbn=0-7440-0424-1}}</ref>

Within a year of its release, the Japanese [[Parent-Teacher Association|PTA]] unsuccessfully attempted to ban ''Space Invaders'' for allegedly inspiring [[truancy]].<ref name="eg_1_31" /> In North America, doctors identified a condition called "''Space Invaders'' elbow" as a complaint,<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, Mass. |isbn=0-262-56044-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gqgb946KPfQC&pg=PA155 |edition=1st MIT Press paperback |page=155}}</ref> while a physician in ''[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]'' named a similar ailment the "''Space Invaders'' Wrist".<ref>{{cite news |title=The Video Game Invasion: What Is It Doing To Children? |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q4MsAAAAIBAJ&pg=4620,4423386 |access-date=March 5, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Herald Journal]] |date=December 18, 1981 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414071941/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q4MsAAAAIBAJ&pg=4620,4423386 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Space Invaders'' was also the first game to attract [[Video game controversy|political controversy]] when a 1981 [[Private Member's Bill]] known as the "Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill", drafted by [[British Labour]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) [[George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock|George Foulkes]], attempted to allow [[City council|local councils]] to restrict the game and those like it by [[licensing]] for its "[[Video game addiction|addictive properties]]" and for causing "[[deviancy]]". [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP [[Michael Brown (British politician)|Michael Brown]] defended it as "innocent and harmless pleasure", which he himself had enjoyed that day, and criticized the bill as an example of "[[Socialist]] beliefs in restriction and control". A motion to bring the bill before [[Parliament]] was defeated by 114 votes to 94 votes; the bill itself was never considered by Parliament.<ref>{{cite web |title=30 Great Gaming World Records |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/207943/features/30-great-gaming-world-records/ |work=[[Computer and Video Games]] |publisher=[[ComputerAndVideoGames.com]] |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=live }}</ref><ref>{{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>{{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 }} {{Webarchive|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 |date=January 31, 2015 }}</ref> Similarly in the United States, in [[Westchester County, New York]], there was a controversial political debate in 1981 over a resolution to place age restrictions on ''Space Invaders'' and other arcade games, following complaints that schoolchildren wasted time and lunch money, and went to school late; the resolution drew national attention.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Whitehouse |first1=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]] |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>

=== Music ===

Musicians have drawn inspiration for their music from ''Space Invaders''. The pioneering [[J-pop|Japanese]] [[synthpop]] group [[Yellow Magic Orchestra]] reproduced ''Space Invaders'' sounds in its 1978 [[Yellow Magic Orchestra (album)|self-titled album]] and hit single "Computer Game",<ref name="wire_2002">{{citation |title=The Wire, Issues 221–226 |work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]] |year=2002 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qyFMAAAAYAAJ |access-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref> the latter selling 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> Other pop songs based on ''Space Invaders'' soon followed, including [[disco]] records such as "Disco Space Invaders" (1979) by Funny Stuff,<ref name="wire_2002" /> and the hit songs "[[Pretenders (album)|Space Invader]]" (1980) by [[The Pretenders]],<ref name="wire_2002" /> "Space Invaders" (1980) by Uncle Vic,<ref>{{cite web |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 |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> and the Australian hit "[[Space Invaders (Player One song)|Space Invaders]]" (1979) by [[Player One (band)|Player One]] (known in the US as "Playback"),<ref>{{Discogs release|807452|Playback – Space Invaders}}</ref> which in turn provided the [[bassline]] for [[Jesse Saunders]]' "On and On" (1984),<ref>{{cite web |title=Jesse Saunders – On And On |date=January 20, 1984 |url=http://www.discogs.com/Jesse-Saunders-On-And-On/release/176575 |publisher=[[Discogs]] |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-date=August 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805023428/https://www.discogs.com/Jesse-Saunders-On-And-On/release/176575 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/black-history-jesse-saunders-and-house-music/ |title=Black History Month: Jesse Saunders and house music |last=Church |first=Terry |publisher=BeatPortal |date=February 9, 2010 |access-date=April 10, 2010 |archive-date=February 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212230432/https://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/black-history-jesse-saunders-and-house-music/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> the first [[Chicago house|Chicago]] [[house music]] track.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bracelin |first=Jason |title=House music finds a home |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LVRB&p_theme=lvrb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=11950293F0B8B3B8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |access-date=May 23, 2012 |newspaper=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]] |date=May 22, 2007 |page=1E |quote=A native of Chicago, where house was first popularized, Saunders is credited for producing and releasing the first house single, "On and On," on his own Jes Say Records label. |archive-date=April 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429154231/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LVRB&p_theme=lvrb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=11950293F0B8B3B8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |url-status=live }}</ref> [[The Clash]] sampled ''Space Invaders'' sound effects on the song "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe" from its 4th studio album, ''[[Sandinista!]]''

[[Video Games Live]] performed audio from ''Space Invaders'' as part of a special [[Retrogaming|retro]] "Classic Arcade Medley" in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://games.ign.com/articles/816/816582p1.html |title=Microsoft Brings Video Games Live to London |website=[[GameSpot]] |author=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|author-link=Microsoft }}</ref> In honor of the game's 30th anniversary, [[Taito]] produced an album, ''Space Invaders 2008''. It was released by [[Avex Trax]] and features music inspired by the game. Six songs were originally used in the [[PlayStation Portable|PSP]] version of ''[[Space Invaders Extreme]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spaceinvaders.jp/news/detail/1188686_1819.html| script-title = ja: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's store, Taito Station, also unveiled a ''Space Invaders''-themed [[music video]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spaceinvaders.jp/blog/blog_detail/1186880_2321.html |language=ja |title=ź 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！ |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>

=== Television and film ===

In the 1982 pilot of the series ''[[The Powers of Matthew Star]]'', David Star uses his powers to [[Cheating in video games|cheat the game]]. ''Space Invaders'' is shown with a colored backdrop of the moon. Multiple [[television series]] have aired episodes that either reference or parody ''Space Invaders''; for example, ''[[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 |author=Baker, 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>

''Space Invaders'' also appears in the films ''[[Cherry 2000]]'' (1987), ''[[Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'' (1991) and ''[[Pixels (2015 film)|Pixels]]'' (2015), while its ''Deluxe'' game made an appearance in ''[[Fast Times At Ridgemont High]]'' (1982). It also appears in [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney]]'s ''[[Wreck-It Ralph]]'' (2012). A film adaptation is in the works by [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] with [[Akiva Goldsman]] producing.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thewrap.com/akiva-goldsman-to-produce-space-invaders-for-warner-bros-exclusive/ |author=Jeff Sneider |title=Akiva Goldsman to Produce 'Space Invaders' for Warner Bros. (Exclusive) |work=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><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.philstar.com/movies/2014/07/23/1349432/classic-video-game-characters-unite-film-pixels |author=Chris Kohler |title=Classic video game characters unite via film 'Pixels' |work=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> On February 13, 2015, Daniel Kunka was set to write the script for the film.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fleming |first1=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 |publisher=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> On July 12, 2019, [[Greg Russo]] was set to write the script for the film, with Goldsman still producing alongside [[Safehouse Pictures]] partners [[Joby Harold]] and [[Tory Tunnell]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fleming|first1=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|publisher=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>

=== Books ===

Various books have been published about ''Space Invaders'', including ''[[Invasion of the Space Invaders|Invasion of the Space Invaders: An Addict's Guide to Battle Tactics, Big Scores and the Best Machines]]'' (1982) by [[Martin Amis]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shippey |first1=Tom |author1-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> ''Tomb Raiders and Space Invaders: Videogame forms and Contexts'' (2006) by Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska,<ref>{{ISBN|978-1845111083}}</ref> and ''Space Invaders'' (1980) by [[Mark Roeder]] and Julian Wolanski.<ref>''Space Invaders'' by Mark Roeder (Mendick) and Julian Wolanski. 1980 National Library of Australia. {{ISBN|0855668229}}</ref>

=== Miscellaneous ===
[[File:Puma space invaders.jpg|thumb|upright|A spaceship aiming at the [[Puma (brand)|Puma]] logo, with clear references to ''Space Invaders'']]

In the mid-1990s, the athletics company [[Puma (brand)|Puma]] released a T-shirt with a stamp having references to ''Space Invaders'', i.e. a spaceship aiming at the company's logo (see picture on the right).

In 2006, ''Space Invaders'' was one of several video game-related media selected to represent Japan as part of a project compiled by [[Culture of Japan|Japan's]] [[Agency for Cultural Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/arcade/action/alieninvasionpart2/news.html?sid=6159315 |title=Japan honors NES, PS2, Mario |author=Wyman, 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 |url-status=dead }}</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 |language=ja |publisher=Japan Media Arts Plaza |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 the various aspects of [[video game history]], [[Video game development|development]], and [[Video game culture|culture]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/arcade/action/alieninvasionpart2/news.html?sid=6159465 |title=London museum showcases games |author=Boyes, 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 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Space Invaders'' is a part of the [[Barbican Centre]]'s traveling [[Game On exhibition]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barbican.org.uk/bie/exhibitions/game-on |title=Barbicon: Game on |publisher=[[Barbican Centre|Barbicon International Enterprises]] |access-date=June 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |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 created a three-minute video recreation of a game of ''Space Invaders'' as part of the "Gameover" project using humans as pixels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.notsonoisy.com/spaceinvaders/ |title=Space Invaders—Guillaume Reymond—video performance |publisher=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> The GH ART exhibit at the 2008 [[Games Convention]] in [[Leipzig]], Germany, included an [[art game]], ''Invaders!'', based on ''Space Invaders''{{'}}s gameplay. The creator later asked for it to be removed from the exhibit following criticism of elements based on the [[September 11 attacks]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19972 |title=Creator of Space Invaders-Based 9/11 Art Piece Pulls Exhibit |website=[[Gamasutra]] |author=Remo, 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 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A bridge in [[Cáceres, Spain]], projected by engineers Pedro Plasencia and Hadrián Arias, features a pavement design based on ''Space Invaders.'' The laser cannon, some shots, and several figures can be seen 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]|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> A French [[street artist]], [[Invader (artist)|Invader]], made a name for himself by creating [[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 |author=Fairey, Shepard |work=[[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>

In 2014, two Brazilian [[zoologists]] (Kury & Barros) described a new species of [[arachnid]] as ''Taito spaceinvaders.'' They were inspired by the resemblance of a fleck in the dorsal [[Scute|scutum]] of the animal to a typical alien in ''Space Invaders''. The genus ''[[Taito (genus)|Taito]]'' is named for the company that produces ''Space Invaders''.<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 |url=https://zoologicalstudies.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s40555-014-0024-4 }}</ref>

In 2018, [[Highways England]] launched a [[Political campaign|campaign]] titled "Don't be a Space Invader, Stay Safe, Stay Back" to raise awareness on the dangers of [[tailgating]]. People were also able to order free car [[bumper sticker]]s to raise awareness of the campaign.<ref>{{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>

Although it is not explicitly defined as such, the "Alien Monster" [[emoji]] (Unicode character U+1F47E) is commonly represented as a pixelated sprite inspired by the aliens from Space Invaders, and it is frequently used in reference to video games and gaming culture. The association is so strong that some platforms, such as GitHub and Discord, use the short code <code>:space_invader:</code> to allow users to easily enter the character.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://emojipedia.org/alien-monster|title=Alien Monster|work=Emojipedia|date=January 5, 2025|access-date=January 5, 2025|archive-date=January 5, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250105165013/https://emojipedia.org/alien-monster|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite magazine |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 |magazine=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 }}

==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/}}
* {{KLOV game|id=9662}}
* {{IAg|id=arcade_invaders}}
* [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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[[Category:1978 video games]]
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[[Category:Atari 5200 games]]
[[Category:Atari 8-bit computer games]]
[[Category:BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games]]
[[Category:Cancelled Atari Jaguar games]]
[[Category:Fixed shooters]]
[[Category:Game Boy Advance games]]
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[[Category:NEC PC-9801 games]]
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[[Category:PlayStation Network games]]
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[[Category:Taito arcade games]]
[[Category:Tiger Electronics handheld games]]
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[[Category:World Video Game Hall of Fame]]