It was the inspiration for numerous video games and game designers across different genres, and has been ported and re-released in various forms. It helped expand the video game industry from a novelty to a global industry, and ushered in the golden age of arcade video games.

Space Invaders is considered one of the most influential video games of all time. This made it the best-selling video game and highest-grossing entertainment product at the time, and the highest-grossing video game of all time. Upon release, Space Invaders was an immediate commercial success by 1982, it had grossed $3.8 billion (equivalent to over $13 billion adjusted for inflation as of 2016 ), with a net profit of $450 million (equivalent to $2 billion adjusted for inflation). To complete development of the game, he had to design custom hardware and development tools. The goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser to earn as many points as possible.ĭesigner Nishikado drew inspiration from Breakout (1976), Gun Fight (1975), target shooting games, and science fiction narratives such as The War of the Worlds, Space Battleship Yamato and Star Wars.

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

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