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

Though simplistic by today's standards, it was one of the forerunners of modern video gaming and helped expand the video game industry from a novelty to a global industry. When first released, Space Invaders was very successful and popular. The game has been blamed for causing a temporary shortage of 100-yen coins in Japan following its release, and by 2007 had earned Taito US$500 million in revenue. Guinness World Records ranks it the top arcade game. The game has been the inspiration for other video games, re-released on numerous platforms, and led to several sequels. (more...)