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Space Invaders

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Space Invaders is a shoot 'em up video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado and released by Taito for arcades in 1978. It released for Japan in April 1978, then North America in October 1978,[1][2] and then Europe in November 1978.[3] It was the first blockbuster in video game history, saving the video game industry[4] following the video game crash of 1977 and beginning the golden age of arcade games. It soon became the highest‑grossing video game of all time.[5]

The game is estimated to have grossed over $13 billion in revenue, equivalent to about $31 billion adjusted for inflation. This makes it the highest-grossing video game of all time adjusted for inflation. In terms of nominal gross (without inflation), it was also the highest-grossing video game up until its record was surpassed by Dungeon Fighter Online in the 2010s. In terms of units sold, Space Invaders sold more than 9 million units and was the best-selling video game up until its cartridge sales record was surpassed by Pac-Man in 1982. Originally owned by Taito, the Space Invaders IP has been owned by Square Enix since their acquisition of Taito in 2005.

Sales and revenue[]

Platform Market Years(s) Unit sales Gross revenue (est.) Ref
Nominal Inflation
Arcade Cabinet sales 1978—1981 757,030 $2,510,100,000 $8,400,000,000 [6]
Arcade Japan 1978 100,000 $600,000,000 [7]
1979 300,000 $960,000,000 [8][6][9]
United Kingdom 1978—1979 85,000 $270,000,000 [6][10]
United States 1978—1979 65,000 $160,000,000 [11][12]
1980—1981 7,000 $18,000,000 [13][12]
Sydney 1978—1979 3,000 $12,000,000 [14][15]
China 1980 Unknown Unknown [16]
Hong Kong 1981 30+ $100,000 [17]
Other territories 1978—1979 197,000 $490,000,000 [6][12][18]
Arcade Coin drop earnings 1978—1982 $8,546,440,000 $27,000,000,000
Arcade Japan 1978—1980 — $3,500,000,000 [19][9][20]
United States 1978—1982 — $2,900,000,000 [21][22]
1983 — $94,000,000 [23]
United Kingdom 1978—1979 — $600,000,000 [6][10]
1980 — $1,000,000,000 [24]
1981 — $300,000,000 [25]
Malaysia 1979 — Unknown [26]
Sydney 1979 — $35,000,000 [27]
Australia 1980 — $110,000,000 [28]
Sydney 1981 — $7,000,000 [15]
Hong Kong 1981 — $440,000 [17]
Atari VCS / 2600 United States 1980—1990 6,391,579 $200,586,437 $740,000,000
Atari VCS United States 1980 1,318,655 $42,131,030 [29][30]
1981 2,964,137 $95,000,000
Atari VCS / 2600 United States 1982 1,373,033 $44,000,000
1983 435,353 $14,000,000
1984 14,350 $460,000
Atari 2600 United States 1986 17,523 $52,593 [31]
1987 65,148 $250,418
1988 29,717 $170,097
1989 36,308 $99,249
1990 12,355 $23,050
Atari VCS United Kingdom 1980 125,000 $4,400,000 [32][33]
Atari 5200 United States 1986—1989 41,791 $208,780 $600,000
Atari 5200 United States 1986 36,801 $184,138 [31]
1987 4,902 $24,510
1989 88 $132
Atari XE United States 1986—1990 5,482 $46,933 $130,000
Atari XE United States 1986 150 $1,126 [31]
1987 3,082 $23,811
1988 2,095 $20,812
1989 71 $698
1990 84 $486
Nintendo DS Japan / USA 2005—2009 89,812
Nintendo DS Japan 2005—2009 31,812 [34]
United States 2005—2009 58,000 [35]
PSP Japan / USA 2008—2009 36,500
PSP Japan 2008 2,500 [34]
United States 2008—2009 34,000 [35]
Other consoles Japan / USA 1981—2003 1,747,934+
Intellivision United States 1981—1983 931,100 [36]
Super Famicom Japan 1994—1995 366,013 $21,320,000 $44,000,000 [34][37]
PlayStation United States 1999—2002 234,706 [38]
Nintendo 64 United States 1999—2002 106,305 [38]
PlayStation 2 Japan 2003 63,039 [39]
Xbox Live Arcade Worldwide 2008—2012 46,771 [40]
Total Worldwide 1978—2009 9,070,128+ $13,930,000,000 $31,000,000,000 [41]

Coins[]

At the height of its popularity in Japan during 1978 to 1979, the amount of 100 yen coins being used in the machines led to serious concerns from Japanese banks and politicians that it could cause a national shortage of 100 yen coins. To prevent this, Japanese banks temporarily increased the monthly circulation of 100 yen coins to keep up with demand and then took measures to keep coins in constant circulation, eventually leading to coin circulation being stabilized.[42]

In the United States by early 1982, the game had been played by around 70-80% of students.[43]

Franchise[]

Space Invaders Part II[]

Space Invaders Part II was an arcade update developed by Taito and released in 1979. In Japan, it was released in July 1979. It North America, it made its debut as Space Invaders II and Space Invaders Deluxe at the 6th annual Western Amusement Games Exhibit on November 30, 1979,[44] followed by Midway's wide release as Space Invaders Deluxe in December 1979.[45][46]

Clones[]

Space Invaders spawned many clones. By 1980, there were a hundred Space Invaders clones across the world.[47]

Pinball[]

The game was adapted by Bally into a pinball machine called Space Invaders, released in April 1980. It sold 11,400 units,[48] at about $2,000 each.[49] It was the third highest-grossing pinball machine in 1980.[50]

Roller coaster[]

Space Invader was a roller coaster at England's Blackpool Pleasure Beach, where it opened in 1984. It carried around 500,000 passengers per year up until 2000. However, the ride drew controversy following a fatal incident in 2000.[51]

The ride was closed in 2000 and then refurbished as Space Invader 2 in 2004. The ride was later closed in 2008 and then re-opened as Astro Storm at Brean Leisure Park in 2011.

References[]

  1. ↑ "Chicago Chatter". Cash Box (Cash Box Pub. Co.): 43. 1979-09-08. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-09-08.pdf#page=39.
  2. ↑ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1978/CB-1978-11-11.pdf#page=14
  3. ↑ Meades, Alan (2022-10-25). "5: Pings, Pongs, and Pioneers". Arcade Britannia: A Social History of the British Amusement Arcade. The MIT Press. pp. 121-44. ISBN 978-0-262-37234-3. https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5459/chapter/3979910/Pings-Pongs-and-Pioneers.
  4. ↑ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-12-29.pdf#page=122
  5. ↑ "The top 100 video games: 1. Space Invaders". Flux (4): 24-5. April 1995. https://archive.org/details/flux-issue-4/page/n23/mode/2up.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "After Pong". ACE (6): 29-32 (29). March 1988. 4 February 1988. https://archive.org/details/ACE_Issue_06_1988-03_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n28/mode/1up.
  7. ↑ "Can Asteroids Conquer Space Invaders?". Electronic Games 1 (1): 30-33 (31). Winter 1981. https://www.digitpress.com/library/magazines/electronic_games/electronic_games_winter81.pdf#page=31. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  8. ↑ インベーダーブームのときの店舗比率 (Store Ratio During the Invader Boom) (Japanese) (2009-02-14).
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Koyama, Yusuke (2023-06-02). History of the Japanese Video Game Industry. Springer Nature. p. 21. ISBN 978-981-99-1342-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=uITCEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA21. "The price of the first monochrome version of the table cabinet was 460,000 yen (580,000 yen for the color version released later), but in a single day, it generated 20,000–30,000 yen. In less than a month, game center can make their investment money back, and the rest will be all cash income."
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Durham, Tony. “Space-age pirates in a battle of wits.” Sunday Times, 16 March 1980, p. 63
  11. ↑ 1979
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Andrews, Bea (November 1, 1981). "Video games: The quarters roll in...". The Day: p. C-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=YgMhAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA18&article_id=1604,161760.
  13. ↑ Stone, Andrea (December 1982). "The House That Pac Built: Midway Manufacturing is king of the coin-op hill and loving it!". Video Games (Pumpkin Press) 1 (3): 53–55 (54). https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_Volume_1_Number_03_1982-12_Pumpkin_Press_US/page/n53.
  14. ↑ "Hooked on Space Invaders". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 September 1980. https://books.google.com/books?id=vQFkAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA9&article_id=2831,2830780.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Invasion is over but space games battle on". The Age: p. 31. 13 July 1982. https://books.google.com/books?id=DCRVAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA31&article_id=3213,5952108#v=onepage&q&f=false.
  16. ↑ Hewson, David. “Business Diary: Why work for the foreign devil?” The Times, 29 July 1980, p. 19
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "The Games Boom Rolls On". Asiaweek (Asiaweek Limited) 7: 32. May 1981. https://books.google.com/books?id=QHQMAQAAMAAJ. "The game hit the U.S. with a vengeance, and in Southeast Asia it is still the top draw. (...) Outside Japan, Space Invaders is still going strong. In Hongkong and Malaysia, it continues to be the No. 1 game among enthusiasts; it's also big-time in the Philippines ' ubiquitous pinball parlours. (...) Most Japanese games sell for US$1,600 — 3,000 depending on their degree of sphistication. (...) In Hongkong, Winsteon Chan of Tsimshatsui's Star Bowl says his 30 machines each take in US$10-40 per day."
  18. ↑ https://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/11/video-game-myth-busters-space-invaders.html
  19. ↑ Shibata, Yoko (June 28, 1979). "Electronic Games: Japan converts its Pachinko parlours" (in English). Financial Times. https://archive.org/details/FinancialTimes1979UKEnglish/Jun%2028%201979%2C%20Financial%20Times%2C%20%2327901%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n34/mode/1up.
  20. ↑ "The Games Boom Rolls On". Asiaweek (Asiaweek Limited) 7: 32. May 1981. https://books.google.com/books?id=QHQMAQAAMAAJ. "Roughly 8 million people played the game daily, spending 2.6 billion yen (US$114m.) a day and forcing the Bank of Japan to make three special mintings of 100-yen coins."
  21. ↑ Pellegrino, Charles R.; Stoff, Jesse A. (1983). Darwin's Universe: Origins and Crises in the History of Life. Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-442-27526-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=-qEhAAAAMAAJ. "In 1980, we Americans spent 2.9 billion dollars on one of the Space program's most celebrated spinoffs: Space Invaders."
  22. ↑ https://ia801802.us.archive.org/17/items/the_spectrum_show/TheSpectrumShow000.pdf#page=5
  23. ↑ "The Games People Still Play: Video Buffs Warned, But Stick To Guns". The Pittsburgh Press: p. B-4. 22 April 1983. https://books.google.com/books?id=WLMqAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA27&article_id=5983,4096441.
  24. ↑ "Ten-Minute Rule Bill," The Times, 21 May 1981, p. 11
  25. ↑ “Space invaders make earthlings jobless,” The Times, 24 September 1981, p. 2
  26. ↑ "A Space-Age Game". New Straits Times: p. 12. 1 March 1980. https://books.google.com/books?id=KrITAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA7&article_id=5160,181645.
  27. ↑ "Pinballs make a comeback — on microchip: The United States strives to displace Japan as the supplier of the most popular video games". The Sydney Morning Herald: p. 18. 23 April 1981. https://books.google.com/books?id=aMJWAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA27.
  28. ↑ "Pinballs make a comeback — on microchip: The United States strives to displace Japan as the supplier of the most popular video games". The Sydney Morning Herald: p. 18. 23 April 1981. https://books.google.com/books?id=aMJWAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA27.
  29. ↑ Cartridge Sales Since 1980. Atari Corporation. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Atari_Sales.png. Via "The Agony & The Ecstasy". Once Upon Atari. No. 4. 23 minutes in.
  30. ↑ "Software Report Card". Video Games Player (United States: Carnegie Publications) 1 (1): 62–3. September 1982. https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_Player_Vol_1_No_1_1982-09_Carnegie_Publications_US/page/n61/mode/2up.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Vendel, Curt (May 28, 2009). Site News. Atari Museum.
  32. ↑ "Technology: The games that aliens play". New Scientist (Reed Business Information) 88 (1232–1233): 782. 18 December 1980. ISSN 0262-4079. Archived from the original on 2021-12-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202182335/books.google.com/books?id=ainC3-wuz_kC&pg=PA782#v=onepage&q&f=false.
  33. ↑ Wapshott, Nicholas. “Beware of those Space Invaders.” The Times, 29 Nov. 1980, p. XV
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Game Search. Game Data Library. Famitsu.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 NPD: January 2009 Life to Date Numbers.
  36. ↑ Intellivision Lives
  37. ↑ https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=2190&redirect=no
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 All Titles Released in 2002. The Onion Ring (NPD). Toy Retail Survey Tracking (TRST) (December 2002). Archived from the original on 2003-02-13.
  39. ↑ https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/games-by-year/2003-top-300
  40. ↑ https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/xbox-live-arcade-by-the-numbers---an-extensive-look-back-at-2012
  41. ↑ http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/13510-world-of-warcraft-leads-industry-with-nearly-10-billion-in-revenue
  42. ↑ Smith, Alex (February 15, 2023). Space Invaders Part II. They Create Worlds.
  43. ↑ https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-8-number-4-february-15th-1982/Play%20Meter%20-%20Volume%208%2C%20Number%204%20-%20February%2015th%201982/page/28
  44. ↑ "L.A. Distrib Holds 6th Annual Show". Cash Box (Cash Box Pub. Co.): 41. 1979-12-15. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-12-15.pdf#page=41.
  45. ↑ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-12-29.pdf#page=130
  46. ↑ "Chicago Chatter". Cash Box (Cash Box Pub. Co.): 50. 1979-12-01. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-12-01.pdf#page=50.
  47. ↑ https://archive.org/details/coin-slot-location-1980-autumn/Coin%20Slot%20Location%20-%20Volume%201%20Issue%201%20-%20Autumn%201980/page/n50
  48. ↑ Bally 'Space Invaders'. Internet Pinball Machine Database.
  49. ↑ "Video games entice players of all types, ages". The Bryan Times: p. 19. 3 August 1981. https://books.google.com/books?id=n7BPAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA31&article_id=6404,3220185.
  50. ↑ "The Winners of '80". Play Meter 6 (21): 30. November 15, 1980. https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-6-number-21-november-15th-1980/Play%20Meter%20-%20Volume%206%2C%20Number%2021%20-%20November%2015th%201980/page/30.
  51. ↑ https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/6072766.ride-probe-boys-death/

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