SPACE INVADERS Part II PCB 1 (1979) by TAITOTAITO CORPORATION
Planned, developed and released by TAITO CORPORATION (TAITO), the legendary video game SPACE INVADERS became a global phenomenon soon after its release in 1978.
SPACE INVADERS Flyer (1978) by TAITOTAITO CORPORATION
SPACE INVADERS swept the world soon after its debut because of its unique and completely new features.
In the game, players shoot down the attacking enemy Invaders that appear in five rows of 11 lines by manipulating the CANNON (the player) while avoiding the Invader attack and protecting the CANNON with the BUNKERS.
SPACE INVADERS Flyer (1978) by TAITOTAITO CORPORATION
Players were thrilled by the new gameplay experience that a bunch of enemy Invaders came to attack the player and the game was forcefully ended once an Invader landed on the base.
The Table Model
Two styles of the SPACE INVADERS game cabinets were introduced to the Japanese market: an upright cabinet and a table model. Specifically the table model soon captured the attention of the Japanese and opened many new locations where upright cabinets were not suitable.
Inside of the so-called "Invader House" 2 (1978) by TAITOTAITO CORPORATION
New locations for table models included coffee shops. Some of the coffee shops where the SPACE INVADERS tables were installed experienced that customers visited the shop not to have a cup of coffee but to play SPACE INVADERS.
Invader House
As a result, many so-called “Invader House” filled with all SPACE INVADERS tables were opened in Japan. The SPACE INVADERS craze took off, reportedly leading to a shortage of 100 yen coins in Japan as people insanely put coins into the game.
As a side effect of the phenomenon, TAITO struggled with illegal copies of the game in the market. At that time, computer programs were not clearly protected by the Copyright Act in Japan.
Final inspection before shipmentTAITO CORPORATION
However, TAITO assertively tackled the matter that the computer programs should be copyrighted works, and finally SPACE INVADERS Part II, the sequel to the original, became the first computer program to be protected by the Copyright Act in Japan.
Exterior of the so-called "Invader House"TAITO CORPORATION
Beyond the game industry, the impact of SPACE INVADERS contributed to the computer industry as well as impacting various artists and generations.
