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40 Years of Space Invaders


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Interesting to read, but not much "news" there. Sounds very intellectual and academic, as if the author touched superficially on the Top Ten List Popular Opinions of Space Invaders and drew one conclusion from each based on pop science and pop culture and turned it into a paragraph.

 

I certainly did not draw cultural conclusions about guns and fear of Japanese while playing Space Invaders in restaurants and bars and arcades which, by the way, were around long before video games arrived.

 

Shots in SI are more likely just an evolution of the ball concept, and aliens were just a convenient form for invaders to take that is inherently inoffensive and universally acceptable (on this planet, anyway). Despite absence of a paddle, SI game play is actually very similar to Super Breakout (Progressive), or even Exidy Circus.

Edited by fiddlepaddle
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I was 10 years old when I first saw Space Invaders. It wasn't the first arcade cabinet I ever saw as I recall playing Stunt Cycle at a roller skating rink before that. I was walking to the local shopping center for my mother to get something at the supermarket. I walked by the bar in said center (this was late afternoon) and saw it in the window with that crazy side art. I walked in & and asked if I could play and the bartender 'Get out, kid. You can't be in here.' I said 'C'mon, one game'. He acquiesced and I got in a good 7 or 8 minutes on that quarter. I said thanks, went to the market and went home. Next day, told all the classmates what I saw & played. Fast forward 40 years, here we is.

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I was born in 1976.

 

As iconic as Space Invaders is, I don't recall ever seeing the arcade machine around as a kid. Did it become dated in a hurry? It was quickly superseded by Galaxian, Galaga, Centipede, Phoenix and other shooters. I did play the heck out of the classic 2600 port.

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It definitely became dated quickly. There was a Space Invaders machine in the mall that housed the arcade I used to frequent in the early 80's, but it wasn't actually at the arcade; it was at Bradlee's, one of the anchor stores, near the checkouts. They had a couple of old games there that no one ever played. Occasionally I would just for something different, but I was always by myself at that machine.

 

Space Invaders Deluxe/II was also released in 1980, which was not much of an improvement and had the effect of making both itself and the original feel even more dated. Once a game gets a sequel, no one wants to play the original anymore, but compared to other games from 1980 like Defender, Battlezone, and Pac-Man, not to mention Galaxian from 1979 that did the same thing better, even Space Invaders Deluxe seemed kind of archaic. Then Galaga in 1981 really was the final nail in the coffin.

 

Though obviously people still celebrate Space Invaders for its importance to the industry, especially in Japan, where it was probably the first video game to capture the public's attention.

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It definitely became dated quickly. There was a Space Invaders machine in the mall that housed the arcade I used to frequent in the early 80's, but it wasn't actually at the arcade; it was at Bradlee's, one of the anchor stores, near the checkouts. They had a couple of old games there that no one ever played. Occasionally I would just for something different, but I was always by myself at that machine.

 

Space Invaders Deluxe/II was also released in 1980, which was not much of an improvement and had the effect of making both itself and the original feel even more dated. Once a game gets a sequel, no one wants to play the original anymore, but compared to other games from 1980 like Defender, Battlezone, and Pac-Man, not to mention Galaxian from 1979 that did the same thing better, even Space Invaders Deluxe seemed kind of archaic. Then Galaga in 1981 really was the final nail in the coffin.

 

Though obviously people still celebrate Space Invaders for its importance to the industry, especially in Japan, where it was probably the first video game to capture the public's attention.

 

I agree. I was born in 1970 so when it came out I was just starting to get into video games. I remember going to the TG&Y department store with my Mom and they had Space Invaders and I would always go digging under the couch cushions and shake my Dad's Lazy-Boy trying to get some change so I could play. I do remember the deluxe version had the invaders that split into two when hit. It is true though that several games came out right after Space Invaders that seemed cooler. I remember when I first saw Galaga at the skating rink and nobody was trying to let their ship get captured in order to get two ships for the double fire. I don't think anybody realized you could do that at first.

Edited by bigfriendly
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