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Space Invaders facts for kids

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Space Invaders
A promotional flyer for Space Invaders: an arcade display on the bottom-right corner is shown over a laser cannon surrounded by aliens and saucers; the background contains the screen against a background of a canyon and a block mountain; the Space Invaders and Taito logos are displayed on the top of the poster.
Promotional flyer
Developer(s) Taito
Publisher(s)
  • Taito WW
Atari, Inc. (home)
Designer(s) Tomohiro Nishikado
Series Space Invaders
Platform(s) Arcade, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, MSX
Release date(s)
  • June 1978 NA
Genre(s) Fixed shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, 2 players alternating
Cabinet Upright, cocktail
Arcade system Taito 8080
CPU 8080 @ 2 MHz
Sound SN76477 @ 1.9968 MHz
Display Fujitsu MB14241, monochrome raster, vertical orientation, 224×256 resolution
SpaceInvaders-Gameplay
The player-controlled laser cannon shoots the aliens as they descend to the bottom of the screen.

Space Invaders is a very famous video game created by the Taito Corporation. It is one of the most well-known early video games ever made. In the game, you defend Earth from alien invaders by shooting them down. You must stop them before they reach the ground.

Many versions of Space Invaders have been released by Taito Corporation. The game was designed by Tomohiro Nishikado. He was in charge of the game-making department at Taito.

How Space Invaders Was Made

Tomohiro Nishikado got the idea for Space Invaders after watching movies. He was inspired by Star Wars and War of the Worlds.

At first, Space Invaders was a game you played in arcades. You put a coin in the machine to play. Over time, it became available on almost every game console and home computer.

Before Space Invaders, Nishikado worked on other games. These included games called Soccer and Interceptor. He said that designing the computer parts inside a video game was the hardest job. Taito calls Space Invaders a "huge worldwide hit."

Different Space Invaders Games

Many different versions of Space Invaders have been released over the years. Here are some of them:

  • Space Invaders, 1978
  • Space Invaders Part 2, 1979
  • The Return of the Space Invaders, 1985
  • Space Invaders '91, 1991
  • Space Invaders DX, 1995
  • Space Invaders '95, 1995
  • Space Invaders 3D

Images for kids

  • Epoch-TV-Vader

    In Japan, Epoch Co. released a Space Invaders clone in 1980 that could be played at home: the Epoch TV Vader.

  • Vgltoronto

    A pixelated alien graphic from Space Invaders used at the Video Games Live concert event

  • Puma space invaders

    A spaceship aiming at the Puma logo, with clear references to Space Invaders

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Space Invaders para niños

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Space Invaders Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.