Happy humpday amigos. Today I will wrap up my short homage to Taito by talking about their first breakout arcade hit. The 1978 game Space Invaders hit it big in Japan, it was the phenomenon overseas that Pac Man was in the USA. The demand was so great that 100¥ (yen) coins, the equivalent of the quarter, became scarce. No game in the modern era will ever ever caused a dip in circulation. Space Invaders became a cultural touchstone, the arcade game was now mainstream and even non-gamers knew about the title. Some were afraid of what it was doing for a generation. Parents and religious leaders were scared that the arcades were drawing in young people. That somehow it was brainwashing them with the flashing lights and loud sounds. Those in authority didn't understand what the movement was about. They demonized it like they had done to rock and roll and comic books years earlier. Those that enjoyed the game and saw something more profound in the experience were able to create great works of art.
The idea of a game physically drawing in a person and forcing them to play was explored in the film Tron. The fictional game featured in the film was Space Paranoids. It was supposed to be a phenomenon whose success was owed to an uncredited Kevin Flynn. In the real world Taito reaped hundreds of millions of dollars from the game and licensing while designer Tomohiro Nishikado remained a regular employee with a regular paycheck and benefits. What he did to the industry would be felt for generations. Designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Hideo Kojima credited Space Invaders for getting them interested in video games. As Tron demonstrated those were not the only creators that were influenced by the game.
Animators and homebrew programmers referenced the game more than 30 years later. In Futurama an alien invasion was fought off by Fry. He was the only character born in the 20th century and remembered the first time Space Invaders tried to take over his life. Fans of the arcade classic also sought ways to emulate it on mobile devices. Programmers created a way to convert a phone lcd screen into a miniature arcade screen and fabricated a tiny arcade cabinet to go along with it. One of the first, if not the first arcade games recreated in this way was Space Invaders.
The French street artist Invader was known for pasting mosaic tiles of the Space Invader alien ships around the world and at several landmarks. His work was also referenced in Futurama when Bender began putting up his own mosaic tiles as well. The game-influencing-the-artist-influencing-the-cartoon was a very meta distinction for Taito and Space Invaders.
Even high fashion could not escape the influence of the game. Luxury watch maker Romain Jerome was known for their stylish timepieces built with expensive materials and made in limited quantities, usually 10 or less pieces. At $14,000 - $22,000 per watch you might wonder what the deal is. The Space Invaders timepiece is part of the DNA of Famous Legends series. The "DNA" for the Space Invaders watch is actual Moon dust used in in the metal components. One of the other watches in the series include steel from the Titanic. My rich friends should check the Sincere Store in Japan if you are interested. For everyone else just be thankful this Thanksgiving for Taito and their first arcade hit. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!
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