Both the failure of Space War and the success of Pong preceded the arrival of the seminal Space Invaders in 1978. It is Space Invaders, though, that is still credited with giving birth to a new entertainment medium.

Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump

Space Invaders was the first "man versus machine" title.  And long before the desktop PC made the struggle with technology a daily event, competing with an arcade machine was… well at the time it was a taste of the future!

A small movie called “Star Wars” had done the rounds, and whipped a generation of kids into a science fiction frenzy. Star Wars toys literally flew from the shelves of every shop. Manufacturers hastily re-branded and repainted existing toys to make them more ‘space’ orientated. Entrepreneurs stuck plastic tubes onto torches and sold them as “Force Beams”. The future was very much where the action was for kids in the last years of the 1970s. And it was into this science fiction crazed world that Space Invaders materialized.

The atmosphere of the 70s arcade was electric - the flash of ozone scented sparks from the dodgems, the pulsing bulbs of the waltzers and carousels, the wooden thumps, clacks and occasional screams from the ghost train. A few pinball tables and cabinets filled the gaps between mechanical shooting games that gave you six shots and a little printed card when your turn was over.

In such an environment, Space Invaders glowed with otherworldly promise.

Simply the word “Space” would have been more than enough to pique the interest and steal the coins from the pockets of thousands of kids with their heads already in galaxies far, far away.

Young eyes were captured by the bold pristine side art depicting monsters with rockets in hand. The nervous, jangling style of the illustration suggested these beings were formed from pure electricity… which in a way they were. Four colour comic strip style imagery of monsters, moon surfaces, rocket launchers and UFO’s enticed the young to part with their coins.