Space Invaders (1978): The Game That Made Arcades a Global Craze
Tomohiro Nishikado's shooter for Taito turned a hardware limit into its most famous feature.
In 1978 Japan's Taito released Space Invaders, designed almost single-handedly by Tomohiro Nishikado. Rows of aliens march down the screen while you defend from behind crumbling bunkers.
A happy accident
The hardware struggled to move many sprites at once. As you destroyed invaders, the remaining ones moved faster, because the machine had less to draw. Nishikado kept it, and the rising tension became the game's signature, along with its four-note heartbeat soundtrack.
A worldwide hit
Space Invaders was a sensation in Japan and then around the world, and it helped make the high score a reason to keep playing. In 1980 Atari licensed it for the Atari 2600, the first big arcade conversion for a home console, and it drove huge console sales.
Legacy
It shaped the shoot-'em-up genre, inspired designers including Shigeru Miyamoto and Hideo Kojima, and its pixel alien is still one of gaming's most recognisable icons.
Reference: Wikipedia, Space Invaders and Tomohiro Nishikado.