Description

Space Invaders is where the video game revolution began and with this original 1978 Midway Space Invaders comes a rare opportunity to invest in piece of gaming history.

This example is currently undergoing restoration in our workshop with many hours of meticulous work undertaken by our specialist engineers who have years of experience. This machine will leave us in A1 condition, inside and out.

Space Invaders is the holy grail of retro video gaming; leading a cultural and technological revolution and today its iconic characters are recognised the world over. Originally created by Tomohiro Nishikado at Taito in Japan in 1978, it was licensed by Bally Midway in the States and is considered to have ushered in the golden age of video games.

Space Invaders features a number of key gameplay elements that helped define it as a ground breaker in the industry. The game features a then-revolutionary difficulty curve; as more aliens are eliminated, the surviving enemies increase their speed and rate of fire, until the final Invaders become nimble, deadly adversaries that are almost impossible to hit.  This difficulty curve, highly praised by critics, was originally the result of a bug – the system initially didn’t have the processing power to render the enemies at their correct speeds. As more were eliminated from the screen, there became fewer moving characters to slow down the hardware, resulting in the game gradually building up to its intended speed. This once unintentional feature became a hallmark of Space Invaders and a milestone in gaming.

Space Invaders was also instrumental in popularising the use of a high score, as well as a saving system, giving players a sense of progress and achievement, rather than a perpetually looping game.

Space Invaders was innovative in all senses, introducing brand new styles and techniques to the video gaming world. It’s the combination of these that endows the game with an ageless prestige, and why it continues to dominate the retro videogame market.

Contact us at The Games Room Company on 01932 568 414 for more information.

Details

  • Dimensions: (H) 167cm x (W) 68cm x (D) 89cm
  • Built by Taito (Japan) and licensed by Midway in the USA
  • Year: 1978
  • Extensively refurbished inside and out in workshops
  • Hugely popular original videogame
  • Groundbreaking revolutionary gameplay features
  • Scaled difficulty curve
  • Iconic cabinet art

Delivery

  • Free UK delivery
  • Please see here for further delivery information & exceptions
  • Please contact us for an international shipping quotation
Under restoration

1978 Space Invaders Arcade Machine by Midway

The iconic arcade title that kicked off the video game revolution in the late 1970's.

Lead time to be confirmed.

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