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Space Invaders, A Lesson on Turning Limitations into Features
Space Invaders is a 1978 arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. He had to design custom hardware and development tools to create the game.
The game was an immediate commercial success and is considered one of the most influential games of all time. By 1982, Space Invaders had grossed $3.8 billion, which, when adjusted for inflation, amounts to approximately $13 billion in 2022 terms. This staggering revenue made it not only the best-selling video game of its time but also the highest-grossing entertainment product, surpassing major films, music, and television shows in revenue. The game’s success was so profound that it led to a coin shortage in Japan due to the overwhelming demand for the arcade game, according to Wikipedia.
Due to processor limitations, the alien’s screen positions updated faster as more were destroyed. Rather than design a fix for the speed increase, he decided it was a feature, not a bug, making the game more challenging.
