Space Invaders was so popular, it created a coin shortage in Japan.

This classic game was released by Taito to the unsuspecting Japanese public in 1978. The game had a simple premise: aliens were getting close to your planet, and you had to shoot them all before they reached you. 

Space Invaders is considered one of the most influential games of all time, because it basically created the genre now known as "shooters," which are popular to this day. The game was so popular upon release, that Japan suffered a nation-wide shortage of 100-yen coins. In fact, they had to increase coin production to keep up with demand!

It was brought over to the US in 1980. By mid-1981, $1 billion of quarters had been gobbled up by the game. That number doubled by the end of 1982. This made it the highest grossing entertainment product ever at the time. 

Shigeru Miyamoto, legendary creator of Mario and Zelda, considers Space Invaders a revolutionary game in the industry, because it generated a level of interest for videogames that wasn't there before. 

What games would you consider revolutionary or influential in your life? Let us know in the comments!

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