Musicians have drawn inspiration for their music from
Space Invaders. The
pioneering Japanese synthpop group Yellow Magic Orchestra reproduced Space Invaders sounds in
its 1978 self-titled album and hit single "Computer Game", [152] the latter selling over 400,000 copies in
the United States.[153] Other pop songs based on Space Invaders soon followed,
including disco records such as "Disco Space Invaders" (1979) by Funny Stuff, [152] and the hit songs
"Space Invader" (1980) by The Pretenders,[152] "Space Invaders" (1980) by Uncle Vic,[154] and the
Australian hit "Space Invaders" (1979) by Player One (known in the US as 'Playback'),[155] which in
turn provided the bassline for Jesse Saunders' "On and On" (1984),[156][157] the first Chicago house
music track.[158] The Clash sampled sound effects from the game on the song, "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe"
from their 4th studio album, Sandinista!.
Video Games Live performed audio from the game as part of a special retro "Classic
Arcade Medley" in 2007.[159] In honor of the game's 30th anniversary, Taito produced an album
titled Space Invaders 2008. The album is published by Avex Trax and features music inspired by the
game, six songs were originally used in the PSP version of Space Invaders Extreme.[160] Taito's store,
Taito Station, also unveiled a Space Invaders themed music video.[161]
In the 1982 original pilot of the series The Powers of Matthew Star, David Star uses his powers
to cheat the game. The game is shown with a colored backdrop of the moon. Multiple television
series have aired episodes that either reference or parody the game and its elements; for
example, Danger Mouse,[162] That '70s Show,[163] Scrubs,[164] Chuck,[165] Robot Chicken,[166] Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles[167] and The Amazing World of Gumball.[168] Elements are prominently featured in
the "Raiders of the Lost Arcade" segment of "Anthology of Interest II", an episode of the animated
series Futurama.[169][170]
Space Invaders also appears in the films Cherry 2000 (1987), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991),
and Pixels (2015) while its Deluxe game made an appearance in Fast Times At Ridgemont
High (1982). A film version of the game is in the works by Warner Bros with Akiva
Goldsman producing.[171][172] On February 13, 2015, Daniel Kunka was set to write the script for the
film.[173] On July 12, 2019, Greg Russo is set to write the script for the film with Goldsman still
producing alongside Safehouse Pictures partners Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell.[174]
Various books have been published about Space Invaders, including Space Invaders: An addict's
guide to battle tactics, big scores and the best machines (1982) by Martin Amis,[175] Tomb Raiders
and Space Invaders: Videogame forms and Contexts (2006) by Geof King and Tanya Krzywinska,
and Space Invaders (1980) by Mark Roeder and Julian Wolanski.[176] Elon Musk, at the age of 12,
programmed a space shoot 'em up game inspired by Space Invaders and Asteroids, called Blastar,
which was published for the Commodore VIC-20 in 1984.[177]
In the mid-1990s, the athletics company Puma released a T-shirt with a stamp having references
to Space Invaders, i.e. a spaceship aiming at the company's logo (see picture on the right).
In 2006, the game was one of several video game-related media selected to represent Japan as part
of a project compiled by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.[178][179] That same year, Space
Invaders was included in the London Science Museum's Game On exhibition, meant to showcase
the various aspects of video game history, development, and culture.[180] (The game is a part of
the Barbican Centre's traveling Game On exhibition.)[181]
At the Belluard Bollwerk International 2006 festival in Fribourg, Switzerland, Guillaume Reymond
created a three-minute video recreation of a game of Space Invaders as part of the "Gameover"
project using humans as pixels.[182] The GH ART exhibit at the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig,
Germany, included an art game, Invaders!, based on Space Invaders's gameplay. The creator later
asked for the game to be removed from the exhibit following criticism of elements based on
the September 11 attacks in the United States.[183]
