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Space Invaders will have their revenge upon Wii owners next week, as Square Enix and Taito bring Space Invaders Get Even to WiiWare. The game, announced earlier this year exclusively for the Wii's downloadable game service, puts players on the invading side in a war against Earth's defence forces.
Taito has dragged Bub and Bob out to solve another Puzzle Bobble conundrum, one that can only be unravelled by launching bubbles from a cannon in the hopes of more match three puzzle gameplay. Space Puzzle Bobble doesn't bring too much to the Puzzle Bobble (aka Bust-A-Move) series, it just slaps it on the Nintendo DS, tossing in some outer space themes for good measure. We're okay with that.
We know what Square Enix is bringing to this year's Tokyo Game Show. The Japanese publisher is armed with some big guns — Final Fantasy XIII, Dragon Quest IX and Star Ocean: The Last Hope — one of which will actually be playable. But what about its little subsidiary, Taito? It makes games too!
While Taito's offerings aren't the stuff of attention grabbing headlines and long queues, it has a few tricks up its sleeve; Gardening Mama for the Nintendo DS for one, giving "Mama" something to occupy her time between meals in Cooking Mama 2 for the Wii. There's also Space Puzzle Bobble, which you'll find me hunched over at the Makuhari Messe this year.
Get excited... on a very small scale.
Taito TGS 2008 [Taito via DS Fanboy]
Taito's Space Invaders went supernova in late 1970s Japan and even caused a national coin shortage! Yokai Attack! co-author Matt Alt was a gaming nut back then, putting an endless stream of quarters into arcade game after arcade game. When he was seven years old, he sat down and composed his first opus space invaders, based on the classic Taito title. Recently found at his grandparents' house, it reads:
The space invaders took off in their spaceship shooting their lasers at some ships. A laser hit their ship; it crashed. The space invaders got out just in time! When the ship blew up, the fire was so bright it looked like a sun! They built a bigger and better ship. It took 10 weeks to build. As time went by, the ship got bigger and bigger! The time came when the space invaders invaded earth! There were no bad things, like fires or stealing. They made some friends and had to get their computers help to take off. They went to ziron home base, 50,0000 miles from earth.
Whew! So glad to know that when the space invaders finally do come, there will be no bad things like fires or stealing.
Nov. 2, 1980 [Alt Japan]
At this year's Arcade Amusement show in Japan, Taito has resurrected retro title Elevator Action. Dubbed Elevator Action: Death Parade, this isn't a joystick game, but rather, a light-gun arcade game. The cabinet has surround sound and seems to even have elevator doors! The cabinet should hit arcades sometime next year. This cabinet better play elevator music when those doors are shut.
The AM show (JAMMA) Mega Preview Post [Arcade Heroes]
Artist Douglas Stanley has asked the organisers of the Leipzig Games Convention to "simply turn off" his art installation, which features a mash-up of the attack on the World Trade Centre and Space Invaders, at the show.
On his website Stanley says simply that he's given the group permission to turn off the exhibit, and then hours later writes that a statement on his website can be considered his official reason for taking down the display. Stanley also mentions on his site that he has received death threats since his exhibit first appeared on Kotaku and then in national and international press.
The decision comes the day Taito said they may be seeking legal action against the artist.
Taito today said they are considering legal action against artist Douglas Edric Stanley and his "Invaders!" exhibition at the Games Convention and that it was produced entirely without their knowledge.
Taito said that in fact the entire "Space Invaders: The Anniversary Show" exhibition by the Computer Game Museum Berlin was likewise planned and presented without their knowledge and authorisation.
"TAITO is seriously considering all available options—including legal actions against the infringer and, if necessary, the Games Convention exhibitor involved—in order to end this unauthorised and impermissible misuse of the Space Invaders content and to protect TAITO's intellectual properties".
Taito does not address their take on the art and it's blending of Space Invaders with 9/11 outside the IP issue. I'm still waiting to hear back from Taito parent company Square-Enix. A press person told me that they do plan on making a statement.
Let's file this one under "Too Soon". Seen at the "Invaders!" booth, tucked away in Hall Four of the Games Convention being held in Leipzig, Germany right now, was this non-interactive installation of the classic Taito space faring aliens laying waste to the Twin Towers. It was projected on a massive screen in the vicinity of lots of classic Space Invaders goods, as the game is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. It was... it was weird.
This hits three year's after the first and last game to take on the World Trade Centre hit Brooklyn.
Honestly, we're not quite sure what's going on here quite yet, as we didn't know the German translation for "What the fuck?" We do know, however, that the 8-bit tower jumpers and the negative score applied to each WTC tower to indicate damage aren't going to sit well with, we're thinking, everyone we know who doesn't hate freedom.
Update: It is an art exhibit, according the the French-American artist.
This year, the year of the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Space Invaders, you can get Taito's iconic aliens on anything and everything — luggage, bath towels, fitted caps, pillows, tumblers, headphones, whatever! No product is too cheap or too expensive to have some invaders impressed upon it!
Thankfully, for the more boutique focused Japanese consumer, Taito has teamed up with the many designers who set up shop in the Laforet Museum, a multi-tiered shopping centre in Harajuku that caters to the discriminating shopper. They're selling Space Invaders branded tees, parkas, underwear, dresses, ties bejeweled frilly things, all at outrageous prices, all in sizes that don't fit you.
Taito X Laforet Harajuku "Space Invaders 30th Anniversary" Collaboration [Game Watch]
