TAITO Corporation (TAITO), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., has begun distributing its classic games SPACE INVADERS and ARKANOID Doh It Again via Android Market, the Android mobile phone platform's content store.
In an effort to be one of the first to support the coming flood of Android-compatible mobile phones, TAITO previously released a free "Lite" version of ARKANOID Doh It Again. Now that the distribution of paid apps via Android Market has become possible, TAITO is following up this initial release with full commercial versions of SPACE INVADERS and ARKANOID Doh It Again.
Ever since its 1978 release to worldwide acclaim, pioneering video game SPACE INVADERS has been enjoyed by millions and played via a wide variety of platforms and home gaming consoles. While this new release preserves the classic scenario-the player maneuvers his beam cannon left and right, attempting to shoot down waves of descending Invaders-the addition of touch screen controls has resulted in an intuitive style of play never seen before. The "Nagoya Attack" technique and other tricks present in the original game, of course, remain intact.
Originally released to the arcades in 1986 and later followed by a number of home console releases within Japan and overseas, ARKANOID is TAITO's famous block-destroying game.
Despite its simple premise-players use their VAUS spaceship to deflect the energy ball and destroy the space wall above, brick-by-brick-ARKANOID Doh It Again is packed with 99 stages and a wide variety of power-up items, resulting in a deep and satisfying game experience.
These new SPACE INVADERS and ARKANOID Doh It Again releases have been re-tuned to make full use of the T-Mobile G1's touch screen and trackball, creating smooth, stress-free controls. The games also allow the player to switch instantly and effortlessly between vertical (portrait) and horizontal (landscape) screen modes without interrupting play.
While TAITO has long been active in the mobile phone content market, both within Japan and abroad, this new participation in the global Android Market portal signals TAITO's efforts to bring appealing entertainment to an ever larger audience.