Taito

Japan · Founded 1953 · Developer / Publisher / Arcade Hardware Manufacturer

Taito began importing jukeboxes before creating Space Invaders (1978), the game that caused a coin shortage in Japan and launched the golden age of arcade gaming.

Founded in 1953 as the Taito Trading Company by Michael Kogan, the business initially imported American jukeboxes and vending machines into Japan before pivoting to coin-operated amusement machines in the 1970s. Tomohiro Nishikado's Space Invaders (1978) became a cultural phenomenon: the game sold so many 100-yen coins that Japan temporarily ran short of the denomination, prompting the Bank of Japan to triple production. It was the first game to save high scores, the first to use enemy movement as a timing mechanic, and the first to generate global arcade fever. The success funded Taito's expansion into a full hardware and software publisher. Fukio "MTJ" Mitsuji designed Bubble Bobble (1986), a warm co-operative platformer beloved for its two hundred stages and cheerful aesthetic, while Arkanoid (1986) reinvented Atari's Breakout concept with power-ups, enemy projectiles, and boss encounters. The TAITO Z arcade system board in the late 1980s produced chase-view racing and flying games of considerable technical sophistication. Taito was acquired by Square Enix in 2005 but continues to publish games under the Taito brand.