Empire signs Space Invaders titles

Empire Interactive has today announced that it has acquired the European and North American publishing rights to Space Invaders Anniversary for the PlayStation 2 and the worldwide rights to Space Invaders '95 for the PC. Space Invaders Anniversary is currently scheduled for release sometime in the next few months, while Space Invaders '95 will ship to stores later in the year.

The release of Space Invaders Anniversary for the PS2 will coincide both with the 25th anniversary of the original Space Invaders arcade machine and with the 50th anniversary of Taito Corporation. The game will include the following nine different versions of Space Invaders:

Space Invaders Tabletop: Cellophane version
Space Invaders Tabletop: Monochrome version
Space Invaders Tabletop: Color version
Space Invaders: Upright version
Space Invaders Part II: Upright version
Space Invaders Part II Tabletop: Color version
Space Invaders 3D Mode
Space Invaders Versus Mode
Space Invaders Doubles Mode

"The Space Invaders franchise is a recognized global brand with proven mass-market appeal. The original game was at the forefront of the development of the video gaming industry, and an anniversary edition has already proved a hit in Japan since it was relaunched before Christmas," said Ian Higgins, CEO at Empire Interactive. "We believe that Space Invaders Anniversary has the potential to be a big hit with gamers once again, and we look forward to working with Taito to achieve this."

"Space Invaders has always been a franchise that has done us proud, and once again, it has not disappointed us," added Hironoti Ishii, general manager of overseas releases for Taito. "We look forward to a highly positive reaction from the relaunch of this classical game and hope that today's kids and teenagers will realize where their favorite crop of hi-tech games originated from."

We'll bring you more information on both Space Invaders Anniversary and Space Invaders '95 as soon as it becomes available.