Feb 3, 2012
Real’s new ‘The Game’s Never Over’ series.
Gamers who like to skate and skaters who like video games can compete for free skateboard decks at an online Space Invaders parody put up by Real Skateboards.
Instead of shooting at the flying monsters and warships found in the original arcade game, which was released in 1978, gamers take aim at the men in blue who have historically come between skateboarders and their favorite city skate spots.
“It’s all in fun. We just wanted to make something fun in the spirit of our board series that just came out,” Real co-founder Jim Thiebaud told ESPN.
Real’s spring catalog at the Deluxe Distribution site showcases four boards in The Game’s Never Over series, featuring graphics from the classic arcade games “Space Invaders,” “Donkey Kong,” and “Pac-Man.”
Thiebaud added that the online game, called “REALien Invaders,” has been criticized because its targets are police badges, patrol cars, and paddy wagons.
“Protect the universe from cops, their paddy wagons and their power trips in the new REALien Invaders game,” says a post introducing the game at the Real Skateboard’s Facebook page.
Thiebaud reemphasizes that “it’s all in fun,” and the gaming theme ties into skateboarders’ constant prowl for progression, bad guys notwithstanding. “It’s us versus them and the game is never over,” he says.
The contest, however, is schedule to be over on February 10, as the final round of high-score players win Real decks.
The original “Space Invaders,” designed by Tomohiro Nishikado of Japan, is one of the earliest shooting games, according to sourced information at Wikipedia. “In designing the game, Nishikado drew inspiration from [the 1976 arcade game] Breakout, [the 1898 science fiction novel] The War of the Worlds, and Star Wars. To complete it, he had to design custom hardware and development tools.”
Thiebaud said that his tech team at Deluxe “took about a week” to get Real’s version up and running.
Thanks to Espn.go.com for the information.