▁sites ▁like ▁E ts y ▁and ▁P inter est ▁show c asing ▁thousands ▁of ▁hand made ▁items ▁featuring ▁Space ▁Inv aders ▁characters . ▁ ▁The ▁game — and ▁references ▁to ▁it — has ▁appeared ▁in ▁numerous ▁fac ets ▁of ▁popular ▁culture . ▁So on ▁after ▁the ▁game ' s ▁release , ▁hundreds ▁of ▁favor able ▁articles ▁and ▁stories ▁about ▁the ▁emer ging ▁video ▁game ▁medium ▁as ▁popular ized ▁by ▁Space ▁Inv aders ▁a ired ▁on ▁television ▁and ▁were ▁printed ▁in ▁newsp apers ▁and ▁mag az ines . ▁The ▁Space ▁Inv aders ▁Tournament , ▁held ▁by ▁At ari ▁in ▁ 1 9 8 0 ▁and ▁won ▁by ▁Reb e cca ▁Hein eman , ▁was ▁the ▁first ▁electronic ▁sports ▁( e S ports ) ▁event , ▁and ▁attract ed ▁more ▁than ▁ 1 0 , 0 0 0 ▁participants , ▁establish ing ▁video ▁g aming ▁as ▁a ▁main stream ▁h ob by . ▁The ▁Ar cade ▁Awards ▁ceremony ▁was ▁created ▁that ▁same ▁year ▁to ▁honor ▁the ▁best ▁video ▁games , ▁with ▁Space ▁Inv aders ▁winning ▁the ▁first ▁Game ▁of ▁the ▁Year ▁( Go TY ) ▁award . ▁The ▁impact ▁of ▁Space ▁Inv aders ▁on ▁the ▁video ▁game ▁industry ▁has ▁been ▁compared ▁to ▁that ▁of ▁The ▁Beat les ▁in ▁the ▁pop ▁music ▁industry . ▁Consider ed ▁" the ▁first ▁' block b uster ' ▁video ▁game ," ▁Space ▁Inv aders ▁became ▁syn onymous ▁with ▁video ▁games ▁world wide ▁for ▁some ▁time . ▁ ▁Within ▁a ▁year ▁of ▁the ▁game ' s ▁release , ▁the ▁Japanese ▁P