For most of its early history, the #video_game industry sold two simple things: a machine and a piece of plastic. A family bought a console, then bought cartridges or discs to play on it. The relationship between the company and the player often ended at the cash register. Once the box was opened, the sale was complete, and the next sale would only happen when a new game appeared on a shelf. This was a clear and honest model, but it was also limited. Revenue arrived in sharp

In the history of modern business, a few products are remembered less for what they were and more for what they made possible. The home version of Space Invaders, released for the Atari Video Computer System in 1980, belongs to this rare group. The original arcade game had been created by the Japanese company Taito in 1978 and had already become a worldwide phenomenon. When Atari brought it into living rooms two years later, something interesting happened: people did not only