The themes of addiction and engrossment could be found in writing about video games from their debut. "It's like drugs," a Space Invaders distributor told The Washington Post in 1980. "They'll tell you: 'I got a $4-a-day habit.' " The first thing everyone noticed about Space Invaders was just how captivated its players were. It was a hard game—seemingly hopeless—yet something kept players coming back, trying to conquer it.

Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, loc. 679