Article appears in the Manchester Evening News dated 4/8/04.
Written by James Ducker
Martians march on
THE Martian invasion of Manchester has spread to other cities around
the world.
As
revealed in the M.E.N. last week, mosaics of aliens from the classic
arcade game Space Invaders are appearing on walls in the city centre.
There have been nearly 50 reported sightings in Manchester of the
ceramics. Fans of the cult game believe they might have something
to do with the recent release of a special 25th anniversary edition
on the Sony Playstation 2 console.
More than 1,350 mosaics have been discovered in a total of 26 cities
across the world - from Paris and Lyon in France to Perth and Melbourne
in Australia. Paris has reported 519 ceramics, while 104 have been
discovered in Los Angeles.
Grouted
The majority have appeared on walls, but others have been found
on bridges and in one case a buoy in the Pacific Ocean.
Fans have branded the findings "very cool", but town
hall chiefs in Manchester have vowed to punish those responsible.
A city council spokesman said the appearance of the mosaics, which
are grouted on to walls, amounted to "mindless vandalism".
He added: "We are still investigating. This would appear to
be illegal advertising but, rather more seriously, an act of criminal
damage. If we find this is the case, we will use all our powers
to identify and prosecute the perpetrators."
A spokesman for Taito, the Japanese corporation which invented
the game, said they did not condone the marking of private and public
property, but that the sightings could have something to do with
the re-release of the game recently to mark its 25th anniversary.
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