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SDI (1987 video game)

1987 video game

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ3943319 ↗
Source-derived summary

SDI: Strategic Defense Initiative, or simply SDI, is a 1987 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Sega for arcades. It was ported to the Master System (released in North America and Europe under the name Global Defense), Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Players control a satellite and must destroy enemies by moving a crosshair over them and firing the satellite's weapons.

Gameplay

Players control a Strategic Defense Initiative satellite orbiting the Earth and must destroy enemy missiles/satellites with its weapons, and when activated the satellite's weapon systems fire at the crosshair present onscreen during play. The arcade version features a joystick to control the satellite and a trackball to control the crosshair. Home computer versions use different control schemes, such as depressing the fire button to control the crosshair, alternating between controlling the satellite and its weapons. It is also possible to use a joystick and mouse in combination to control the satellite and crosshair at the same time, emulating the arcade game's controls.

Each stage is split into two sections: offensive mode and defensive mode. During offensive mode, the player engages a number of enemies with the aim of destroying them all without the satellite being destroyed by the enemy. Should the player destroy all enemies during offensive mode, they are awarded 20,000 bonus points and begin the next stage on the offensive.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “SDI (1987 video game)” as 1987 video game. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1987—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1987-01-01. The account is most persuasive where video and game can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as 1987 video game. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3943319. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1987.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  2. Expand the search: follow SDI (1987 video game) primary sources, SDI (1987 video game) archive and video research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “SDI (1987 video game)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.