It was the earliest known popular music album to use the Roland MC-8 Microcomposer, which was programmed by Hideki Matsutake during recording sessions.

The swingy funk element present throughout the album was expressed by Matsutake programming through subtle variations of the MC-8's input.

[12] At the time, Billboard noted that the use of such computer-based technology in conjunction with synthesizers allowed Yellow Magic Orchestra to create new sounds that were not possible until then.

Both Circus and Space Invaders, along with several other popular arcade video games, were also featured in the promotional film for "Tong Poo".

It was released in the US on 30 May 1979 by A&M Records on the Horizon label with a new mix by Al Schmitt, new cover art and a slightly different track listing.

Several of the segues on the second side of the album were edited differently, while "Bridge over Troubled Music" was given an additional electric piano solo over top of the introductory percussion.

[20] The "terse video-game funk" sounds of "Computer Game" would have a strong influence on the emerging electro and hip hop music genres;[3] the song's use of video game sounds and bleeps has been described as "ahead of their time"[21] and as having a strong influence on 1980s hip hop[22] and pop music.

[4] The song also influenced Sheffield's bleep techno music; Warp's third record, "Testone" (1990) by Sweet Exorcist, defined Sheffield's techno sound, by making playful use of sampled sounds from "Computer Game" along with dialogues from the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

[5] De La Soul's "Funky Towel" (for the 1996 film Joe's Apartment),[24] Jennifer Lopez's hit "I'm Real" (2001), and the original version of Mariah Carey's "Loverboy" (for the 2001 film soundtrack Glitter),[25] which was released as part of the 2020 compilation album The Rarities on October 2, 2020, also sampled the song.