Trivia
Eugene Jarvis, creator of both Defender and its sequel Stargate, says that although the gameplay and coding of Stargate is more refined, he prefers the relative simplicity of the original Defender.
[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 55]
Contributed by
PCGamer77 
(3025) on Mar 18, 2009.
Game creator Eugene Jarvis cites Space Invaders and Asteroids as major influences on the design of Defender.
[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 55]
Contributed by
PCGamer77 (3025) on Mar 18, 2009.
The original Defender arcade was slow to become a hit when it was released as many thought it was too difficult due to its control configuration of five buttons and a joystick. It ultimately gained many fans and remained popular throughout the 1980s. Defender has been described in Gamasutra as "quite possibly, the hardest significant game there is".
Contributed by
Nélio RC (533) on Jun 27, 2008.
Atari's 2600 release of Defender included the comic book Atari Force #1. Here is that comic at AtariAge.com
Defender was popular enough to have a song inspired by it on the full-length "Pac-Man Fever" album - "The Defender".
