No doubt about it, Defender deserves its reputation, both as one of the best titles to appear during the Golden Age of video games, and also as one of the hardest games ever to hit the arcade. Games that don't last even a minute for new players usually aren't successful, but something about Defender would encourage even the most inexperienced players to come back for another go. For most, that perserverance was rewarded by a game full of spectacular graphics and sound effects, and one that hopefully lasted just a few seconds more than the one before, maybe even long enough to finally get that next extra life.
Defender saw ports for just about every home system released before 1984, and several more released after. Most of these home ports squeeze the original's unique control system into a standard joystick-and-one-button configuration. For many players this is actually easier to learn, and it doesn't lose too much in the translation. But the best players will tell you it's like the difference between a manual and automatic transmission. Sure the automatic can take you where you need to go, but the manual makes it a whole lot more fun getting there!