In retrospect, Jarvis believed many passersby were intimidated by its complexity. The game, however, was well-received in arcades, and crowds gathered around the cabinet during its first nights of play testing. The success spurred Williams to release a cocktail version as well. "Defender" eventually became Williams' best-selling arcade game, with over 55,000 units sold worldwide. It has become one of the highest grossing arcade games ever, earning over US$1 billion. Six months after its release, the game was one of the top earners in the United States video game industry. Mark Stearny of "JoyStik" magazine called "Defender" the most successful game in 1981, commenting that it outperformed "Pac-Man". Co-designer Larry Demar was surprised by the game's popularity. At the time of its release, Stan Jarocki, director of marketing at then-competitor Midway Manufacturing, described the game as "amazing". "Softline" in 1983 wrote that it "remains one of the hardest arcade games ever developed. Initial attempts lasting less than ten seconds are not uncommon for novices." Ed Driscoll reviewed the Atari VCS version of "Defender" in "The Space Gamer" No. 57. Driscoll commented that "All in all, if you want a good game for your Atari, this qualifies. "Defender" lovers have a few gripes, but I would recommend this one to any VCS owner." The port won the "Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Videogame" category in the 1983 Arcade Awards. In 1983 "Softline" readers named the Atari 8-bit version fifth on the magazine's Top Thirty list of Atari programs by popularity. The magazine was more critical, however, stating that "The game's appeal does not justify its unreasonable cost" of being shipped on ROM cartridges. David H. Ahl of "Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games" said in 1983 that the Atari 5200 version was "a substantial challenge to the most seasoned space gamers". "Next Generation" ranked the arcade version as number 13 on their 1996 "Top 100 Games of All Time", saying that its balanced difficulty makes gamers keep coming back for more instead of giving up. In 1999, "Next Generation" listed "Defender" as number 23 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "Despite exceptionally complicated controls, gamers fell in love at first sight. The difficulty is high but fair - when you die, it's always your fault, and that leaves you wanting one more chance to beat the game."