In retrospect, Newcomer commended Williams's management for taking a risk on him and the game.

[6]
 The game has garnered praise from industry professionals as well. Jeff Peters of GearWorks
Games lauded the gameplay, describing it as unique and intuitive. Jeff Johannigman of Fusion
Learning Systems praised the flapping mechanism and Kim Pallister of Microsoft enjoyed the multi-
player aspect.[39]

Legacy
A Joust-themed pinball table was released in 1983, designed by Barry Oursler and Constantino
Mitchell. The game includes artwork and themes from the arcade version. In addition to single player
gameplay, it features competitive two-player gameplay with the players on opposing sides of the
machine. Fewer than 500 machines were produced.[11]
An arcade sequel, Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest, was released in 1986. It features similar gameplay
with new elements on a vertical screen.[40]
In 2004, Midway Games[Note 1] also launched a website featuring the browser-
based Shockwave versions.[41] The game is in several multi-platform compilations: the 1996 Williams
Arcade's Greatest Hits, the 2000 Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits, and the 2003 Midway Arcade
Treasures.[42][43][44] Other compilations are the 1995 Arcade Classic 4 for the Game Boy and the
2005 Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play for the PlayStation Portable.[45][46] Joust was released
via digital distribution on GameTap, Xbox Live Arcade, and the PlayStation Network.[47][48] In
2012, Joust was included in the compilation Midway Arcade Origins.[49]
Other remakes were in development, but never released. Previously unreleased Atarisoft prototypes
of Joust for the ColecoVision surfaced in 2001 at the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.[50] An
adaptation with three-dimensional (3D) graphics (and a port of the original Joust as a bonus[51]) was
in development for the Atari Jaguar. Titled Dactyl Joust, it was eventually canceled. [52] Another
remake in development is Joust 3D for the Nintendo 64. Because the arenas are in 3D, it was to use
a split screen for the multiplayer battles.[53] Newcomer pitched an updated version of the arcade
game for the Game Boy Advance to Midway Games, which declined. The prototype uses multi-
directional scrolling, more detailed graphics based on 3D renders, and new gameplay mechanics.[6]
Tiger Electronics released a keychain version of Joust in 1998.[54]
A mobile phone version was released in 2005, but omitted the flapping control scheme. [55]
veral games by other developers either copy or build upon Joust's design.[37] The
1983 Jetpac and Mario Bros., and the 1984 Balloon Fight, have elements inspired by it.[56][57][58][59] The
flying mechanics in the 2000 game Messiah were inspired by Joust.[60] The arcade game Killer
Queen was heavily inspired by Joust, and mixes elements of it with RTS and MOBA games.[61]
Midway Games optioned Joust's movie rights to CP Productions in 2007. [47][62] Michael Cerenzie of CP
Productions described the script by Marc Gottlieb as "Gladiator meets Mad Max", set 25 years in the
future.[63] The June 2008 release date was pushed back to 2009, [63][64] then Midway filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy in 2009.[65] Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment purchased most of Midway's assets,
including Joust, with the intent to develop movie adaptations.[66][67]
Joust is referenced in the Robot Chicken episode "Celebutard Mountain", [68] the Code
Monkeys episode "Just One of the Gamers",[69] and the video games Mortal Kombat 3(Shang
Tsung turns into the character from Joust as his friendship) [70] and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.[71] In
the book Ready Player One, Wade Watts defeats an NPC in 2-player Joust.

1. Notes  Williams Electronics purchased Midway in 1988, and later transferred its games to
the Midway Games subsidiary.
References[^ "Arcade Action". Computer and Video Games. No.  16 (February 1983). United
Kingdom:  EMAP. January 16, 1983. pp. 30–1.