Episode 104 - John Borg: The Man Who Doesn't F*&k Around

PodcastAnalysis updated yesterdayNov 3, 20251 hr 3 min listen

Highlights

Star Wars was Data East USA Inc..'s biggest run of all time, selling over 10,000 copies in a three-month period
Data East USA Inc.. was manufacturing 200 games per day in a 30,000 square-foot building during Star Wars production
Joe Kaminkow told Borg to convert his dinosaur game into Star Wars after learning Stephen Spielberg was making Jurassic Park
Hook sold significantly more units than prior Data East USA Inc.. games (6,000-7,000 vs typical 3,000-4,000)
Axl Rose was difficult to work with during Guns Guns N' Roses recording; only produced 4-5 usable speech lines from a 3-hour session
Borg attended the Frankenstein movie premiere in 1995 with Paul Ferris and encountered Danny DeVito
Jim Lovell played Apollo 13 pinball at his home years after it was delivered and wrote that he plays it regularly
Mini Viper one-off prototype sold for approximately $20,000
Last Last Action Hero had the backglass redesigned three times; Lyman F. Sheats Jr. was credited as designer despite multiple contributors

“I took the job in pinball because I knew it would be more fun and it has been. It's been great. It's been a glorious ride.”

John Borg

“We were making 200 games a day in a 30,000-foot building. It was it was ridiculous.”

John Borg

“Good boy. Don't don't eat me.”

John Borg

“I have to take the DAT tape back with me to Chicago because we have to put it in the game as soon as we can.”

John Borg

“If I fall asleep, I'm never going to make that flight.”

John Borg

“I bumped into a couple of people um that were famous stars. I was just like, 'Wow! This is awesome!'”

John Borg

“He says John, I love this game. I play it all the time.”

Jim Lovell (via Polaroid message)

“Why didn't you make it a regular-size game?”