121 episodes tracked since 2023 about →
Episode 110 - SEGA Pinball
PodcastAnalysis updated 2d ago1 hr 39 min listen
Highlights
- Sega began designing and building pinball machines in 1971 and produced approximately 25 games through 1979
- Japanese Sega pinball games featured simplified mechanics (no rubber rings, minimal switches) designed for arcade serviceability rather than bar/location maintenance
- Sega ended commercial pinball manufacturing in Japan in 1979 when video games began dominating arcades
- Segasa (Spanish Sega subsidiary) was required by Spanish protectionist manufacturing laws to be domestically manufactured and could not be a majority-owned subsidiary
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (January 1995) was the best-selling Sega game with 3,000 units sold
- Sega attempted to purchase Williams pinball in the late 1970s but the deal fell apart at the eleventh hour
- Batman Forever was the last pinball game with screen-printed playfield artwork; subsequent games shifted to different printing methods
- Data East (and Sega after acquisition) based their board sets on Williams' WPC architecture
Notable quotes
“The Japanese way dude, the way they design all things... these pinball machines were designed to like they knew these were going in arcades... they really tried to make them like easy to maintain and low maintenance in general”
“It's genuinely and I know this is going to be like a very controversial statement, but you're like, this is kind of better because they function remarkably well”
“We're a historical podcast to some degree... We're trying to cover all of our bases in one Sega episode”
“We're not here to make money. We're not selling a bunch of Sega's new in box. Some other shows would tell you otherwise online... We're not selling that shit. We bring Megan on here to tell us why the new games are bad.”
“And so then they made it with this into a pinball machine with some goofy ass mechs in it... the Edgar Wintergroup song, Frankenstein. Because Gary Stern's a fucking genius, dude.”
“This is the last three data east games to me because these feel like a continuation... and then there's a shift there's a very there's a big departure”
“This is the end to me... this is the last time the play fields look good... after this the next game to come out... there's a big departure”
“It's a family tradition... Stern Electronics, his dad's company, ripped off the Bally boards... and then this one is a ripoff of what Williams... it's a good idea”
Entities
- Data East Pinball· company
- Sega (American Division) / Stern Pinball· company
- Sega Enterprises· company
- Segasa / Sonic (Spanish subsidiary)· company
- Stern Electronics· company
- Williams· company
- Apollo 13· game
- Batman Forever· game
- Baywatch· game
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein· game
- Surfing· game
- Internet Pinball Database (IPDB)· organization
- Pinside· organization
- Alan· person
- Alex· person
- Gary Stern· person
- Joe Balser· person
- John Borg· person
- Paul Faris· person
- Paul Leslie· person
- Rob Burke· person
- Frankenstein (movie)· product
