Data East – Fake It Til Ya Make It

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Episode Summary: 

It is often through failure that we learn, and after the collapse of Stern Electronics, Gary Stern did not give up. He collected himself over a year and then would work with Joe Kaminkow and Shelley Sax on building Data East Pinball. Often the butt of jokes on quality, code depth, and artwork, Data East would become the only survivor of the 1990s pinball collapse and is now known as Stern Pinball Inc. 

This month we take some time to look at early Data East Pinball where Dave and Ron dive into the collapse of Stern Electronics and who owns their Intellectual Property (IP), PinStar Inc., Joe Kaminkow becoming Dave’s best friend, the unsung hero of Data East Pinball Ed Cebela, Navy-issued uniforms, Robocop’s awesomeness, how time travel works, the rise of The Simpsons, and the legacy of Data East.  

Big Thanks to Mike Winne for helping with this episode! 

Sources: 

Pinside at Pinside.com

Internet Pinball Database: PinStar Game List. Here, Data East Game List. Here, Ed

Cebula’s Game List. Here

Wikipedia. Gottlieb. Here

RiYL Podcast Ep 161: Stern Pinball CEO Gary Stern.

Head 2 Head Pinball Podcast.

     Gary Stern, Ep 96

     Joe Kaminkow Ep 68 and EP 50

Super Awesome Pinball Show, S1-E4 – Joe Kaminkow

Loser Kid Pinball Podcast Ep 68

Pinball News-Pinball Magazine PinCAST, June 2020: Gary Stern 75th Birthday Interview Part 1

Total Recall Video. Here

TV Tropes. Joe Kaminkow Bio. Here

Shalhoub, Michael (2004). The Pinball compendium: 1982 to Present. Schiffer Publishing, Lt. Here