Data East USA Inc.

Data East USA Inc., widely known as Data East Pinball, was established in 1986 as the pinball division of Japan-based Data East after Gary Stern purchased the assets of the former Stern Electronics factory in Chicago, and the company quickly became known for high-profile licensed pinball machines tied to film, television, comics and music such as The Simpsons, Back to the Future, Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Guns N’ Roses. Data East pushed design and technology boundaries in the late 1980s and early 1990s — Laser War is credited as one of the first tables to feature stereo sound, Checkpoint helped introduce the industry’s first dot-matrix display, and the 1993 Jurassic Park machine included a motorized T. rex toy that could snatch balls from the playfield. By leveraging popular licenses and inventive playfield toys, Data East captured a significant share of the pinball market, but rising licensing costs and a shrinking market led the parent company to sell the pinball division to Sega in 1994, after which Gary Stern ultimately reacquired the operation and continued the lineage as Stern Pinball, preserving many of Data East’s design innovations. Notable Data East titles still sought after by collectors and arcade operators include The Simpsons, Back to the Future, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Guns N’ Roses, Robocop, The Who’s Tommy, Batman, King Kong, Lethal Weapon 3, Playboy 35th Anniversary, Michael Jordan, WWF Royal Rumble, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Last Action Hero and many more, making Data East machines prized for their licensed themes, inventive mechanical features and lasting influence on modern pinball design.