Ep 68: Pinball Legend Joe Kaminkow

Pinball legend Joe Kaminkow recounts his career building licensed pinball games and reshaping the industry.

Synopsis

Joe Kaminkow, pinball legend and Pinball Hall of Fame inductee, discusses his decades-long career from operating games as a child through designing iconic licensed titles at Data East and Stern, pioneering dot-matrix displays, and transitioning to slot machines and social gaming at IGT before returning to pinball with Batman 66 and The Beatles. He emphasizes the strategic value of licensing in driving sales and retention, shares stories of early partnerships with Gary Stern, and reflects on technology transitions that shaped the industry.

Entities

• Data East· company
• Flippin' Out Pinball· company
• IGT (International Game Technology)· company
• Spooky Pinball· company
• Stern Pinball· company
• Williams Electronics· company
• Back to the Future· game
• Batman 66· game
• Lethal Weapon· game
• Robocop· game
• Space Shuttle· game
• The Beatles· game
• The Simpsons· game
• LoserKid Pinball Podcast· organization
• Pinball Hall of Fame· organization
• Adam West· person
• Bob Gale· person
• Gary Stern· person
• George B. Farris· person
• Joe Kaminkow· person
• Larry· person
• Larry DeMar· person
• Mark Ritchie· person
• Matt Groening· person