Episode 110 - SEGA Pinball

Comprehensive Sega pinball history from Japanese origins through Data East acquisition and early American production (1995).

Synopsis

Wedgehead A A Pinball Podcast episode 110 provides a comprehensive history of Sega's involvement in pinball manufacturing across three distinct periods: Japanese Sega (1971-1979), Spanish Sega/Sonic (1970s-1980s), and American Sega/Stern (1994-1999). The hosts discuss Sega's acquisition of Data East's pinball division in 1994 and the early Sega American games (1995), emphasizing the quality and design philosophy of titles like Frankenstein, Baywatch, and Batman Forever before discussing the introduction of the White Star board set with Apollo 13.

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

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
• Joe Kaminkow· person
• John Borg· person
• Paul Faris· person
• Paul Leslie· person
• Rob Burke· person
• Frankenstein (movie)· product