The Simpsons is a pinball machine based on the long-running animated TV series, released in multiple versions by different manufacturers (Data East and Stern). The game leveraged strong theme recognition from the show's massive viewing audience and achieved significant commercial success, with the Data East version exceeding 5,500 units produced and ranking among top sellers in the UK. The game was notable for its technical innovations, including being originally planned as Data East's first DMD release, and featured extensive callout content (~920) sourced from various TV episodes.
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Data East's The Simpsons was planned to be their first DMD game but was delayed to allow for further display refinement.
The Simpsons machine had never been working at DeadFlip before Gavin's repair
Data East game planned as first game to include DMD in 1990, but delayed for display refinement
Referenced as example of pinball using standard ramp integrations across multiple licensed titles
Data East and later Stern title; Margaret Hudson and Kevin O'Connor worked on production art collaboratively; she worked on multiple versions (Data East and Stern's Simpsons Pinball Party)
Pinball machine owned by David Dennis, his first machine, plans to keep long-term
Stern pinball game licensed while The Simpsons was still on The Tracy Ullman Show. Stern was second licensor in the world. Featured early dot-matrix display; Matt Groening appeared at AMOA trade show.
Early 2000s Stern pinball machine; customer unit serviced by George; received code update from version 4 to version 5
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Stern machine from 2003; compared to Spider-Man (2007) regarding build quality and construction
Pinball machine Chris maintains at local arcade; described as running reliably on ramp modes
Pinball machine in Drew's collection, ranked #3 in rotation, played approximately once weekly
Referenced classic game with upper playfield that Scott Ian owns, used as comparison point for Alice Cooper's upper playfield design
Pinball machine IE Pinball previously owned (10-11 years ago) and considers borrowing for streaming
Drew's previously beloved machine sold due to secondary market pricing; color DMD retained and installed in Lord of the Rings
Drew owns this machine; mentioned as long-term collection piece
Pinball game where Kevin O'Connor followed official style guide, cited twice as example of licensed IP work
Keith Jeff Johnson pinball design; host expresses disinterest in the game
Referenced as Keith Johnson's potentially best ruleset work, used as comparison for Wizard of Oz code
Pinball machine Schmitty owned via Pinball Party; regrets selling it too early, would like to own another
Arcade game playable via Pandora's Box; demonstrated in video as example of accessible games
Stern pinball machine referenced as example of direct-printed cabinet
Konami arcade cabinet converted by RetroRalph to X-Men configuration; original cabinet replaced
Horizontal side-scrolling beat-em-up arcade game demonstrated on the cabinet
Four-player arcade game demonstrated on Pandora's Key 7
Pinball game referenced as comparison for complex rule set and thematic shot design; Matt Scott owns this machine
Referenced for wizard mode difficulty comparison; hosts note its nearly unobtainable endgame vs LOTR's achievable Valinor
Classic pinball machine used as design philosophy analogy for balancing casual accessibility with deep hidden mechanics
Four-player arcade cabinet in RetroRalph's primary arcade room; running Simpsons, TMNT, and potentially Sunset Riders
Arcade cabinet acquired by RetroRalph for $600; planned for dual-boot with X-Men
Classic arcade game; considered but predicted to not be announced at CES 2020 by RetroRalph
Animated television series IP being adapted into Arcade1Up home arcade cabinet
Arcade cabinet that Jon is running alongside TMNT using the switcher
1991 Konami arcade beat-em-up; Jon acquired for $600 and converted to X-Men arcade cabinet with Nick Madsen
Arcade cabinet in collection; marquee failed; full rehabilitation planned
Arcade game; speaker owns cabinet running JAMMA switcher with TMNT board
Arcade machine in Ralph's collection; unfinished restoration project
Pinball machine mentioned as part of collection discussion
Pinball machine available at DeadFlip venue, mentioned as available for sale or as virtual pin version
Data East pinball machine in stream setup, needs center post repair, mentioned as making hosts 'mad'
Pinball machine with transformer technical issues discussed during stream
Available at venue; noted as broken; described as first Simpsons from Dead East
Pinball machine being sold by Dead Flip due to space constraints
Pinball machine; described as reliable 'tank' being held as final backup if all other machines break down during stream
Pinball machine recently repaired and now operational at DeadFlip arcade after years of non-function
Pinball machine referenced as community meme for being 'worst machine' though Jack defends all machines as playable
Data East pinball machine in DeadFlip's studio
Pinball machine owned by DeadFlip; referenced in machine inventory
Comparison point: Homer Simpson's head was large AND interactive, unlike Baby Yoda; illustrates design best practice
Pinball machine in Mr. Wonderful's Palace lineup
Classic arcade game available at Arnold's
Data East table (Sept 1990); competing release that overshadowed Deadly Weapon; had iconic theme and strong sales.
Comparison point: tons of depth/breadth but gameplay narrows to repetitive path
Complex modern pinball with deep rule set; both Nick and Jeff love it; marked Nick's skill progression to level A play
Data East pinball; 5,500-5,600 units produced; described as first breakout game for Data East; major commercial success
Stern pinball game; Granner created soundtrack
Animated series where Bowen worked on The Simpsons Movie as VFX/CGI artist for Forum Visual Effects; he created 3D elements integrated into 2D animation
Video arcade game in Matthew's collection; four-player capable; favorite multiplayer game alongside TMNT
Data East licensed game from 1990; described as 'insane pull for a license' but poor game execution; nominated for Best Licensed Game but loses to Roller Games.
Data East licensed game (1990); sold 5,500 units, their first major hit
Stern Pinball game released pre-NASCAR; commercial success alongside LOTR establishing financial confidence for NASCAR project
Data East game originally planned as first DMD release but delayed for display refinement; Checkpoint became first Data East DMD instead
Stern game; among top three sellers in UK; strong theme recognition across UK viewing audience
Data East game; first to exceed 5,000 units produced (~5,500); legitimized company as true contender; introduced dot matrix display (nearly on this game)
Classic four-player arcade game referenced as example of multiplayer engagement strategy
TV show theme for Marco's homebrew machine; he collected ~920 callouts from various episodes
Earlier Stern release; Ryan expected to like but 'fucking hate it'; example of FOMO-driven interest vs actual enjoyment
Data East game ranked #15 in bracket; criticized for simple rules and heavy ramp looping focus