Phantom of the Opera

In January 1990, Data East released Phantom of the Opera, a solid-state pinball machine built around Gaston Leroux's classic 1910 novel (rather than the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical). Designed by Joe Kaminkow and Ed Cebula with artwork by Paul Faris, the game leans into its music theme with an audio score by Kyle Johnson and software by Lonnie D. Ropp. Data East produced 2,750 confirmed units between January and June 1990.

The game's playfield is built around two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, nine standup targets, two vertical up-kickers, a swinging target, a hanging target, and a left kickback outlane. Its signature feature is the "organ" ramp in the upper right playfield: after a player hits all three targets atop the ramp or completes the shooter lane skill shot, the ramp raises to let the player shoot balls into the cavern below the playfield.

Early production units, including the pictured serial number 009, were part of a small batch Data East sent to a Bose speaker factory to showcase the company's new stereo sound system, and used red rather than green lamp boards underneath the playfield. Paul Faris has said his daughter served as the model for the Christine Dae character on the backglass, adding a personal touch to the game's Gothic opera-house artwork and atmosphere.