The Simpsons

The Simpsons pinball machine, released by Data East Pinball in September 1990, is a sought-after addition to any serious collector's cabinet as one of the earliest licensed pinball machines based on a popular animated television show. Designed by Joe Kaminkow and Ed Cebula, with art by Kevin O'Connor and Margaret Hudson, this solid-state electronic machine boasts a feature set typical of Data East's late-1980s/early-1990s output.

Gameplay features include three pop bumpers, two slingshots, two vertical up-kickers, a 5-bank and a 3-bank of drop targets, a kick-out hole, multiball, and speech. Interestingly, Joe Kaminkow has said The Simpsons was originally intended to be Data East's first game with a dot matrix display, but concerns that the DMD technology wouldn't be ready in time led the company to hold off; the DMD debuted instead on Data East's 1991 'Checkpoint'.

Visually, the machine brings Springfield to life with art depicting Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie alongside locations from the show. With only 5,502 units produced, The Simpsons remains a collectible and highly regarded machine among enthusiasts today.