''Back to the Future: The Pinball'' is a 1990

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

machine designed by Joe Kaminkow, Ed Cebula and released by

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The Am ...

, based on the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy.

Background

Released a month after the third movie's theatrical run ended, the game features four songs from the three films. '' The Power of Love'' and ''Back in Time'' (by

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempora ...

), '' Doubleback'' (by

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

) and

Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Ba ...

's orchestral theme.

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...

refused to permit his image to be used to adorn the back glass of the game, so the replacement image of his character

Marty McFly Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Back to the Future'' franchise. He is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox in all three films. McFly also appears in the animated series, where he was voice ...

wearing sunglasses on the game's backglass and playfield was portrayed by Brad Faris, son of Data East pinball artwork designer Paul Faris. Joe Kaminkow, one of the pinball game designers, also appeared as Fox's character on the advertising flyer and Gary Stern, former president of Data East Pinball and current CEO of

Stern Pinball Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 until 1985, and was best known for '' Berzerk''. Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1999 ...

, was in

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

's role as Doc Brown in the flyer as well. Back to the Future Pinball is also significant because it was one of the final mass production Data East made using a numeric display. In 1991 games would have a "Dot Matrix Display" beginning with "Checkpoint" and games like Batman, Star Trek and Ninja Turtles.

References

External links

* * 1990 pinball machines

Pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

Data East pinball machines Pinball machines based on films {{pinball-stub

Background

See also

References

External links