History Creator / JoeKaminkow

* ''[[Pinball/TimeMachineDataEast Time Machine]]'' (Data East, 1988)

* ''[[VideoGame/JoeAndMac Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja]]'' (Data East, 1991)
* ''[[Pinball/BatmanDataEast Batman]]'' (Data East, 1991)

Seeing a resurgence in pinball games in the mid-eighties, Joe and Gary started their own company in November 1986. After their proposal was rejected by Creator/{{Konami}}, the two found a receptive audience at Creator/DataEast, who wanted to expand beyond video games. Though Creator/DataEastPinball started with original titles like ''Pinball/LaserWar'' and ''Pinball/SecretService,'' Joe rapidly leveraged his talents at securing licenses, resulting in a flurry of LicensedPinballTables such as ''Pinball/RoboCop, Pinball/BackToTheFuture, Pinball/TheSimpsonsDataEast, Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, Pinball/{{Star Trek|DataEast}}'', and ''Pinball/LethalWeapon3.'' When Data East Pinball was bought out by Creator/{{Sega}}, Joe remained as Executive Vice President of Game Design, supervising parts, productions, and licensees.

* ''Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' (Data East, 1991)

Seeing a resurgence in pinball games in the mid-eighties, Joe and Gary started their own company in November 1986. After their proposal was rejected by Creator/{{Konami}}, the two found a receptive audience at Creator/DataEast, who wanted to expand beyond video games. Though Creator/DataEastPinball started with original titles like ''Pinball/LaserWar'' and ''Pinball/SecretService,'' Joe rapidly leveraged his talents at securing licenses, resulting in a flurry of LicensedPinballTables such as ''Pinball/RoboCop, Pinball/BackToTheFuture, Pinball/TheSimpsons, Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, Pinball/{{Star Trek|DataEast}}'', and ''Pinball/LethalWeapon3.'' When Data East Pinball was bought out by Creator/{{Sega}}, Joe remained as Executive Vice President of Game Design, supervising parts, productions, and licensees.

Seeing a resurgence in pinball games in the mid-eighties, Joe and Gary started their own company in November 1986. After their proposal was rejected by Creator/{{Konami}}, the two found a receptive audience at Creator/DataEast, who wanted to expand beyond video games. Though Creator/DataEastPinball started with original titles like ''Pinball/LaserWar'' and ''Pinball/SecretService,'' Joe rapidly leveraged his talents at securing licenses, resulting in a flurry of LicensedPinballTables such as ''Pinball/RoboCop, Pinball/BackToTheFuture, Pinball/TheSimpsons, Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, [[Pinball/StarTrekDataEast Star Trek,]]'' and ''Pinball/LethalWeapon3.'' When Data East Pinball was bought out by Creator/{{Sega}}, Joe remained as Executive Vice President of Game Design, supervising parts, productions, and licensees.

* ''[[Pinball/StarTrekDataEast Star Trek]]'' (Data East, 1991)

* ''[[VideoGame/CavemanNinja Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja]]'' (Data East, 1991)

->"I think it had the first deaths by diarrhea or farts ever in video games. All I can say is, we had no good taste, no good decorum, and no good style. There almost wasn’t anything that was off limits."

* ''Pinball/StarshipTroopers'' (Sega, 1997)

!!Games that Joe Kaminkow were involved with include:

* ''VideoGame/CavemanNinja'' (Data East, 1991)

Seeing a resurgence in pinball games in the mid-eighties, Joe and Gary started their own company in November 1986. After their proposal was rejected by Creator/{{Konami}}, the two found a receptive audience at Creator/DataEast, who wanted to expand beyond video games. Though Creator/DataEastPinball started with original titles like ''Pinball/LaserWar'' and ''Pinball/SecretService,'' Joe rapidly leveraged his talents at securing licenses, resulting in a flurry of LicensedPinballTables such as ''Pinball/RoboCop, Pinball/BackToTheFuture, Pinball/TheSimpsons, Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, [[Pinball/StarTrekDataEast Star Trek,]]'' and ''Pinball/LethalWeapon3.'' When Data East was bought out by Creator/{{Sega}}, Joe remained as Executive Vice President of Game Design, supervising parts, productions, and licensees.

* ''Pinball/StarshipTroopers'' (Sega, 1997)

As for ''VideoGame/TattooAssassins,'' Joe's not embarrassed by it at all. “It’s amazing because here we are 20 years later, and people are still talking about the game, and remembering, and playing it. It’s a cult favorite now. We’re probably like ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace''.”

Joe Kaminkow left arcade gaming in 1999 to join International Game Technology, where he revolutionized slot machines by the extensive use of licensed titles. He also co-founded Spooky Cool Labs, a subdivision of Zynga that designs social games for casino gaming and the Internet, and joined slot machine manufacturer Aristocrat Technologies in February 2013. He's also a founder of Back Lot Tour Productions, a studio specializing in {{Game Show}}s and RealityTV programs.

Seeing a resurgence in pinball games in the mid-eighties, Joe and Gary started their own company in November 1986. Although their proposal was rejected by Creator/{{Konami}}, the two found a receptive audience at Creator/DataEast, who wanted to expand beyond video games. Though Creator/DataEastPinball started with original titles like ''Pinball/LaserWar'' and ''Pinball/SecretService,'' Joe rapidly leveraged his talents at securing licenses, resulting in games such as ''Pinball/RoboCop, Pinball/BackToTheFuture, Pinball/TheSimpsons, Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, [[Pinball/StarTrekDataEast Star Trek,]]'' and ''Pinball/LethalWeapon3.'' When Data East was bought out by Creator/{{Sega}}, Joe remained as executive vice president of game design.

Joe Kaminkow is a longtime veteran of the arcade and entertainment industries, having worked in many design and executive positions during his career. While most players won't know his name, they're sure to recognize the games and companies he's worked for -- Creator/WilliamsElectronics, Creator/DataEastPinball, Creator/{{Sega}}, ''Pinball/BatmanForever, Pinball/StarshipTroopers, Pinball/StarWarsTrilogy''...

He's renown for being unabashedly zealous and over-the-top -- he arranged for a man in a chicken costume to appear for an introduction of his friend Ed Cebula, and one of his first acts after joining Aristocrat Technologies was to give everyone in his department the title of game designer.

-->--Joe describes ''VideoGame/TattooAssassins''

Joe Kaminkow is a longtime veteran of the arcade and entertainment industries, having worked in many design and executive positions during his career. While most players won't know his name, they're sure to recognize the games and companies he's worked for -- Creator/WilliamsElectronics, Creator/DataEastPinball, ''Pinball/BatmanForever, Pinball/StarshipTroopers, Pinball/StarWarsTrilogy''...