Data East · 1993 · Dot-matrix era (1991 to 1999)

Jurassic Park

Name: Jurassic Park
Brand: Data East

Design: Joe Kaminkow, John Borg, Ed Cebula · Art: Markus Rothkranz

Data East's Jurassic Park came out in 1993, the same month as the film, and its centerpiece is a T-Rex head that picks up the ball and swallows it. The game started life as a Cadillacs and Dinosaurs table before Williams won that license. Williams later saw the T-Rex tracking the ball at a test location and said it infringed a Funhouse patent, so Data East changed the software. You launch with a gun handle and its Smart Missile button, a nod to Defender, and Richard Attenborough's voice is in the game. A family mode stops the T-Rex eating a goat on screen. Joe Kaminkow, John Borg and Ed Cebula designed it, Markus Rothkranz did the art, and 9,008 were built. Stern's 2019 Jurassic Park is a different machine.

Early test software let the T-Rex follow the ball; Data East changed it after a Williams patent complaint

Spec at a glance

Maker: Data East and Sega
Era: Dot-matrix era (1991 to 1999)
Theme: Movie licenses
Year: 1993
Players: 4
Made: Data East, April to August 1993
Design: Joe Kaminkow, John Borg and Ed Cebula
Art: Markus Rothkranz
System: Data East Version 3 CPU
Display: 128x32 dot-matrix
Production: 9,008 units
Features: 3 flippers, ball-eating T-Rex, shaker motor, autoplunger
Also listed as: Data East Jurassic Park, JP

Bench check

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

Boards and batteries: Like Star Wars, Jurassic Park keeps three AA batteries on its Version 3 CPU, and a leak there is the main threat. A good photo shows a remote holder below the boards and clean copper where the old one sat.
Display: It uses Data East's standard 128x32 dot-matrix display, fed by high voltage from the power supply. An outgassing display strains that supply, and that's the reason to replace it. Ask for a video so you can check for dark or dim rows.
Playfield: Jurassic Park has three flippers, three pop bumpers, a captive ball and up to six-ball multiball. Paint wears first at the flippers, inlanes and scoop entrances, so ask for a straight-down shot.
Toys and mechs: The T-Rex head picks up and swallows the ball, and a raptor kicks. Ask for a video of the T-Rex taking a ball. It should grab, lift and release cleanly, and the shaker motor should rumble.
Cabinet and art: The cabinet sides carry the Jurassic Park logo and the dinosaur from the film poster, and the launch handle is shaped like a Tazer stun gun with a Smart Missile button on the trigger. Check the gun handle is there in the photos. Look at the sides for fading.
Moving it: It's a standard-body Data East game with a shaker motor in the cabinet. Pull the legs and backbox before it moves, and keep the keys with the game.
Parts and code: Jurassic Park introduced Data East's lower-mounted ball trough and added end-of-stroke switches to the flippers. Weak or jerky flippers often come from the wrong pawl screws, too long or Phillips head. Ask whether the flippers have been rebuilt.

Should come with it

Tazer gun launch handle
Translite
Coin door keys and backbox key
Manual

Check the listing photos against these lists, and ask the seller about anything you can’t see. A missing toy, glass or key should come off the price.

What to check

Watch for battery damage on the CPU, burned connectors and a tired DMD power supply. On the playfield, the T-Rex and the flippers are the parts to test, since wrong pawl screws make the flippers weak.

01Batteries: Ask for a photo of the CPU board. The AA batteries should be on a remote holder, with no corrosion.
02T-Rex: Ask for a video of the T-Rex eating a ball. It should grab, lift and drop the ball cleanly.
03Display: Ask for a video of attract mode. The dot-matrix should show no dead or dim rows.
04Flippers: Ask for a video of all three flippers in a game. They should be strong and steady.
05Gun handle: Look for the Tazer gun launcher in the photos. It should be there with its trigger button.
06Shaker: Ask whether the shaker motor works. You should hear and see it rumble in the video.
07Playfield wear: Ask for a straight-down playfield photo. Paint should be intact at the flippers and scoops.
08Which Jurassic Park: Check the listing is the 1993 Data East game. Stern's 2019 game and Sega's Lost World are different machines.

Buying your first one? Red flags in a pinball listing covers the photos and videos to ask for, and the battery corrosion guide shows what leaking batteries do to an old CPU board.

Find one on eBay

We haven’t been through this game’s listings yet. Search eBay and run every listing through the checklist above. Ask for a video of a full game, a photo of the CPU board and photos of the playfield in good light, and ask what’s been replaced. Pass on any seller who won’t answer.

Search “Data East Jurassic Park pinball” on eBay ↗eBay search

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Maker

Era

Theme

Read

Jurassic Park

Design: Joe Kaminkow, John Borg, Ed Cebula · Art: Markus Rothkranz

Early test software let the T-Rex follow the ball; Data East changed it after a Williams patent complaint

Spec at a glance

Maker

Data East and Sega

Era

Dot-matrix era (1991 to 1999)

Theme

Movie licenses

Year

1993

Players

Made

Data East, April to August 1993

Design

Joe Kaminkow, John Borg and Ed Cebula

Art

Markus Rothkranz

System

Data East Version 3 CPU

Display

128x32 dot-matrix

Production

9,008 units

Features

3 flippers, ball-eating T-Rex, shaker motor, autoplunger

Also listed as

Data East Jurassic Park, JP

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

Boards and batteries

Like Star Wars, Jurassic Park keeps three AA batteries on its Version 3 CPU, and a leak there is the main threat. A good photo shows a remote holder below the boards and clean copper where the old one sat.

Display

It uses Data East's standard 128x32 dot-matrix display, fed by high voltage from the power supply. An outgassing display strains that supply, and that's the reason to replace it. Ask for a video so you can check for dark or dim rows.

Playfield

Jurassic Park has three flippers, three pop bumpers, a captive ball and up to six-ball multiball. Paint wears first at the flippers, inlanes and scoop entrances, so ask for a straight-down shot.

Toys and mechs

The T-Rex head picks up and swallows the ball, and a raptor kicks. Ask for a video of the T-Rex taking a ball. It should grab, lift and release cleanly, and the shaker motor should rumble.

Cabinet and art

The cabinet sides carry the Jurassic Park logo and the dinosaur from the film poster, and the launch handle is shaped like a Tazer stun gun with a Smart Missile button on the trigger. Check the gun handle is there in the photos. Look at the sides for fading.

Moving it

It's a standard-body Data East game with a shaker motor in the cabinet. Pull the legs and backbox before it moves, and keep the keys with the game.

Parts and code

Jurassic Park introduced Data East's lower-mounted ball trough and added end-of-stroke switches to the flippers. Weak or jerky flippers often come from the wrong pawl screws, too long or Phillips head. Ask whether the flippers have been rebuilt.

Should come with it

Tazer gun launch handle

Translite

Coin door keys and backbox key

Manual

Check the listing photos against these lists, and ask the seller about anything you can’t see. A missing toy, glass or key should come off the price.

What to check

01Batteries: Ask for a photo of the CPU board. The AA batteries should be on a remote holder, with no corrosion.

02T-Rex: Ask for a video of the T-Rex eating a ball. It should grab, lift and drop the ball cleanly.

03Display: Ask for a video of attract mode. The dot-matrix should show no dead or dim rows.

04Flippers: Ask for a video of all three flippers in a game. They should be strong and steady.

05Gun handle: Look for the Tazer gun launcher in the photos. It should be there with its trigger button.

06Shaker: Ask whether the shaker motor works. You should hear and see it rumble in the video.

07Playfield wear: Ask for a straight-down playfield photo. Paint should be intact at the flippers and scoops.

08Which Jurassic Park: Check the listing is the 1993 Data East game. Stern's 2019 game and Sega's Lost World are different machines.

Buying your first one? Red flags in a pinball listing covers the photos and videos to ask for, and the battery corrosion guide shows what leaking batteries do to an old CPU board.

Find one on eBay

Jurassic Park

Spec at a glance

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

What to check

Find one on eBay

Compare with

Star Wars

The Simpsons

Baywatch

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Keep exploring

Jurassic Park

Spec at a glance

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

What to check

Find one on eBay

Compare with

Star Wars

The Simpsons

Baywatch

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Keep exploring