Collector Value Est.
$1,900–$3,400
USD · Market estimate
Near-mint / restored. Worn or stored examples sell for 30–60% less.
Data East · 1991
Checkpoint
Notable Features
Flippers (2), Pop bumpers (3), Slingshots (2), 4-bank drop targets (1), 3-bank drop targets (1), Single drop target (1), Standup target (1), Vertical up-kicker (1), Kick-out hole (1), Spinning target (1), Auto Shooter, Shaker Motor, Ignition Key used as start button. First game to have a dot matrix display (DMD). It used a "half-height" DMD size as later games made by this and other manufacturers went to a larger size which became the standard. First game to have a combination automatic ball shooter and spring plunger, patented by Data East.
Historical Notes
Fred Young did voice characterizations on this game. Joe Kaminkow told us that the previous game, Data East's 1990 'The Simpsons', was to be their first game to have DMD. However, President and CEO Joe Keenan worried that development of the DMD might not be ready in time for that game and problems occurring had they rushed it into production could put the company out of business. The playfield layout for Checkpoint was based on the layout of Data East's 1989 'Robocop' which Joe said did not sell very well but they liked the basic design, modifying it for this game. Pictured in this listing is a test game playfield and two test game white cabinets, images captured from a video taken during the November 1990 factory tour of Data East. The playfield has a few differences from the production version. Joe told us their backboxes had DMD (not the alpha-numeric as seen on the prototype backglass pictured here) and that they decided that these white cabinets showed dirt and location grime too easily, including around the flipper buttons, such that the cabinet art was changed for production games. This game was produced from February 1991 to May 1991.
Where to Play It
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