Top 10 Game Shows!

Quote: Nareed

And yet they still had prizes the last time I watched (around 2005 or so). In some rounds they'd give out trips, cars, etc. In the final round there were cars, too. Do you suppose winners can pick a cash equivalent?



The mechanics are too different. You could easily skip a round, say by picking a letter that's already on the board, or one that's not likley to be there, like X, Q and Z. But then you risk someone else solving the puzzle before it's your turn again.

The winners have a mechanism for winning cash that did not exist in the early incarnations of the game, so they have the opportunity to win cash to pay taxes on the cars and vacations. Before, they had to spend it or lose it, then pay tax on the prize.

You can't skip spinning, though. You can't just pick the Q without first spinning the wheel and risking the Bankrupt. You might have a huge lead and be almost guaranteed the bonus round, but you still have to spin. If you hold that million-dollar wedge you still have to risk losing that.

Quote: FarFromVegas

They really have to offer cash instead of just shopping for prizes if they don't want all the contestants to be locals.

I had heard that the original "shopping" format was abandoned for several reasons:

1 - It tended to drag as the contestants started to run low on money, but were still required to pick something.
2 - The Sponsors of last few prizes picked, felt the contestants gave the product a bad vibe, almost as a consolation prize.
3 - Sponsors who weren't picked also hated it.
4 - Most viewers hated it.

Frankly, game shows are among the cheapest shows to produce. Therefore, it was more economical to get rid of that segment, which helped increase the number of viewers, and just have the occasional big prize. It doesn't matter if the prize is won or not. Getting it included in the show is the ultimate goal.