The Evolution of Game Shows (1948-1988), and How/If They Contributed to the Game Industry
When we were assigned this project I instantly knew I wanted to study game shows. Growing up watching game shows with both of my grandmothers brings me very fond memories, and may have somehow contributed to my love of gaming. I was born in 1977, so growing up in the 80’s means I got to enjoy classics like Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck, The Newlywed Game, The Love Connection, Price is Right, Let’s Make a Deal, Family Feud, and Scrabble! My grandmother, Clarice in Texas, introduced me to Press Your Luck, “no whammies, no whammies, big money!!” and to this day I still play the video game version. My grandmother, Zona Mae, here in Olympia, watched Wheel of Fortune every night religiously. It makes sense that my grandparents would be giving me my first game show exposure according to Alan Rubin, “game shows ranked only 2.2 (out of 5) with a quota sample of 300 adults, which seems to indicate the shows’ special appeal for 55-and-over viewers.” (Cooper-Chen p.117) My whole family is big into cards, board games, and dice so it seems to follow that gaming together as a family or watching someone play games on television as entertainment would fall into the same category. America loves games, with companies like Milton Bradley, Parker, and even back to the 1960’s with companies like Waddington’s coming out with new board games all the time. Most people I know at least know how to play Go Fish, Solitaire, or Poker. Seeing familiar games translated on television seems obvious. So what about finding the translation to combining them, games we can play with our families on our television: video games. Seems like a logical connection to me.
When I first started my research I was easily frustrated in finding no correlation between game shows and the game industry. I thought okay no problem I can write about the evolution of game shows. So I continued researching the game shows of each decade and started watching clips from as many as I could find. I couldn’t help but keep thinking about this connection though, between game shows and video games. I play video games often. Not only do I play on my television, but also on my computer and handheld devises, there HAS to be a connection! I realize maybe the connection isn’t with the game shows specifically, but with the television. And quickly started some new key word searches on the Internet. I was surprised with the information I found. There actually is a connection along with quite a specific story, with an inventor!
The history of game shows starts over a decade before 1948, but we will only explore this 40-year period through ’88. 1948 really did mark the beginning of major change in television being a main medium for game shows. By this time all four networks were offering full schedules, and over 25 game shows were on air. One in particular called You Bet Your Life with Groucho Marx, George Fenneman, and The Duck with the Magic Word. This was the first game show nominated for six Primetime Emmy’s, although it never won. In watching many YouTube clips for this show it was intended to be pure comedy, in my opinion. It was very gender specific; implying what role you’ll take as a woman or a man. It often hosted a celebrity or professional athlete as its guest. The guests were able to advertise their products/shows/teams/etc. and the sponsors were very much a part of the show, with plugs, pictures, and prizes. The camera work and visuals were completely different than today’s (or the 1980’s). For one it was black-and-white. Also the camera was never still. It was shaky and it followed each person who was spotlighted. This game show also got the audience involved by having a “secret word” at the beginning of the show. You Bet Your Life was a live show that ran until 1961.
In the 1950’s the big success was quiz shows. In Britain during this time, there was a quiz show on television six nights per week. Many imported from the United States of America, a trend that only slowed down in the 1970’s. (ukgameshows.com) Although behind the scenes in American game shows in the 50’s there were scandalous things going on. “These scandals, whereby contestants were coached on how to perform (including when to lose), taught us that ‘advertisers control this medium’ –Gerard. Thus game shows played a key role in U.S. television history.” (Cooper-Chen p.179) They were intensifying the drama for maximum excitement and tension. The 1950’s debuted such games as What’s My Line?, Truth or Consequences, and most importantly The Price is Right (1956). You can find the clip on YouTube of the 35th anniversary of The Price is Right being a huge celebration for the longest running game show in television history. That was in the 1980’s. Another popular show in the 50’s was The $64,000 Question. This show at the time was the highest dollar amount of prizes in history. “On The $64,000 Question a losing contestant, as ‘consolation prize,’ would get a Cadillac.” (Barnouw p.185)
The decade of the 1960’s was still black-and-white film. This generation of game shows brought us games such as The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. We saw more celebrities in Hollywood Squares. And we got some real entertainment, big prizes, and serious product placement in Let’s Make a Deal. This was also the decade in which video games were invented. In 1966, New Hampshire engineer Ralph Baer worked for a defense contractor making electronics for the military. He began looking at his television wondering what else it could do besides play “My Three Sons”. “I scribbled some notes”, said Baer, “and wrote a four-page paper. That was the Magna Carta of the whole video game business. It’s all there.” (msnbc.msn.com) I also read that he had a working prototype built by 1968 that is known to video game hobbyist today as the “Brown Box”. So although my original presumption of game shows inspiring the game industry was wrong, it was television that inspired the invention of a video game. More specifically My Three Sons (or just an engineering brain who was curious and inventive!).
By 1970 the improvements in computing made the development of video games possible. Computer Scientist turned entrepreneur Nolan Bushnell hired a young engineer Al Alcorn. “The idea was to build a video game that was the simplest possible thing you could think of. So I went to Walgreen’s Drug Store and bought a $75 black-and-white TV.” (msnbc.msn.com) They called the game they created PONG, and took it to a tavern in Sunnyvale, CA, then known as Andy Cap’s Tavern. Within the first week it was broken, and when he went to fix it the only problem was that it was too jam-packed with quarters. They realized they had something huge on there hands. Space Invaders and Pac Man came to the United States via Japan and soon companies like Midway (an old-line maker of equipment for amusement parks) started selling the game. In May 1972 Ralph Baer released The Magnavox Odyssey, the Atari PONG home console came out about three years later. Baer’s machine was powered by analog, rather than digital, and was powered by batteries. The problem was that The Odyssey was misleading the consumers to believing it would only work on Magnavox televisions, so the downfall of The Odyssey. In 1975 when Sears decided to sell PONG, it was under its specially created label tele-games. Quite the appropriate title for my paper: tele-games. It was initially produced at 50,000 units – raised to 150,000 units for the holiday season. This was the beginning of a long relationship between Sears and Atari. It continued even after Nolan Bushnell sold Atari to Warner.
The 1970’s brought a seriously sexual vibe to public primetime television. Shows like Wheel of Fortune (1975) and Family Feud (1976) were very comedic yet brought handsome hosts to the scene. They had beautiful guests and showed it by kissing each one on the lips, well at least the women. It was also very reflexive, as they used to show the studio audience in Family Feud, which isn’t a part of the show later. Getting into the 1980’s Wheel of Fortune attained an amazing hostess, Vanna White. She is still turning those puzzle pieces today! We also saw shows like Family Feud and The Price is Right continue. And the debut of game shows like Press Your Luck, $25,000 Pyramid, Card Sharks, Double Dare, and Scrabble. Likewise in the 80’s the Atari was improving, and Nintendo had hopped onto the scene. Video game consoles were becoming popular in the average American household. And you could pretty much guarantee by this time in the 80’s that if you had a television, it was in color.
This subject completely relates to my personal interest at Evergreen State College. I always love how in each program everything is related, and somehow ties in with another element. Here I am in my last quarter of my four year degree trying to take a class I think has nothing to do with my area of study (i.e. video games, computer science). But of course I found the link in this research project because it was so open to choose whatever element of television we wanted. I can easily conclude that television plays a major role in the history of technology. Combined with the ever growing and changing world of technology, a television can bring an audience anything anyone can thing of, including us. We have already made some amazing film between the groups of us in this program. My first clue there was a connection to my area of study in this program was when another student talked about being inspired to create movie like games. Then we were introduced to the CG (Character Generator), which creates all the titles, graphics, and credits in television shows or movies. Just in the productions we’ve created in this program, we can see the difference in producing a piece that is set in the older days, using black-and-white and zero computer generated graphics, compared to a newer show in which we have access to the new technology. Walking into the control room of the television studio at Evergreen was almost overwhelming with the amount of computers, wires, buttons, screens, controls, etc we saw and were introduced to. There is a large amount of technology going on in a television studio from the cameras to the audio mixer boards.
I also think this is an industry, whether the game show industry or the video game industry, has lasting power over the coming decades. Since 1988, we’ve already come a long way with technology, including having the World Wide Web. Our game shows are endless. Our children compete, the celebrities contribute to charities, and regular Joes win millions of dollars in the game shows on today. The video games are also endless. I can currently have three different gaming consoles plugged into my television at once. I can play with friends from across the world. Powered digitally with electricity. I can learn to exercise, fight, create my own games, become an artist, and have a family or pet, racecars, become a zombie, a superhero, a doctor, a detective, or anyone I can imagine. These are both forms of entertainment that America will not soon give up. A game show is somewhat like the lottery; it offers people a chance to win. It offers hope if you will, for a lucky day, to know that someone (maybe even me!) can win. It also can help educate with shows like Jeopardy or Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Or games like Leap Frog or Chess for children can help teach things to kids that you may never know they were interested in. My son loved to play ninja games, and now takes karate and wears a blue belt. The power in this technology has only just begun. It has influenced the medical industry, the music industry, and the world of politics. There are plenty more industries it does and will affect.
The ideology has changed through the 40 years we’ve looked at. It changed from kissing on the lips, to shaking a woman’s hand. From many jokes being told to very serious silences. The reflexivity from game to game decade to decade has completely changed, and that goes for the live versions as well. With game shows ranging from winning $50 for answering a question, to being able to win tens of thousands of dollars is an incredible phenomenon. And it has happened in our lifetime. There is so much more to learn and for inventors, computer scientists, media artists, actors, programmers, etc. to come up with, I can only hope my children and grandchildren will be able to see considerable progress by the time they’re my age. Or maybe even be the next big inventor.