Sale of the Century end games

[14gameshows]

We all know that the 80s version of Sale of the Century had three different bonus games (Shopping, Winner's Board, and the Winner's Big Money Game).  From what has been said about the arrival of the WBMG, it was due to budget cuts but I beg to differ because if a contestant won all eight bonus rounds, they would have won over $120,000.  ($5K, $6K, $7K, $8K, $9K, $10K, Car valued at least $25K, and $50K)

Isn't this more money that could have been won versus the two previous bonus rounds that they had?  Also wouldn't the new bonus round call for a natural increase in the budget anyways?  say for example, you had a new champion on Monday and won $5K and then lost on Tuesday to a new champion, and then lost on Wednesday and lost and etc. 5 new champions but they won their bonus round. That's $25,000 in bonus money, not including any Instant Bargains, Fame Game prizes, and the bonus prize for winning the main game.

Also, why did Sale switch over to the Winner's Board from the shopping format? Did it not work well with viewers? Was it something NBC asked to change to bring in new viewers or spice up the show however they did implement this format in the syndicated version before it carried over to the network version.

I think the WBMG could have been a step up from the Winner's Board as far as prize value is concerned unless someone out there with some facts can debunk my theory.  

Any thoughts?

[clemon79]

but I beg to differ because if a contestant won all eight bonus rounds, they would have won over $120,000.  ($5K, $6K, $7K, $8K, $9K, $10K, Car valued at least $25K, and $50K)

Show me a time a contestant ever won four of those eight, much less all eight.

I think the WBMG could have been a step up from the Winner's Board as far as prize value is concerned unless someone out there with some facts can debunk my theory.

Awfully confrontational for someone who is defending such a flimsy premise in the first place.

[JasonA1]

And last I recall, show staffer Mitt Dawson reported via his YouTube channel that the WBMG was put in place because NBC wanted $ale to have a proper end game, instead of what they had been doing.

-Jason

[14gameshows]

At first I didn't like the WBMG as it had zero to do with the whole premise of Sale but it eventually grew on me.

It was a great bonus round but wrong show. I was just asking because I heard many times that it was "budgeting" that made this bonus round come about.  

Do you think that this is what made Sale jump the shark?

[BrandonFG]

By the time the WBMG came around, they were no longer offering the $30-40K luxury cars. I remember seeing "moderate" cars like Eagle Premieres, VW Cabriolets, and Ford Probes in the last year and change. From what I remember, those weren't even $20K. Definitely not the 5-series BMWs or Audis from 1983-85, so yeah, I'd argue that the budget was somewhere in play.

As for the prize changes from the Winners Board to the WBMG, I liken it to the recent discussions surrounding why Wheel changed its bonus round. I'd guess that playing a bona fide bonus game for cash is a lot more exciting than playing one for jewelry or a room of furniture.

Case in point, how many times did a $ale contestant buy (or play towards) something that wasn't a car, trip, big money, or everything?

[TLEberle]

Case in point, how many times did a $ale contestant buy (or play towards) something that wasn't a car, trip, big money, or everything?

How do you mean? You were always working toward a cars or a cash jackpot or the whole magilla.

[BrandonFG]

Case in point, how many times did a $ale contestant buy (or play towards) something that wasn't a car, trip, big money, or everything?

How do you mean? You were always working toward a cars or a cash jackpot or the whole magilla.

In other words, how many times did a contestant stop and purchase a lower-end prize, i.e. the furniture or gold necklace? I can't imagine it being too often, since, like you said, the more desirable end result was the car, the jackpot, or both (well, the lot).

The Winners Board at least, in a way, remedied that, because the contestant won whatever they matched, and what made it better TV was that one could win the car on day one.

[TLEberle]

In other words, how many times did a contestant stop and purchase a lower-end prize, i.e. the furniture or gold necklace? I can't imagine it being too often, since, like you said, the more desirable end result was the car, the jackpot, or both (well, the lot).

OK, that makes much more sense than what I had it as. And in my experience, rarely. Not never, but rarely.

[CoreyArcher]

In other words, how many times did a contestant stop and purchase a lower-end prize, i.e. the furniture or gold necklace? I can't imagine it being too often, since, like you said, the more desirable end result was the car, the jackpot, or both (well, the lot).

OK, that makes much more sense than what I had it as. And in my experience, rarely. Not never, but rarely.

I remember tales of a week in which the first-level prize was a motorcycle, and two or three (?) contestants took it. But your point is valid.

In my mind, Australia's Temptation in the 2000s was a near-flawless execution of the Sale format, and they did it with what was essentially the shopping format (minus the "need $590 to buy the car" element) but also added a "proper end game" with the quiz against the clock to build the cash jackpot.

[TheInquisitiveOne]

I remember tales of a week in which the first-level prize was a motorcycle, and two or three (?) contestants took it. But your point is valid.

In my mind, Australia's Temptation in the 2000s was a near-flawless execution of the Sale format, and they did it with what was essentially the shopping format (minus the "need $590 to buy the car" element) but also added a "proper end game" with the quiz against the clock to build the cash jackpot.

I can say these tales are true (it was three contestants), since I have these clips on tape somewhere; the funny part was that they used the falling balloons and confetti as if he or she won the lot. Other than that, you'd be hard pressed to find someone quit at any tier below the trip.

If I may ask, wasn't the WBMG generated around the time all remaining NBC game shows (except Super Password) changed their game formats to become more budget friendly? I know Scrabble had it where a contestant had to be flawless just to win $25,000 in five games, versus the $40,000 for 10 Sprints rule. While I found the format too different for $ale, I did like the fact it was all cash with the fact that the champion HAD to win the car in order to play for a shot at $50,000...on top of the fact that the $50,000 WBMG was "Nintendo Hard."

In regards to the cars on the show, didn't they ease up on the luxury cars when they instituted the cash jackpot? I thought cars from late 1983 to 1987 were valued at no more than $25K. I do know during the WBMG, you'd be hard pressed to find a car worth at least $20K.

While I wasn't a big fan of the Winner's Big Money Game (maybe because of the other subtle changes that came with it, like the theme song change), I've learned to understand the "proper bonus round" concept.

The Inquisitive One

[TLEberle]

on top of the fact that the $50,000 WBMG was "Nintendo Hard."

One, no it wasn't. There's a clip of a $50,000 try and it was no harder than one for $5,000.

Two, fie on you for bringing a TV Trope here. Fie, sir.

[clemon79]

Two, fie on you for bringing a TV Trope here. Fie, sir.

Especially since he lost a lot of us who do not sully our browsers with that site and as such have not one goddamn idea what he's talking about.

[TLEberle]

Show me a time a contestant ever won four of those eight, much less all eight.

That same guy I referred to earlier. (it was the second to last week of the show, you can find in on the YT.) Jim mentions that he's scooped about $30,000 just in cash. You don't get to that amount on Instant Cash and Fame Game tiles. I realize that's one anecdote and therefore you can't write a lab report with it, but the possibility of someone winning several of the Money Games exists.

[TheInquisitiveOne]

One, no it wasn't. There's a clip of a $50,000 try and it was no harder than one for $5,000.

Two, fie on you for bringing a TV Trope here. Fie, sir.

Fair enough. I will say that the margin of error was razor-thin. Even if you are allowed one miss, you had to be psychic to make up for lost ground. All four puzzles with six clues each took up the entire 20 seconds.

You could say this game can easily qualify for That One Level. (That one's for you Travis; with that, I'm done.)

The Inquisitive One

EDIT: While I got "That One Level" from TV Tropes, I knew of "Nintendo Hard" well before I visited that site.

[TLEberle]

You could say this game can easily qualify for That One Level. (That one's for you Travis; with that, I'm done.)

Hey, I only remembered the one.