This week's Ebay finds...

[Dbacksfan12]

You can now go home...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...5910895398&rd=1

A nice 99 cent copy of Bob's new book:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...6914283864&rd=1

CD-I Joker's Wild...Sealed
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...8120759783&rd=1

The Price is Right Music Tape...oh wait...

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 04:22 AM\'] CD-I Joker's Wild...Sealed
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...8120759783&rd=1 [/quote]
 Show of hands:  How many of you have actually played the CD-i version of The Joker's Wild?  That technology really didn't take off, and I can't believe that too many of you ever had players.

[rigsby]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 09:49 AM\'] Show of hands:  How many of you have actually played the CD-i version of The Joker's Wild?  That technology really didn't take off, and I can't believe that too many of you ever had players. [/quote]
 And I'm gonna guess this game never appeared in any other format...anyone know if I'm correct?

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'rigsby\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 07:53 AM\'] And I'm gonna guess this game never appeared in any other format...anyone know if I'm correct? [/quote]
 {EdMcMahon}You are correct, sir.{/EddieMc}

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 10:49 AM\'] [quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 04:22 AM\'] CD-I Joker's Wild...Sealed
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...8120759783&rd=1 [/quote]
Show of hands:  How many of you have actually played the CD-i version of The Joker's Wild?  That technology really didn't take off, and I can't believe that too many of you ever had players. [/quote]
*raises hand*

I've had my system for almost 10 years.  It cost a pretty penny (OK, 40,000 of 'em before tax).  Thank you, Ohio Lottery, for the winning ticket which gave me the $$$ to pay for the CD-i. :-)

It's a good game, even though it's not the traditional TJW you'd expect.  Here are the differences between the Barry/Cullen/Peck TJW and the CD-i game...

*  Single categories, doubles, and triples are still worth $50, $100, and $200, respectively.  A natural triple is worth $300 on the CD-i game while 3 jokers is worth $500.
*  Up to 4 people can play the CD-i game.
*  The 2nd round has cash values and devils.  Each spin determines how much money that question is worth.  Hit a devil and you go back to your first round total.  Play continues until you freeze, hit a devil, or reach a certain threshold.  In a 1-player game, the object is to reach $1500 or to surpass your previous high score.  In a multi-player game, you have to pass the leader's amount at the time.
*  Whomever is the winner of the game gets one more question, The Joker's Challenge.  A correct answer gets you nothing except a "C" next to your total in the high score list.
*  Wink Martindale hosts, but that's irrelevant to game play.

Overall, it's a good adaptation.  The visual effects are very good for early 90s technology.  There is a good variety of questions, so you shouldn't get repeats after 3 or 4 games.

There is a TJW Jr. CD-i game with Marc Summers.  I've been looking for it on eBay for some time but to no avail.

I took some vidgrabs of the CD-i game show games I own (TJW, Name That Tune, Jeopardy!) a few months ago.  I should throw 'em online later tonight...

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 12:34 PM\'] I've had my system for almost 10 years.  It cost a pretty penny (OK, 40,000 of 'em before tax).  Thank you, Ohio Lottery, for the winning ticket which gave me the $$$ to pay for the CD-i. :-) [/quote]
My thanks go to the school district that hired me a few months after spending a zillion dollars on technology.  One of their purchases (which I would never have authorized) was a handful of CD-i players.  I'm reasonably sure that the ONLY use those players have gotten in the last decade was for me to play my games on them.

I don't have the Joker Junior version either, nor do I have Jeopardy.  TJW is OK (the questions, even for the grown-up version, are still too easy for my tastes) but I love Name That Tune.  It also doesn't resemble any version of NTT that's aired.  It is instead based on a pilot from the early nineties. (Our own Brian Conn, who worked on the pilot, is credited on the disc.) Bob Goen is the host.

I've probably mentioned before my favorite part of NTT.  That is that the game works essentially on the honor system.  The song plays, you tell the people you're playing with what your answer is, and then the game asks whether you were correct.  Might sound awkward, but it's actually elegantly simple and it avoids the mess and delays of entering your responses by hand (especially since there's not a keyboard).

Bottom line is that somebody put a ton of effort into these CD-i games.  I can only imagine the Jeopardy game is similarly well thought-out.  A shame the system didn't take off.

[catkins522]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 11:52 AM\'] Bottom line is that somebody put a ton of effort into these CD-i games.  I can only imagine the Jeopardy game is similarly well thought-out.  A shame the system didn't take off. [/quote]
 Well, a professor at Ball State did put a hand or two in creating of the CD-i.  Why you may ask?  He was my professor last year.

Charles

[MikeK]

As promised, CD-i vidgrabs.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v342/hmtriplecrown/CD-i/

For now, this album has just TJW and Name That Tune images.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 03:22 AM\']You can now go home...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...5910895398&rd=1[/quote]
Only tangentially related to game shows in that Arlene Francis and Hugh Downs hosted.  The "Home" show was NBC's sister to the "Today" and "Tonight" shows in that it was a network-owned multi-sponsor magazine format, in this case a daytime women's service program.  It obviously didn't have the longevity of the other shows.

[mystery7]

I'll join the chorus! I just resurrected my CD-i player a few weeks ago. OK, it's no PS2, Xbox or even Playstation (which I got cheap after a weird yard sale occurrence), it was a sweet machine for its time. Damned expensive, though - $500 for the main unit, and another $250 for the full motion cartridge that turned it into something vaguely like a modern-day DVD player. Definitely not a top choice for gaming if you used the infrared thumbstick, but the wired pad was OK.

I've got Joker and Tune, and I think they were both pretty well done.

Notes on Joker:
- Extra points for having Charlie O'Donnell as the announcer!
- Some Barry & Enright alumni actually had a hand in producing this disc, which probably accounts for its authenticity.
- The credits are filled with parenthetical in-jokes that might garner a chuckle or two.
- You chose your player name from a long list of names that Wink would address you by. Some nicknames were truly odd: "Detox?"
- Clarifier on the bonus: you HAD to play until you hit $1500 or a devil. Only after you won $1500 could you play on and stop when you wanted. It's too bad the Joker's Challenge didn't add any money to your winnings.

Notes on Tune:
- Some lines from the announcer:
"And now, here's a man who needs no introduction, so we won't give him one."
"Bob Goen's wardrobe furnished by himself."
"All of our players will receieve a copy of the Name That Tune Home Game. Hey wait a minute, we are the home game."
- The bonus round had a little bit of a Face The Music element: you got 30 seconds to match tunes with pictures of their artists. If you got 'em all you won 5000 points.
- Bob was a pretty good host, if I should say so. Not sure how close the CD-i game was to the pilot, but if it was any indication, the show wouldn't have been half bad.

I don't have Joker Jr. or Jeopardy either. I heard Charlie O announcing for Jeopardy in the CD-i infomercial. Did the actual game feature him or did they eventually get Johnny Gilbert?

Lingo was apparently a CD-i title too, but only for Europe.

Philips's CD-i website is still up. Hmm.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'mystery7\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 04:13 PM\'] Philips's CD-i website is still up. Hmm. [/quote]
 Where you can buy The Joker's Wild Jr. for only $30, or Jeopardy for $40!
http://www.pmpro.com/index2.html

[mystery7]

Unless you stock up on other titles (if indeed you still can). Or, for a more reasonable price, it's available here.

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'mystery7\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 05:13 PM\'] I don't have Joker Jr. or Jeopardy either. I heard Charlie O announcing for Jeopardy in the CD-i infomercial. Did the actual game feature him or did they eventually get Johnny Gilbert? [/quote]
 Since you don't have Jeopardy!, I'll fill in the holes.

Yes, Charlie O announces and reads all the clues.  Alex merely does an intro before the game and before each round.  Alex might also annouce the daily doubles as well.

Like most console Jeopardy! games, answers are entered by selecting the letters in the response one letter at a time.  One difference is after you choose 2 or 3 letters, an alphabetical list of every answer in the game appears.  You can then select your answer from that list.  Playing 61 clues like this is very tedious.  IIRC, wagers can only be done in multiples of 100.

If you can snag it for a few bucks on eBay, go for it.  It's not worth more than a few bucks unless you enjoy spending about an hour playing an entire game, even longer if you play against others and your name isn't Ken Jennings. ;-)  Just like TJW, this game allows for up to 4 players.

[mystery7]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Jul 27 2004, 05:43 PM\'] ... even longer if you play against others and your name isn't Ken Jennings. ;-) [/quote]
 Playing it that way against Ken Jennings could take years! Unless you limit his winning streak to 5 games, that is.

[bricon]

Notes on Tune:
- Some lines from the announcer:
"And now, here's a man who needs no introduction, so we won't give him one."
"Bob Goen's wardrobe furnished by himself."
"All of our players will receieve a copy of the Name That Tune Home Game. Hey wait a minute, we are the home game."

The announcer was Kevin Hunt, lead software engineer on the project.

- The bonus round had a little bit of a Face The Music element: you got 30 seconds to match tunes with pictures of their artists. If you got 'em all you won 5000 points.
- Bob was a pretty good host, if I should say so. Not sure how close the CD-i game was to the pilot, but if it was any indication, the show wouldn't have been half bad.

Bob was picked primarily because of the positive experience on working with him with "The Hollywood Game".  As a side note, Steve Radosh was working at Philips at the time as a VP of development.

The CD-i is pretty much identical to the Peter Allen hosted pilot, except for the bonus game.  The pilot used the Golden Medley format.

There was also almost a Wheel Of Fortune CD-i game.  Production had started, and gotten about 1/4 through, when Philips pulled the plug on the project.  Had it been completed, Vanna would have been the host of the game.