jeopardy
Latest
IBM's Watson is really smart, will try to prove it on Jeopardy! this fall (video)
As much as we love our Google homepage, computer search remains a pretty rudimentary affair. You punch in keywords and you get only indirect answers in the form of relevant web results. IBM doesn't seem to be too happy with this situation and has been working for the past three years on perfecting its Watson supercomputer: an array of server racks that's been endowed with linguistic algorithms allowing it to not only recognize oddly phrased or implicative questions, but to answer them in kind, with direct and accurate responses. Stuffed with encyclopedic knowledge of the world around it, it answers on the basis of information stored within its data banks, though obviously you won't be able to tap into it any time soon for help with your homework. The latest word is that Watson's lab tests have impressed the producers of Jeopardy! enough to have the bot participate in a televised episode of the show. That could happen as early as this fall, which fits right in line with our scheduled doom at robots' hands by the end of 2012. Ah well, might as well get our popcorn and enjoy the show.
THQ buys a vowel, licenses Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy
Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. What are the two Sony Pictures Television game shows that THQ has licensed for video games? The publisher announced that it has acquired multi-year licenses for the two venerable game shows, specifically for the Wii and DS/DSi, with options for other platforms. The first games will be out later this year. A statement from THQ Kids, Family, and Casual Games Executive VP Doug Clemmer suggests that THQ has online play in mind for its adaptations: "The opportunity to implement new features such as Wii Speak will re-imagine how these games are played and engage fans with a whole new level of interactivity," he said. No longer will it be shameful to leave the show with naught but the home game! An aside: We find it extremely odd that there's a sudden uptick in Wii Speak use a year-and-a-half after the accessory was released.
IBM's Watson to rival humans in round of Jeopardy!
IBM's already proven that a computer from its labs can take on the world's best at chess, but what'll happen when the boundaries of a square-filled board are removed? Researchers at the outfit are obviously excited to find out, today revealing that its Watson system will be pitted against brilliant Earthlings on Jeopardy! in an attempt to further artificial intelligence when it comes to semantics and searching for indexed information. Essentially, the machine will have to be remarkably labile in order to understand "analogies, puns, double entendres and relationships like size and location," something that robotic linguists have long struggled with. There's no mention of a solid date when it comes to the competition itself, but you can bet we'll be setting our DVRs whenever it's announced. Check out a video of the progress after the break.[Via The New York Times]
World of Warcraft, as seen on television
Our favorite game made not one but two big appearances on TV this past week. First up, looks like the writer of TNT's Leverage (that Dan already interviewed a while back) is wasting no time getting his characters to fly the Horde flag, as you can see in the clip above (thanks to Massively for digging that up for us). The writer, John Rogers, told Dan that Blizzard actually vetted the dialogue above, which makes us wonder why they were ok with saying Burning Crusade, but didn't want to mention the second expansion by name. Maybe the episode was filmed so long ago that the name hadn't quite been confirmed yet.And in other television news, we're told World of Warcraft made an appearance as a category on Jeopardy this week. We don't have video of that one (yet), but you can see a quick teaser over on Jeopardy's webpage that mentions the game as a category. World of Warcraft has of course appeared in the game show before as an answer, but this time around, there was a whole column of questions about it. If you see video anywhere online, let us know, and we'll add it here to the post.
What is getting Jeopardy! for free?
Your comment must be in the form of a question. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). Limit 1 entry per person. This entry period ends at 7:00pm ET on Saturday, September 13th. We'll randomly select two winners at that time, who will each receive a code to download Jeopardy!, valued at $15. Please check your e-mail! For a list of complete rules, click here.
Answer: What is Jeopardy! on PSN
Surprise! America's most popular couch potato sport is coming to PSN ... tomorrow. Jeopardy! for PlayStation 3 includes: More than 2,500 clues and categories randomized for multiplayer Single-player games vs. AI (Average, Smart and Genius) Online and offline multiplayer Voice chat for online multiplayer Expansion packs in 2009 A price ($14.99, er $14.99!) The absence of Emmy Award-winning host Alex Trebek (apparently he's not in the game) Sadly, Shalom Mann, studio head for developer Sony Online Entertainment Los Angeles, confirms the game will not feature Trophies, and here's the real kicker: Answers will be selected by multiple choice (from four options after buzzing). "We looked into the idea of using voice recognition," Mann explains. "The PS3 has the power to do it, and we saw great middleware that would have made it all possible. However ... " Well, we know how this ends. For those of you who would rather take your chances on a spin, be patient, "Wheel of Fortune is already in production" -- with Trophies.%Gallery-31653%
Jeopardy! comes! to! PS3! tomorrow!
Jeopardy!'s first video trailer came out of nowhere. And now, the game is making a stealthy surprise attack on the PLAYSTATION Store. The downloadable quiz game will be available on PSN tomorrow for $14.99. The SOE-developed game promises over 2500 clues and categories for play in online and offline multiplayer games. There'll also be expansions available in 2009. However, Trophy fanatics -- don't get too excited. Although there's a built-in rewards system, you will not be unlocking any XMB Trophies with this one.However, there is some hope for a patch in the future: "Wheel of Fortune will feature XMB Trophies and we will look at patching JEOPARDY for XMB Trophies at a later date."
The most epic Jeopardy! trailer ever
Download to PSP Whoa, where did this come from? A new trailer, released on the PLAYSTATION Store today, unveiled the brand new PS3 Jeopardy! game. It does everything you'd expect from a game based on the popular TV show, but this trailer does an incredible job of selling the game, thanks to the catchy theme song.The game teases Trophies, but unfortunately we're not sure if these are XMB Trophies or not. We'll have to wait for official details on that. We love some trivia, and so long as this downloadable title is priced right, we may want to find ourselves in Jeopardy. Now, can we have some more info on Wheel of Fortune?
I'll take Freeverse games for $300, Alex
Those wacky and industrious people at Freeverse, developers of games and apps for Mac, PC, consoles, and iPhone, announced two new Mac games based on the classic TV game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Wheel of Fortune Deluxe features 2,000 puzzles created by the TV show writers, a very realistic game stage, and a road-trip mode where you play in venues across the USA. Vanna White is not included (probably due to her successful lawsuit against Samsung). You can win "valuable prizes" like trophies and virtual cash with which to amaze your virtual friends.If you're a fan of more cerebral game shows, you'll love Jeopardy! Deluxe. The TV show writers came up with over 3,000 clues, and the game has very realistic play including Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy! questions.There's a multiplayer mode so you can play against up to three of your friends.To try out these games on your Mac, you can download demos from the Freeverse website for free. The games are $19.95 each.
The challenges of syndicated HD
Every year we've become accustomed to getting more and more HD content, but one type of programming is lagging behind the rest; syndicated programming. This is the programming that is sold to each station independently of their network affiliation. The best examples are Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, which can be found on a ABC affiliate in one city and a CBS in another, but most programming that's on OTA TV between 6:30 and 8pm falls into this category. Currently there are only three syndicated HD shows, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and Two and Half Men. At this point you might be saying, "but wait Two and Half Men isn't HD in my area." No, it's not cause they hate you, it's because just like when you upgraded to HD you had to change more than just your TV, each station has to upgrade more than one piece of their equipment as well. Of course their system is far more complicated than yours, and Broadcasting & Cable has written up the challenges involved in upgrading their syndication system to handle HD. Without getting too technical here -- click read to get technical -- they need an HD DVR to record the shows, so they can play them back at the allotted time. The problem of course is that the system has to be industrial strength and capable of being fully automated. So for now, only 20 stations deliver Two and Half Men in HD, with another 20 on schedule for next year.
Archime DS = LOL
We haven't heard much about Route24's mystery project, LOL DS, since developer Kenichi Ishi (Chibi Robo) first announced the game over a year ago. After months of leaving us in the dark without any screenshots or information beyond its acronymous title, the Route24 team has broken its silence, publishing a teaser site and revealing a new name: Archime DS. Archime DS is as far away from a traditional video game as you can imagine. Strictly multiplayer -- with no single-player modes planned -- the title promises to deliver a handheld twist on "Oogiri"-styled Japanese comedy . A leader asks a question or poses a challenge with a set limit, and players earn points by using their DS to present the best answer. It's a lot like the final round of Jeopardy, but with a humorous theme.Skip Ltd. will be publishing Archime DS in Japan this summer, selling the game for about $18. We're hoping that the English-translated official page foreshadows a future North American release, but we wouldn't be surprised if the screwy title missed our market.
'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune' going high-def tonight
Although we don't cover these shows in our daily HDTV listings, tonight is the first night that Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are supposed to go HD. We realize that many local affiliates are not setup for syndication, but we will be checking our local stations in hopes to catch some HD game shows. We look forward to checking back and seeing how many people were able to enjoy the shows in HD.
'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune' going high-def in September
Some shows are just made for high-def especially when you consider the $4 million King World Productions and Sony Pictures Television are spending to enhance the sets of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. The two game shows are in the midst of a massive makeover before they both launch in high-def on September 11. That $4 million went to widen the sets, add more color to make that HD just 'pop,' and replace the Jeopardy monitor wall with a seamless projection system. This will make 'em the first game shows to go high-def and now all we need is for the Price is Right to go high-def. No, we aren't thinking about Bob Barker's beauties, but what's better then Plinko in high-def?[Via TV Squad]
