WheelOfFortune
Latest
TUAW first look: JEOPARDY! for iOS
I'm not one to give up on hope. I've been trying out various incarnations of branded Jeopardy games since dinosaurs roamed the earth (I believe that T. Rex used an early version of Microsoft Windows before going extinct). The latest version to grace us is a US $1.99 mobile app, now available from App Store for iPhone and other iOS devices. Duly licensed from Sony, this JEOPARDY! game (with mandatory caps and exclamation point, of course) brings the same branded detail as many of the previous versions while completely missing the point of what makes Jeopardy fun. It's multiple choice.
Vanna White loves Slingbox on her iPhone -- if only she could find three Gs!
At what appeared to be a totally wild and awesome search for Wheel of Fortune contestants in a mall, Vanna White confessed on camera her deep love of gadgets, particularly her excitement about Slingbox and the new Slingbox app for the iPhone. We suppose it's fitting for somebody who's been playing with touchscreens since before most of us knew how to spell "technology," though it's really too bad she can't enjoy her daily The Price Is Right fix without hunting down a WiFi connection first. In an even more bizarre twist, it turns out Vanna White sued Samsung back in 1993 for using a robot that looked like her (pictured) in an advertisement. You may be a "geek girl," Vanna, but we bet your robotic doppelganger is using VOIPover3G with SlingPlayer on her Jailbroken iPhone right this second. The brief segment of her talking about Sling starts at the 2:06 mark, the video is after the break.[Thanks, Lonny P.]
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.
'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]
