Talk:Game show

entire categories of popular formats seem to be missing

This article seems to concentrate almost entirely on quiz/trivia shows when there is a whole galaxy of game show formats that have exploded in popularity in recent years. Cooking competition shows such as Chopped (TV series) or Cutthroat Kitchen are clearly game shows, as are shows like The Voice (franchise) and American Idol. Contestants compete with one another to win a prize on all of these shows, and that's what a game show is, so it seems odd that all this is just basically ignored. I thought I'd ask here if there was some reason the article scope is seemingly restricted in this manner before actually doing anything. Thoughts? Beeblebrox (talk) 19:47, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

Let's Play videos

Regarding the disputed lead, are Let's Play videos really a type of game show, or just a type of show that's about games? Is the "demonstrative gameshow" a meaningful subgenre?

They don't seem to fit the where contestants compete for rewards definition, and aren't mentioned or worked into the history in the body of the article. Belbury (talk) 19:57, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

I concur. But, the genre itself is evolving with technology. For instance, back in the 1990s, the show Johnny Arcade was essentially a hybrid, featuring contestants demoing Nintendo games (in the mold of 'Let's play') while competing for prizes (usually the chance to take home said games). In today's marketplace, streamers are hosts serving as the faces of titles/developers/companies (i.e., corporate sponsors). The same setup has just moved online. 72.174.131.123 (talk) 23:58, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

There are certainly connections between all these things, but that doesn't mean they're all the same thing. Johnny Arcade sounds like an edge case, but I'd say that when you removed the contestants, it definitely stopped being a game show.

In the absence of any sources to suggest that Let's Play videos are considered to be a type of game show, I'll remove the statement about them. Belbury (talk) 14:17, 18 February 2024 (UTC)

Fair. The ludological definition still stands as 'participatory or demonstrative', but is moot in this case with this edit cycle. It actually reads better without declension. 72.174.131.123 (talk) 20:02, 18 February 2024 (UTC)