1000 days since the last new pricing game premiered

[LiteBulb88]

1000 days ago today, September 18, 2017, Gridlock! debuted. There has not been a new pricing game since then. This is over a year longer than any other gap between pricing game debuts. Here are all the gaps of 500+ days:

• 1000 days, 9/18/17-present, Gridlock!-?
• 632 days, 9/22/08-6/16/10, Gas Money-Rat Race
• 597 days, 10/20/10-6/8/12, Pay the Rent-Double Cross
• 584 days, 2/16/07-9/22/08, More or Less-Gas Money
• 519 days, 4/25/96-9/26/97, Eazy az 1 2 3-It's in the Bag

Most of the long gaps have been during the Drew era; I don't know if that's because the producers haven't had as many ideas, if they've been happy with the games in the rotation, if they've been focusing on refurbishing existing games instead of coming up with new ones, something else entirely, or some combination of all that. That said, my fingers are crossed season 49 has at least one new game! We really could use one.

Notes:

• I personally consider the Time i$ Money reboot of 2014 to be a new pricing game due to the fact that the game play is significantly different and it was over 10 years since the original version of that game had been played. If you don't count that as a new pricing game, then the 2nd longest gap is 732 days, 9/23/13-9/25/15, Vend-O-Price-Hot Seat.
• An Excel sheet with all the dates and gap lengths can be viewed here. I manually copied the debut dates from the FAQ and it's quite possible I made mistakes. Corrections welcome!

[rockyboy34]

I thought Gridlock was older...

[JayC]

My guess is the staff just doesn't think there needs to be a new game a season anymore with so many already being played, and the money in the budget is better spent refurbishing existing games that need it rather than making new ones. There also haven't been that many games retired since Drew's first two seasons, and Barker's Bargain Bar later returned as Bargain Game and Card Game, Check Game, and 3 Strikes came back after lengthy absences that made it look like they may have been retired.

[JhayPrice]

Is Credit Card still on hiatus? It's been 12 years now...

[RatRace10]

Is Credit Card still on hiatus? It's been 12 years now...

I bet the ATM is probably trashed by now.

[JhayPrice]

Wikia says Credit Card is an inactive game, but we still haven't got an idea if it's now retired.

[blozier2006]

My personal rule of thumb is, if a game goes a full season without appearing, it's retired (unless it eventually comes back, like Bargain Game, Check Game, etc.)

[LiteBulb88]

Our FAQ says Credit Card is retired; I would trust that far more than any other source outside one of the show's producers explicitly going on record saying it's not or seeing the game in a new episode of the show.

[brosa0]

It would be great to see some new games (or old retired games come back in some form, as we all discussed recently) but the show is pretty well covered for most 'types' of games, except perhaps one or two extra quick games to spread the load a bit more, as well as an extra quick car game along the lines of That's Too Much/Money Game/Lucky Seven (although non-car games can help alleviate this).

I also don't think any of the games deserve to be retired, and would be happy to continue seeing refurbishments continue for season 49 followed by a push for some new games to mark season 50.

[JhayPrice]

It would be great to see some new games (or old retired games come back in some form, as we all discussed recently) but the show is pretty well covered for most 'types' of games, except perhaps one or two extra quick games to spread the load a bit more, as well as an extra quick car game along the lines of That's Too Much/Money Game/Lucky Seven (although non-car games can help alleviate this).

I really hope Penny Ante would return. It's the best GP quickie I've seen throughout the years. And the show's pretty good with games based on quality and quantity. Adding more and more games are fine, as long as it would balance out with the rest of the other games.

[JT]

Thanks for these statistics.  I think it's sad that it's been 1000 days.  Have they run out of new ideas, is it budgetary or is Drew just lazy and doesn't want to learn/ introduce a new game?   Part of Price's Legacy is to introduce new games to keep the show fresh - esp for the loyal viewers.  I don't think one new game early in season 49 and one new game on the first show of season 50 is not too much to ask.  They have plenty of time to make both of these happen.

[pricefan18]

Thanks for these statistics.  I think it's sad that it's been 1000 days.  Have they run out of new ideas, is it budgetary or is Drew just lazy and doesn't want to learn/ introduce a new game?   Part of Price's Legacy is to introduce new games to keep the show fresh - esp for the loyal viewers.  I don't think one new game early in season 49 and one new game on the first show of season 50 is not too much to ask.  They have plenty of time to make both of these happen.

Thing is, at this stage, how many more would they honestly need I wonder after 50 years almost? I know some come and go, but....even so, it would seem as if the need for new games now vs. say....25 years ago...or even 15....would be less than it woulda been then. Am I in the minority on that?

[SeaBreeze341]

Thing is, at this stage, how many more would they honestly need I wonder after 50 years almost? I know some come and go, but....even so, it would seem as if the need for new games now vs. say....25 years ago...or even 15....would be less than it woulda been then. Am I in the minority on that?

I'm in the middle.  I'd like to see new games every so often.  Seeing something new to add to a season-premiere was always a treat growing up.  And then in a middle of a season it was a pleasant surprise to see something new and creative come up.  Some end up being a hit, others take some time getting used to.  The rest might end up stale and either played less or retired.

However, I agree PriceFan.  There isn't really a need for something new.  I think they're satisfied with what they have.  Personally, while a new game has been part of the show forever, they tend to be, IMO, a duplicate of something else or just unnecessary in the long-run. 

Maybe if they retired some other games to make room for something new, I don't know.  Or, just a thought (and I think I'm definitely wrong on this but a personal thought): maybe the change of who's in charge (with Mike Richards' exit) could've had something to do with the 1000+ days since a new pricing game made its debut.  That meant it wasn't on the top of their agenda.  JMO.

In the end, I'd like to see a new game, but it's not a big deal if there's nothing new for the foreseeable future

[pricefan18]

There isn't really a need for something new.  I think they're satisfied with what they have.  Personally, while a new game has been part of the show forever, they tend to be, IMO, a duplicate of something else or just unnecessary in the long-run. 

That's the other thing. At this point you've had like....what some 100 games or so introduced over the years? How many more completely unique ideas can you really come up with? I mean.....I'm sure if one REALLY thought one could, but..most stuff woulda already been done in one form or another by now no? What's really left to do that hasn't already been?

[GobGlom]

My highly uneducated assumption would be that they are spending money on refreshing the sets used on older games instead of creating new ones. But then, who's to say they aren't? Perhaps they are planning something new for Year 50.