Videoway (lost Canadian cable-box games; 1990-2006): Difference between revisions

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{{InfoboxLost
{{InfoboxLost
|title=<center>Games for the Videoway system</center>
|title=<center>Videoway (games)</center>
|image=Vidéoway logo.jpg
|image=Vidéoway logo.jpg
|imagecaption=The logo for Videoway, a Canadian tv service that offered several exclusive games.
|imagecaption=The logo for Videoway, a Canadian TV service that offered several exclusive games.
|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
}}
}}
'''Videoway''' was an analog interactive cable-TV system offered by Quebec, Canada telecommunications provider Videotron between 1990<ref>https://www.facebook.com/ArchivesRadioCanada/posts/10158135881866052?comment_id=10158184701436052&reply_comment_id=10158185161411052</ref> and 2006.  
'''Videoway''' was an analog interactive cable-TV system offered by Quebec, Canada telecommunications provider Videotron between 1990<ref>https://www.facebook.com/ArchivesRadioCanada/posts/10158135881866052?comment_id=10158184701436052&reply_comment_id=10158185161411052</ref> and 2006.  


Describing itself as the first "interactive addressable television entertainment system" in North America<ref>https://support.videotron.com/residential/television/illico-experience/faq-videoway</ref>, it offered teletext services such as weather, lottery results, horoscopes, road conditions, and games, in addition to interactive TV programming and on-demand entertainment.
Describing itself as the first "interactive addressable television entertainment system" in North America,<ref>https://support.videotron.com/residential/television/illico-experience/faq-videoway</ref> it offered teletext services such as weather, lottery results, horoscopes, road conditions, and games, in addition to interactive TV programming and on-demand entertainment.


==Availability of Videoway==
==Availability of Videoway==
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At its peak, Videoway had boxes in approximately '''300,000 Canadian residences''', mainly in the French-speaking province of Quebec, where Videoway and its parent company Videotron were based. Around '''70,000 households in the London''', Great Britain area were also equipped with Videoway systems in the early 1990s via the Quebec company's British branch, which folded in 1997.
At its peak, Videoway had boxes in approximately '''300,000 Canadian residences''', mainly in the French-speaking province of Quebec, where Videoway and its parent company Videotron were based. Around '''70,000 households in the London''', Great Britain area were also equipped with Videoway systems in the early 1990s via the Quebec company's British branch, which folded in 1997.


==The games==
==Games==
Around 50 games were available on the Videoway system<ref>http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2172582?docsearchtext=jeux%20vid%C3%A9oway</ref>.
Around 50 games were available on the Videoway system.<ref>http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2172582?docsearchtext=jeux%20vid%C3%A9oway</ref>


Some of them were custom ports of existing games--most notably, Q*Bert and Burgertime--but the majority were developed exclusively for the system by the Cablo-jeux team, a division of Loto-Québec (the provincial lottery board) which partnered with Videotron to create the games. Those developed for Videotron by Loto-Québec have been lost to time.
Some of them were custom ports of existing games--most notably, ''Q*Bert'' and ''BurgerTime''--but the majority were developed exclusively for the system by the Cablo-jeux team, a division of Loto-Québec (the provincial lottery board) which partnered with Videotron to create the games. Those developed for Videotron by Loto-Québec have been lost to time.
[[File:Developer ad.png|thumb|left|A 1989 newspaper ad seeking games for the Videoway system. (Source: La Presse, BanQ)]]  
[[File:Developer ad.png|thumb|left|A 1989 newspaper ad seeking games for the Videoway system (Source: La Presse, BanQ).]]  
[[File:Temporel Inc.jpg|thumb|left|A screen capture from the Videoway-exclusive game Temporel Inc]]
[[File:Temporel Inc.jpg|thumb|left|A screen capture from the Videoway-exclusive game ''Temporel Inc''.]]
[[File:Taupe.jpg|thumb|left|A screen capture from the Videoway game Taupe]]
[[File:Taupe.jpg|thumb|left|A screen capture from the Videoway game ''Taupe''.]]
[[File:Fouduroi.jpg|thumb|left|A screen capture of the Videoway original game Fou du Roi]]
[[File:Fouduroi.jpg|thumb|left|A screen capture of the Videoway original game ''Fou du Roi''.]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 50%;"
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 50%;"
|-
|-
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|-
|-
! Puzzle
! Puzzle
| A puzzle game for preschoolers<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000609052642/http://www.videoway.com:80/anglais/jeux/mode_puzzle.htm</ref> || Yes
| A puzzle game for preschoolers.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000609052642/http://www.videoway.com:80/anglais/jeux/mode_puzzle.htm</ref> || Yes
|-
|-
! Temporel Inc.  
! Temporel Inc.  
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|-
|-
! Gaston Labrosse  
! Gaston Labrosse  
| Called Steve Broom in English. A game in which the player character must sweep as many floors as possible in a multi-storey building<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000305185818/http://www.videoway.com:80/anglais/jeux/mode_gaston.htm</ref> || Yes
| Called Steve Broom in English. A game in which the player character must sweep as many floors as possible in a multi-storey building.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000305185818/http://www.videoway.com:80/anglais/jeux/mode_gaston.htm</ref> || Yes
|-
|-
! Taupe  
! Taupe  
| A version of Bulldozer where you play as a mole || Unknown
| A version of Bulldozer where you play as a mole. || Unknown
|-
|-
! Styx  
! Styx  
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|-
|-
! Colorimage  
! Colorimage  
| A coloring game for children || Unknown
| A coloring game for children. || Unknown
|-
|-
! Mr. Chin  
! Mr. Chin  
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|-
|-
! Mot mystère  
! Mot mystère  
| Find-a-word puzzle that offered a new puzzle every day<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000611065257/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_mystere.htm</ref> || Yes
| Find-a-word puzzle that offered a new puzzle every day.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000611065257/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_mystere.htm</ref> || Yes
|-
|-
! Super Pendu  
! Super Pendu  
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|-
|-
! Le fou du roi  
! Le fou du roi  
| A sort of Zelda/Pac-Man hybrid || Yes
| A sort of ''Zelda''/''Pac-Man'' hybrid. || Yes
|-
|-
! Les dictées du professeur Martin<ref>http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2926615?docsearchtext=jeux%20vid%C3%A9oway</ref>
! Les dictées du professeur Martin<ref>http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2926615?docsearchtext=jeux%20vid%C3%A9oway</ref>
| An educational spelling game for elementary school students || Yes
| An educational spelling game for elementary school students. || Yes
|-
|-
! Hamburger  
! Hamburger  
| Official Burgertime port || No
| Official ''BurgerTime'' port. || No
|-
|-
! Polux  
! Polux  
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|-
|-
! Fou Brique  
! Fou Brique  
| A block breaker game with 15 levels<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000621154415/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_fou.htm</ref> || Unknown
| A block breaker game with 15 levels.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000621154415/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_fou.htm</ref> || Unknown
|-
|-
! GlobeTrotter  
! GlobeTrotter  
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|-
|-
! Crocomaths  
! Crocomaths  
| An educational math game || Yes
| An educational math game. || Yes
|-
|-
! Le questionneur
! Le questionneur
| A quiz game || Yes
| A quiz game. || Yes
|-
|-
! Bizzmut  
! Bizzmut  
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|-
|-
! Onyx  
! Onyx  
| A pinball game<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000621172314/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_onyx.htm</ref> || Unknown
| A pinball game.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000621172314/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_onyx.htm</ref> || Unknown
|-
|-
! Fortuna  
! Fortuna  
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|-
|-
! Les Patiences
! Les Patiences
| Various card games || Yes
| Various card games. || Yes
|-
|-
! Patapom  
! Patapom  
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|-
|-
! Q*Bert  
! Q*Bert  
| An official port of Q*Bert || No
| An official port of ''Q*Bert''. || No
|-
|-
! NucléR  
! NucléR  
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|-
|-
! Déplus  
! Déplus  
| A Yahtzee game || Unknown
| A Yahtzee game. || Unknown
|-
|-
! Logix  
! Logix  
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|-
|-
|}
|}
 
==Emulation Attempts==
==Emulation attempts==
[[File:Videoway terminal.jpg|thumb|right|A Videoway cable box.]]
[[File:Videoway terminal.jpg|thumb|right|A Videoway cable box]]
Videoway boxes were rented to clients by Videotron; as such, they are rare in the present day.  
Videoway boxes were rented to clients by Videotron; as such, they are rare in the present day.  
People have attempted to emulate the 100% proprietary system, without success.<ref>https://forums.bannister.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=99891&page=1</ref> Source code for the Videoway-exclusive games is said to be held in the "Videotron vault", and efforts to retrace it have been in vain.
People have attempted to emulate the 100% proprietary system, without success.<ref>https://forums.bannister.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=99891&page=1</ref> Source code for the Videoway-exclusive games is said to be held in the "Videotron vault", and efforts to retrace it have been in vain.


==External links==
==External Links==
[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-17-ca-665-story.html A New Diet for Couch Potatoes, by Robert Epstein, LA Times, Oct. 17, 1991]
*[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-17-ca-665-story.html ''A New Diet for Couch Potatoes'', by Robert Epstein, LA Times, Oct. 17, 1991]


[https://books.google.ca/books?id=aeQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62&dq=videoway+popular+mechanics&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixn-r1wrTpAhWPbs0KHbhTC6AQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=videoway%20popular%20mechanics&f=false Riding the Toll-Free Infobahn, by George Mannes, Popular Mechanics, June 1994]
*[https://books.google.ca/books?id=aeQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62&dq=videoway+popular+mechanics&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixn-r1wrTpAhWPbs0KHbhTC6AQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=videoway%20popular%20mechanics&f=false ''Riding the Toll-Free Infobahn'', by George Mannes, Popular Mechanics, June 1994]


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 13:28, 15 May 2020

Vidéoway logo.jpg

The logo for Videoway, a Canadian TV service that offered several exclusive games.

Status: Lost

Videoway was an analog interactive cable-TV system offered by Quebec, Canada telecommunications provider Videotron between 1990[1] and 2006.

Describing itself as the first "interactive addressable television entertainment system" in North America,[2] it offered teletext services such as weather, lottery results, horoscopes, road conditions, and games, in addition to interactive TV programming and on-demand entertainment.

Availability of Videoway

Videoway never achieved the level of adoption its inventors initially hoped for, losing a massive share of its audience every year once the internet began to gain traction among consumers.

At its peak, Videoway had boxes in approximately 300,000 Canadian residences, mainly in the French-speaking province of Quebec, where Videoway and its parent company Videotron were based. Around 70,000 households in the London, Great Britain area were also equipped with Videoway systems in the early 1990s via the Quebec company's British branch, which folded in 1997.

Games

Around 50 games were available on the Videoway system.[3]

Some of them were custom ports of existing games--most notably, Q*Bert and BurgerTime--but the majority were developed exclusively for the system by the Cablo-jeux team, a division of Loto-Québec (the provincial lottery board) which partnered with Videotron to create the games. Those developed for Videotron by Loto-Québec have been lost to time.

A 1989 newspaper ad seeking games for the Videoway system (Source: La Presse, BanQ).
A screen capture from the Videoway-exclusive game Temporel Inc.
A screen capture from the Videoway game Taupe.
A screen capture of the Videoway original game Fou du Roi.
Name Known information Exclusive to Videoway
Bizbille Unknown
Mordicus Unknown
Puzzle A puzzle game for preschoolers.[4] Yes
Temporel Inc. A puzzle game set in a pyramid. A recreation of this game, created from memory, is available online thanks to a fan effort. Yes
Gaston Labrosse Called Steve Broom in English. A game in which the player character must sweep as many floors as possible in a multi-storey building.[5] Yes
Taupe A version of Bulldozer where you play as a mole. Unknown
Styx Unknown
Fléchette Darts Unknown
Bowling Bowling Unknown
Boycott Unknown
Plunk Unknown
Colorimage A coloring game for children. Unknown
Mr. Chin Video footage here. No
Questionnaire Unknown
Parchési Parcheesi Yes
Mot mystère Find-a-word puzzle that offered a new puzzle every day.[6] Yes
Super Pendu Hangman Unknown
Le fou du roi A sort of Zelda/Pac-Man hybrid. Yes
Les dictées du professeur Martin[7] An educational spelling game for elementary school students. Yes
Hamburger Official BurgerTime port. No
Polux Unknown
Pirouette Unknown
Fou Brique A block breaker game with 15 levels.[8] Unknown
GlobeTrotter Unknown
Tikkaro Unknown
Échecs Chess Unknown
Dames Checkers Unknown
Black Jack Blackjack Unknown
Poker Poker Unknown
Hockey Unknown
Golf Unknown
Crocomaths An educational math game. Yes
Le questionneur A quiz game. Yes
Bizzmut Unknown
Bon bain Unknown
Onyx A pinball game.[9] Unknown
Fortuna Unknown
Les Patiences Various card games. Yes
Patapom Unknown
Formes magiques Unknown
Poussin coquin Unknown
Tacotac Unknown
Q*Bert An official port of Q*Bert. No
NucléR Unknown
Zipper Unknown
Évasion Unknown
Déplus A Yahtzee game. Unknown
Logix Unknown

Emulation Attempts

A Videoway cable box.

Videoway boxes were rented to clients by Videotron; as such, they are rare in the present day. People have attempted to emulate the 100% proprietary system, without success.[10] Source code for the Videoway-exclusive games is said to be held in the "Videotron vault", and efforts to retrace it have been in vain.

External Links

References

  1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/ArchivesRadioCanada/posts/10158135881866052?comment_id=10158184701436052&reply_comment_id=10158185161411052
  2. ↑ https://support.videotron.com/residential/television/illico-experience/faq-videoway
  3. ↑ http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2172582?docsearchtext=jeux%20vid%C3%A9oway
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20000609052642/http://www.videoway.com:80/anglais/jeux/mode_puzzle.htm
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20000305185818/http://www.videoway.com:80/anglais/jeux/mode_gaston.htm
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20000611065257/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_mystere.htm
  7. ↑ http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2926615?docsearchtext=jeux%20vid%C3%A9oway
  8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20000621154415/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_fou.htm
  9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20000621172314/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_onyx.htm
  10. ↑ https://forums.bannister.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=99891&page=1
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