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

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|-
|-
! Name !! Known information !! Exclusive to Videoway
! Name !! Known information !! Exclusive to Videoway
|-
! Bibi et Geneviève
| An educational game for children 3-8 based on a popular TV show of the era. || Yes
|-
|-
! Bizbille  
! Bizbille  
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Mordicus
! Bizzmut
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Puzzle
! Black Jack
| A puzzle game for preschoolers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000609052642/http://www.videoway.com:80/anglais/jeux/mode_puzzle.htm Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || Yes
| Blackjack || Unknown
|-
|-
! Temporel Inc.
! Bon bain
| A puzzle game set in a pyramid. [http://www.temporel-inc.com/ A recreation of this game, created from memory, is available online] thanks to a fan effort. || Yes
| || Unknown
|-
! 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 Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || Yes
|-
! Taupe
| A version of the 1985 MSX game ''Boulder Dash'' where you play as a mole. || Unknown
|-
! Styx
| A version of the 1983 Windmill game, itself a port of the arcade game ''Qix''<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styx_(Windmill_game)</ref> || No
|-
! Fléchette
| Darts|| Unknown
|-
|-
! Bowling  
! Bowling  
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|-
|-
! Boycott  
! Boycott  
|  || Unknown
|-
! Plunk
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
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| A coloring game for children. || Yes
| A coloring game for children. || Yes
|-
|-
! Mr. Chin
! Crocomaths
| Arcade-style game by HAL Labs. Originally released in 1984 for MSX.<ref>https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/msx/918155-mr-chin</ref> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiSgsTEp40o Gameplay footage here.] || No
| An educational math game. || Yes
|-
|-
! Parchési
! Dames
| Parcheesi || Yes
| Checkers || Unknown
|-
|-
! Mot mystère
! Déplus
| 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 Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || Yes
| A Yahtzee game. || Unknown
|-
|-
! Super Pendu
! Échecs
| Hangman || Unknown
| Chess || Unknown
|-
! Le fou du roi
| A sort of ''Zelda''/''Pac-Man'' hybrid. || Yes
|-
|-
! Ernie  
! Ernie  
| An educational game for children 3-8. || Unknown
| An educational game for children 3-8. || Yes
|-
|-
! Bibi et Geneviève
! Évasion
| An educational game for children 3-8 based on a popular TV show of the era. || Yes
| || Unknown
|-
|-
! Les dictées du professeur Martin<ref>[http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2926615?docsearchtext=jeux%20vid%C3%A9oway A newspaper advertisement about the system's educational games]</ref>
! Fléchettes
| An educational spelling game for elementary school students. || Yes
| Darts|| Unknown
|-
|-
! Hamburger
! Fou Brique
| Official ''BurgerTime'' port. Only known non-Japanese version to have kept the original ''Hamburger'' title.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BurgerTime</ref> || No
| A block breaker game with 15 levels. Port of ''Arkanoid''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000621154415/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_fou.htm Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || No
|-
|-
! Polux
! Fortuna
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Pirouette
! 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 Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || Yes
|-
! GlobeTrotter
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Fou Brique
! Golf
| A block breaker game with 15 levels. Port of ''Arkanoid''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000621154415/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_fou.htm Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || No
| || Unknown
|-
|-
! GlobeTrotter
! Hamburger
| || Unknown
| Official ''BurgerTime'' port. Only known non-Japanese version to have kept the original ''Hamburger'' title.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BurgerTime</ref> || No
|-
|-
! Tikkaro
! Hockey
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Échecs
! Le fou du roi
| Chess || Unknown
| A sort of ''Zelda''/''Pac-Man'' hybrid. || Yes
|-
|-
! Dames
! Le questionneur
| Checkers || Unknown
| A quiz game. || Yes
|-
|-
! Black Jack
! Les dictées du professeur Martin<ref>[http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2926615?docsearchtext=jeux%20vid%C3%A9oway A newspaper advertisement about the system's educational games]</ref>
| Blackjack || Unknown
| An educational spelling game for elementary school students. || Yes
|-
|-
! Poker
! Les formes magiques
| Poker || Unknown
| Educational game for children 3-8 || Yes
|-
|-
! Hockey
! Les Patiences
| || Unknown
| Various card games. || Yes
|-
|-
! Golf
! Logix
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Crocomaths
! Mr. Chin
| An educational math game. || Yes
| Arcade-style game by HAL Labs. Originally released in 1984 for MSX.<ref>https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/msx/918155-mr-chin</ref> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiSgsTEp40o Gameplay footage here.] || No
|-
|-
! Le questionneur
! Mordicus
| A quiz game. || Yes
| || Unknown
|-
|-
! Bizzmut
! Mot mystère
| || Unknown
| 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 Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || Yes
|-
|-
! Bon bain
! NucléR
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
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| A pinball game.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000621172314/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_onyx.htm Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || Yes<ref>[https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/6ace2554-3e9c-4a7e-a55c-64264eb957d8/Untitled.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAT73L2G45O3KS52Y5%2F20200515%2Fus-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20200515T155515Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=84ca5d84d95deded0a2d6e9a3a4fd7d155eb5ec7f6855125521bcdea573fc410&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&response-content-disposition=filename%20%3D%22Untitled.png%22 Screen capture of Onyx title card that reads ''Developed by Loto-Québec'']</ref>
| A pinball game.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000621172314/http://www.videoway.com:80/jeux/mode_onyx.htm Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || Yes<ref>[https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/6ace2554-3e9c-4a7e-a55c-64264eb957d8/Untitled.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAT73L2G45O3KS52Y5%2F20200515%2Fus-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20200515T155515Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=84ca5d84d95deded0a2d6e9a3a4fd7d155eb5ec7f6855125521bcdea573fc410&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&response-content-disposition=filename%20%3D%22Untitled.png%22 Screen capture of Onyx title card that reads ''Developed by Loto-Québec'']</ref>
|-
|-
! Fortuna
! Patapomme
|  || Yes
|-
! Parchési
| Parcheesi || Yes
|-
! Pirouette
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Les Patiences
! Plunk
| Various card games. || Yes
| || Unknown
|-
|-
! Patapomme
! Poker
| || Yes
| Poker || Unknown
|-
|-
! Les formes magiques
! Polux
| Educational game for children 3-8 || Yes
| || Unknown
|-
|-
! Poussin coquin  
! Poussin coquin  
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Tacotac
! Puzzle
| || Unknown
| A puzzle game for preschoolers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000609052642/http://www.videoway.com:80/anglais/jeux/mode_puzzle.htm Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website]</ref> || Yes
|-
|-
! Q*Bert  
! Q*Bert  
| An official port of ''Q*Bert''. || No
| An official port of ''Q*Bert''. || No
|-
|-
! NucléR
! Super Pendu
| Hangman || Unknown
|-
! Styx
| A version of the 1983 Windmill game, itself a port of the arcade game ''Qix''<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styx_(Windmill_game)</ref> || No
|-
! Tacotac
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Zipper
! Taupe
| || Unknown
| A version of the 1985 MSX game ''Boulder Dash'' where you play as a mole. || Unknown
|-
! Temporel Inc.
| A puzzle game set in a pyramid. [http://www.temporel-inc.com/ A recreation of this game, created from memory, is available online] thanks to a fan effort. || Yes
|-
|-
! Évasion
! Tikkaro
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-
! Déplus
! Zipper
| A Yahtzee game. || Unknown
|-
! Logix
|  || Unknown
|  || Unknown
|-
|-

Revision as of 19:37, 26 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.
A screen capture of the Videoway port of BurgerTime
A screen capture of the Videoway-exclusive bowling game
Name Known information Exclusive to Videoway
Bibi et Geneviève An educational game for children 3-8 based on a popular TV show of the era. Yes
Bizbille Unknown
Bizzmut Unknown
Black Jack Blackjack Unknown
Bon bain Unknown
Bowling Bowling Unknown
Boycott Unknown
Colorimage A coloring game for children. Yes
Crocomaths An educational math game. Yes
Dames Checkers Unknown
Déplus A Yahtzee game. Unknown
Échecs Chess Unknown
Ernie An educational game for children 3-8. Yes
Évasion Unknown
Fléchettes Darts Unknown
Fou Brique A block breaker game with 15 levels. Port of Arkanoid.[4] No
Fortuna Unknown
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
GlobeTrotter Unknown
Golf Unknown
Hamburger Official BurgerTime port. Only known non-Japanese version to have kept the original Hamburger title.[6] No
Hockey Unknown
Le fou du roi A sort of Zelda/Pac-Man hybrid. Yes
Le questionneur A quiz game. Yes
Les dictées du professeur Martin[7] An educational spelling game for elementary school students. Yes
Les formes magiques Educational game for children 3-8 Yes
Les Patiences Various card games. Yes
Logix Unknown
Mr. Chin Arcade-style game by HAL Labs. Originally released in 1984 for MSX.[8] Gameplay footage here. No
Mordicus Unknown
Mot mystère Find-a-word puzzle that offered a new puzzle every day.[9] Yes
NucléR Unknown
Onyx A pinball game.[10] Yes[11]
Patapomme Yes
Parchési Parcheesi Yes
Pirouette Unknown
Plunk Unknown
Poker Poker Unknown
Polux Unknown
Poussin coquin Unknown
Puzzle A puzzle game for preschoolers.[12] Yes
Q*Bert An official port of Q*Bert. No
Super Pendu Hangman Unknown
Styx A version of the 1983 Windmill game, itself a port of the arcade game Qix[13] No
Tacotac Unknown
Taupe A version of the 1985 MSX game Boulder Dash where you play as a mole. Unknown
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
Tikkaro Unknown
Zipper 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.[14] 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. ↑ Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website
  5. ↑ Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website
  6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BurgerTime
  7. ↑ A newspaper advertisement about the system's educational games
  8. ↑ https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/msx/918155-mr-chin
  9. ↑ Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website
  10. ↑ Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website
  11. ↑ Screen capture of Onyx title card that reads Developed by Loto-Québec
  12. ↑ Archived game instructions from the defunct Videoway website
  13. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styx_(Windmill_game)
  14. ↑ https://forums.bannister.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=99891&page=1
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