Post by StrangerCoug on Jun 22, 2014 14:42:01 GMT -5
With all values below $500 confirmed gone for Season 32, I figured I'd talk about changes to the Wheel from an inflationary standpoint.
My source for the inflated values is the CPI Inflation Calculator. The 2014 values it spits out are believed to be more specifically for May at this point; for earlier years, it says the values are averages. In any event, I would take the values as approximate if I were you.
DAYTIME
When Wheel went on the air, $25, $50, and $75, none of which made it into 1976, were worth about $110.55
, $221.10
, and $331.64 respectively last month. $100 was worth $442.19 at the same point. Amazingly enough, $100 never disappears from the daytime Wheel until the show itself goes for good, its value having eroded to May 2014's $174.67 by 1991. (However, $125 in 1979 was worth less than $100 in 1975 when the former value disappeared then, being worth $409.61 now at that point.)
$500, $750, and $1,000 in 1975 were worth what $2,210.97, $3,316.45, and $4,421.93 respectively are worth now. (For the hour-long shows, $1,500 inflates to $6,632.90 and $2,000 inflates to $8,843.87.) By the end of the year, the top dollar values become $500/$1,000/$1,500 without too much loss of value just yet: their May 2014 values fall to only $2,090.51/$4,181.02/$6,271.53 for 1976. When top dollar values are bumped up to $750/$1,000/$2,000 in 1979, their inflated values change from $1,638.43/$3,276.86/$4,915.29 to $2,457.64/$3,276.86/$6,553.72. Give a few values here and there a bump and the bare S32 wheel is actually passable for daytime! (There are a number of things nighttime has, most obviously the MDW, that's extreme for daytime.)
TDVs are not increased in daytime again after 1979, however, and as a result, the daytime wheel values becomes less and less respectable as the 1980s progress: $2,000 falls below $1,500's 1979 value in 1983, and $750 falls below $500's 1979 value in 1986. By the time daytime is given the boot from Burbank, the TDVs inflate to only $1,438.91/$1,918.55/$3,837.10. (I'll spare you the details about Goen's version, but much of the stuff you need for it is in this section if you care to do the math.)
To those of you wanting to make the cost of vowels $1,000 in your games because you want it to be worth more than bottom dollar on the wheel: That's about where it should be. All other things being equal, everything else that had a $250 price tag in 1975 would have gotten $1,105.48 price tags a month ago.
NIGHTTIME
Nighttime does a better job than daytime of keeping bottom dollar current. Ignoring $100's 1986 reappearance due to wedge misplacement, when $100 was removed in 1984, $150 and $200 were removed in 1996, and $250 was removed in 1999, their 2014 values were respectively $228.97, $227.44, $303.25, and $454.88.
The highest value on the wheel in the game has always been $5,000 since nighttime's 1983 premiere despite the loss of more than half its value since then. Want something that was worth $5,000 when Wheel began its syndicated run? OK, then, that'll be $11,942.77, please. On the other hand, the early round values are interesting as $2,500 hasn't fallen below $1,000's 1983 value just yet: it comes out to only $2,388.55 when adjusted for inflation.
TDVs change from $1,000/$1,000/$5,000 to $1,000/$2,500/$3,500/$5,000 in 1987, and they inflate to $2,094.19/$5,235.48/$7,329.67/$10,470.95 in May 2014 values. They hold until 2000 (by which point they devalue to $1,381.53/$3,453.83/$4,835.37/$6,907.67) in favor of the current $2,500/$3,500/$3,500/$5,000 setup. Moving $3,500 in Round 2 was deserved (if a few seasons late—$3,500 fell to less than $2,500's worth in 1987 dollars in 1997), but $2,500 got a promotion considerably early!
I've been doing a chart and some images of this. They take some time, but I think this is a nice insight into how times have changed.
My source for the inflated values is the CPI Inflation Calculator. The 2014 values it spits out are believed to be more specifically for May at this point; for earlier years, it says the values are averages. In any event, I would take the values as approximate if I were you.
DAYTIME
When Wheel went on the air, $25, $50, and $75, none of which made it into 1976, were worth about $110.55
, $221.10
, and $331.64 respectively last month. $100 was worth $442.19 at the same point. Amazingly enough, $100 never disappears from the daytime Wheel until the show itself goes for good, its value having eroded to May 2014's $174.67 by 1991. (However, $125 in 1979 was worth less than $100 in 1975 when the former value disappeared then, being worth $409.61 now at that point.)
$500, $750, and $1,000 in 1975 were worth what $2,210.97, $3,316.45, and $4,421.93 respectively are worth now. (For the hour-long shows, $1,500 inflates to $6,632.90 and $2,000 inflates to $8,843.87.) By the end of the year, the top dollar values become $500/$1,000/$1,500 without too much loss of value just yet: their May 2014 values fall to only $2,090.51/$4,181.02/$6,271.53 for 1976. When top dollar values are bumped up to $750/$1,000/$2,000 in 1979, their inflated values change from $1,638.43/$3,276.86/$4,915.29 to $2,457.64/$3,276.86/$6,553.72. Give a few values here and there a bump and the bare S32 wheel is actually passable for daytime! (There are a number of things nighttime has, most obviously the MDW, that's extreme for daytime.)
TDVs are not increased in daytime again after 1979, however, and as a result, the daytime wheel values becomes less and less respectable as the 1980s progress: $2,000 falls below $1,500's 1979 value in 1983, and $750 falls below $500's 1979 value in 1986. By the time daytime is given the boot from Burbank, the TDVs inflate to only $1,438.91/$1,918.55/$3,837.10. (I'll spare you the details about Goen's version, but much of the stuff you need for it is in this section if you care to do the math.)
To those of you wanting to make the cost of vowels $1,000 in your games because you want it to be worth more than bottom dollar on the wheel: That's about where it should be. All other things being equal, everything else that had a $250 price tag in 1975 would have gotten $1,105.48 price tags a month ago.
NIGHTTIME
Nighttime does a better job than daytime of keeping bottom dollar current. Ignoring $100's 1986 reappearance due to wedge misplacement, when $100 was removed in 1984, $150 and $200 were removed in 1996, and $250 was removed in 1999, their 2014 values were respectively $228.97, $227.44, $303.25, and $454.88.
The highest value on the wheel in the game has always been $5,000 since nighttime's 1983 premiere despite the loss of more than half its value since then. Want something that was worth $5,000 when Wheel began its syndicated run? OK, then, that'll be $11,942.77, please. On the other hand, the early round values are interesting as $2,500 hasn't fallen below $1,000's 1983 value just yet: it comes out to only $2,388.55 when adjusted for inflation.
TDVs change from $1,000/$1,000/$5,000 to $1,000/$2,500/$3,500/$5,000 in 1987, and they inflate to $2,094.19/$5,235.48/$7,329.67/$10,470.95 in May 2014 values. They hold until 2000 (by which point they devalue to $1,381.53/$3,453.83/$4,835.37/$6,907.67) in favor of the current $2,500/$3,500/$3,500/$5,000 setup. Moving $3,500 in Round 2 was deserved (if a few seasons late—$3,500 fell to less than $2,500's worth in 1987 dollars in 1997), but $2,500 got a promotion considerably early!
I've been doing a chart and some images of this. They take some time, but I think this is a nice insight into how times have changed.