The Price Is Right was created in 1967 by Bob Stewart. There are two versions of the show. The first was aired from 1956 to 1965, and featured winners who could return on the next show to play again. The second version began in 1972 and is currently on air. Various revisions to the original format include pricing games and the Showcase Showdown. The winner on this version cannot return on the next game.
Three of the more popular pricing games on the show include Plinko, Hole in One, and Cliff Hangers. In Plinko, users can win up to $50,000 by dropping a set of five chips down a vertical board. For the miniature golf game, Hole in One, users putt in the hope of winning a car. In Cliff Hangers, contestants bid on prizes. If they bid inaccurately, the mountain climber on the game moves up the peak of the mountain and eventually falls off the cliff if the participant loses three bids in a row.
Former long-time host Bob Barker was no stranger to controversy. Over his 35 year reign as host, Barker was sued several times for sexual harassment, extortion and discrimination by former show employees. Drew Carey took over as the show's host in October of 2007. The Price Is Right was involved in a controversy in 2008, when a contestant won $30,000 in a rigged Plinko game.
The hour-long game show opens with four contestants who are randomly selected from the audience. The contestants then bid on an item, and the one closest to the actual price wins the item and a chance to play a pricing game. After advancing through the pricing game, the contestant can then spin a giant wheel for an opportunity to appear as one of two contestants in the Showcase Showdown, the final segment. In the Showdown, contestants bid on two packages. The one closest to the actual price wins the game and the package.
During his tenure, Bob Barker always ended each show with the phrase, "Have your pets spayed or neutered" in hopes of controlling the animal population.