On The Price Right, games come and go, while other popular games might stick around with occasional changes.
During a recent episode of the popular game show, host Drew Carey mentioned how production had changed up a longtime pricing game.
He had a contestant on stage to play the game Back to ’75, which features various items from years ago.
Contestants must determine the price of the three items from the show back in 1975.
The contestant has $50 on the gameboard, which resembles a vintage TV screen. After guessing an item’s price, each dollar they are off by gets deducted from the $50 they have on the board.
In the latest contestant’s situation, she could win $25,000 if she didn’t lose all $50 on the board after estimating the prices of the three items.
Drew spoke about changes to a popular TPIR game
While presenting the game in 2025, host Drew Carey brought up a noticeable update.
“If you notice, new year, we changed the background to Back to ’75,” he told everyone.
He explained that in 1975, they “redesigned the look of the show” and made changes like extending it to an hour long and bringing in the Big Wheel for the Showcase round.
“Same TV, though,” Drew joked while discussing the game’s recent update.
The host said the game was originally Back to ’72 for the 50th anniversary of the show. It stuck around due to its popularity and got renamed Back to ’75.
During the modern-day game, George Gray read the original copy for each of the three items from back in 1975, and then the contestant could turn the dial to “dial in the price” they thought that item cost in 1975.
George revealed that the first of three items was a Schick air-freshening machine that periodically sprayed a fresh scent. She estimated the price to be $16, but she was only four dollars off since it was $20.
Next up was a Litronix 2230 calculator with big red buttons. George said it was “unconditionally guaranteed to the original owner for one full year from date of receipt.”
Drew was amused by that line and laughed at George after he finished. George reminded him it was the original copy for the 1975 item. The contestant dialed in a price of $34 and was under by just six dollars.
Lastly, there was a Tele-Games version of the classic game Pong from Sears. When Drew saw that item, he got excited and raised one fist to celebrate the prize.
“Hey man, your mom gets your video games from Sears,” Drew joked as the contestant consulted with the audience.
The contestant estimated it cost $62, but the actual price was $100. However, with $40 left on the game’s dial, she had two dollars left after all three items. She was ecstatic as she’d won $25,000 for her great guesses.
Some fans questioned TPIR’s changes to the game, and others celebrated ‘vintage’ aspects
In the YouTube comments, several fans called out the change, seeming to criticize aspects of the update.
One commenter indicated that The Price Is Right needed to wait slightly longer in 2025 to make the change.
“Too soon to change that backdrop of the old turntable. They should have waited until the 54th season to do that. The set change happened in August 1975 when they were still doing all new shows for the summer,” a fan wrote.
Another asked if they would “change the name of this game every year, a la Match Game?”
“I think the game should be called ‘The Price WAS Right’, that way they can have items from different years the show has been on that need to be guessed on,” they commented.
Another individual mentioned that the show had a pricing game called The Price Was Right, which replaced the Showcase Showdown during the “disastrous 1994 New Price Is Right.”
Some fans praised seeing this game in the highlight clip and reminisced about various aspects of it.
One fan said they love “the vintage prize music that plays as George reads the original copy.”
“I love the classic music cues!!! Please use them more often. Feels like the Price is Right we all know and love,” a commenter said.
A commenter said, “Love how enthusiastic Drew was with the Pong system. Must’ve played it when he was a kid.”
“These are the same exact prize copies that were first read out by the late great Johnny Olson,” another fan commented.
The Back to ’72 game debuted in September 2022, returned for Season 51 as Back to ’73, and continues to be updated yearly. Given its unique format, including vintage items and intriguing copy, it should stay as the show continues.